Paula Radcliffe gives ultimate guide to running London Marathon after holding record for 16 years

Paula Radcliffe has urged runners to ‘enjoy’ the London Marathon no matter how tough it gets.

The three-time winner shared her ultimate tips for the race on Friday’s talkSPORT Breakfast show.

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This Sunday marks the 46th edition of the London Marathon as thousands of participants take to the streets of the capital.

A host of famous faces are slated to take part including sports stars Aaron Ramsey, Sebastian Vettel and Dame Laura Kenny.

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo will also appear along with actors James Norton and Jack O’Connell, along with TV fitness coach Joe Wicks.

talkSPORT’s Shebahn Aherne is also preparing for the race and was joined by Radcliffe and Steve Cram on Friday morning.

Sharing how she would feel two days before the race, Radcliffe said: “Excited. A little bit of trepidation as well. A little bit of wanting to fast forward through those two days because you don’t do very much.

“You’re resting. You’re trying to stay hydrated and keep getting carbs inside you and just thinking about the race.

“So you just want it to go by as fast as possible. So a little bit of a distraction is not a bad thing.”

Radcliffe won the London Marathon three times in four years between 2002 and 2005.

She also set the course record during her 2003 victory with a time of two hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds.

That time stood as the world record for 16 years before being surpassed in 2019 by Brigid Kosgei.

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Radcliffe’s ultimate London Marathon tips

As one of the fastest marathon runners of all-time, Radcliffe gave those taking part this weekend some key advice for the race.

She explained: “All the hard work is done. This is the party, enjoy it. Look around you and take in the atmosphere because it is something special.

“That many people trying to get in, you’ve got a place and a lot of people would swap spaces with you.

“So when it gets really tough, think ‘no, I worked hard for this and I’m going to enjoy it’. There will be tough spots within it, but you will come through them.”

When asked what the toughest point of the race is, she added: “It changes every time. You can’t say you’re going to get to 17 miles and it’s going to be tough.

“Everybody is individual and the same person can run the same course four or five times and you’re going to have a different experience each time.

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“It’s just where it gets tougher and it’s just getting those techniques that you’ve done in training.

“It’s much harder in training when you haven’t got all those people lining the streets and all the people running with you.”

As well as her illustrious history with the London Marathon, Radcliffe also won the New York Marathon on three occasions.

Those wins followed her victory in the 2002 Chicago Marathon as well as becoming world champion in the marathon in Helsinki three years later.

Radcliffe retired from competitive long-distance running in 2015 but has entered several races since.

She previously took part in both the Tokyo and Boston marathons last year.