Top 50 Paula Radcliffe Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “You can be strong and true to yourself without being rude or loud.”

— Paula Radcliffe

Featured in: Be Yourself Quotes, Being Strong Quotes

2. “It’s good to be back, feeling like myself and enjoying it.”

— Paula Radcliffe

3. “Never set limits, go after your dreams, don’t be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot – it’s good for you!”

— Paula Radcliffe

4. “I can’t imagine living and not running.”

— Paula Radcliffe

5. “I try not to worry about things that I can’t control.”

— Paula Radcliffe

6. “Yeah, ideally, I’d probably wish to be more anonymous. But scrutiny and success go together. And I want to be successful.”

— Paula Radcliffe

7. “As an athlete, there are advantages being with a team and getting regular physio.”

— Paula Radcliffe

8. “There’s always going to be somebody who takes a dislike to you and you can’t waste time worrying about it.”

— Paula Radcliffe

9. “In the marathon anything can happen.”

— Paula Radcliffe

10. “I can swim I’m not bad, but not great.”

— Paula Radcliffe

11. “At big championships it’s not the fastest person, it’s the person who gets it right on the day.”

— Paula Radcliffe

12. “I don’t really have an explanation. I’m struggling myself to comprehend what has happened and find a reason for it.”

— Paula Radcliffe

13. “For an athlete, the biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you’re capable of.”

— Paula Radcliffe

14. “It’s important that athletes can compete on a level playing field. And youngsters coming into the sport can know that if they are working hard and training hard, they’ll see a true reflection of where they stand and what they can achieve worldwide and not be swayed by people who are cheating.”

— Paula Radcliffe

15. “I have achieved a lot and I’m grateful for that – I’m just a bit greedy because I want to add the Olympics. It’s once every four years – everyone wants it and very few people get it.”

— Paula Radcliffe

16. “Actually I don’t choose to expose myself in public. I choose to compete; the other side just comes with the package.”

— Paula Radcliffe

17. “The biggest danger is trying to put too much pressure on yourself, trying to get in too good shape.”

— Paula Radcliffe

18. “I have always run as hard as I can. You are not going to run any harder with or without men. You are running on your own two feet.”

— Paula Radcliffe

19. “I’ve always been good at putting things behind me–I fall apart, do my crying bit, and then put it away and move on.”

— Paula Radcliffe

20. “I don’t feel guilty in having pleasure!”

— Paula Radcliffe

21. “I took a lot of bad things after Athens. I just learnt to deal with it. The problem was beforehand I had this feeling where I was trying to please everybody – I wanted everybody to like me.”

— Paula Radcliffe

22. “I apologise to people when I need to.”

— Paula Radcliffe

23. “Every time I go out and race it’s a goal to go out and run faster than I’ve done before.”

— Paula Radcliffe

24. “I deliberately returned slowly to training after Raphael was born and everything, apart from being bitten by a dog whilst out training in Monaco at the beginning of the year, has gone pretty well.”

— Paula Radcliffe

25. “I don’t like going away from my children.”

— Paula Radcliffe

26. “In my Olympic history I don’t think I have achieved my potential as an athlete. That’s what I want when I look back at my career. I want to be able to say I gave it my best shot.”

— Paula Radcliffe

27. “You see, with me, when I’m nervous, I smile and laugh.”

— Paula Radcliffe

28. “I actually got a nice surprise about being a mother because I expected it to be harder and to have to make more adaptations.”

— Paula Radcliffe

29. “I am not driven by any bitterness by what happened in Athens. I learnt a lot of lessons from it and probably came through it a stronger person in the end. There have been a lot of near misses, and that’s taught me to keep persevering and that there is a chance it can come right.”

— Paula Radcliffe

30. “To represent your country at a home Olympics is something special and I’m over the moon to be selected for Team GB. I was pleased to get the qualifying time in Berlin earlier this year and my sole focus is getting in the right shape for London.”

— Paula Radcliffe

31. “It’s totally different from last year because I came in with good shape with no health worries so it was about going out there and running well and enjoying it.”

— Paula Radcliffe

32. “I am not going to let Athens affect the rest of my life.”

— Paula Radcliffe

33. “Plenty of people who are 38 have run really well in the marathon.”

— Paula Radcliffe

34. “In the week before a race, I try to stay away from germ areas. I keep disinfectant wipes in my bag for when I have to use a supermarket trolley or something like that.”

— Paula Radcliffe

35. “I have always loved running on the roads, ever since I used to take part in relays for my club when I was 12 and 13. I felt really at home on the surface.”

— Paula Radcliffe

36. “You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you’re in on the day of the race. I’ve always felt these really big races aren’t necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They’re won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.”

— Paula Radcliffe

37. “I’ve had a lot of success over the years racing in New York, but the main point is that I feel the marathon is a different event, a lot more my event.”

— Paula Radcliffe

38. “I think your body is just a little bit stronger after pregnancy.”

— Paula Radcliffe

39. “I’ve been to three Olympics and I don’t feel I’ve ever quite achieved my best at any of them.”

— Paula Radcliffe

40. “From my training I can get a good idea of what I’m capable of.”

— Paula Radcliffe

41. “I just want to be in the best shape I can be. Not to stand on that start line and say: ‘Oh my God, I have this injury and that injury.’ I just want to be able to go out and race.”

— Paula Radcliffe

42. “An Olympic medal won’t define my whole life, although it might look like it to onlookers. When I look back, I should have been able to get an Olympic medal.”

— Paula Radcliffe

43. “If you look back at my marathons and ask whether I would swap one of them for my one balls-up, of course I would. But you can’t choose. You have to make the best of it on the day.”

— Paula Radcliffe

44. “I prefer just a women’s race. It’s a totally different game mentally.”

— Paula Radcliffe

45. “I have been doing 120 miles a week, when normally I would do about 140.”

— Paula Radcliffe

46. “I set myself some specific goals, but the key one is just getting myself into as good a shape as possible for one day this year: the Olympic marathon.”

— Paula Radcliffe

47. “I’m confident of what I have to achieve in the buildup to London 2012.”

— Paula Radcliffe

48. “Today was not about times, it was about getting in there, enjoying the race, and enjoying the atmosphere.”

— Paula Radcliffe

49. “You can’t magic yourself back 10 years.”

— Paula Radcliffe

50. “I have not had the chance to go out there and do myself justice in an Olympic marathon yet. I have not been able to get to an Olympic marathon injury-free yet.”

— Paula Radcliffe