News Archive

Liz Yelling appreciates its a backhand compliment, but she just wishes that

shed be identified for herself sometimes rather than her lifetime friend, club

colleague and occasional training partner, Paula Radcliffe. But a slender

fair-haired woman charging round the streets of Loughborough is inevitably

going to be taken for the marathon world record holder. Yelling is going to

confuse the issue even more when she makes her own marathon debut in Berlin on

Sunday morning.

"It happened a lot when I was younger," recalls Yelling. "And

now Ive moved back to Loughborough, we live just a mile apart, and when Im out

training, I get people shouting, Come on Paula. But if they mistake me in

races, they must wonder why shes running so badly".

Yelling doesn do herself justice. She has run inside 32 minutes for 10,000

metres, when she represented England at last years Commonwealth Games, can run

close to 70min in the half-marathon, and if she goes well in this debut

marathon, shell be in line for selection to join her est friend on the start

line of the Olympic race in Athens next year.

The progress she made since beginning to train full time two years ago was

halted by a winter virus followed by an Achilles tendon injury, forcing her to

miss the track season. But acqua-jogging - "dead-boring" - has kept

her in cardiovascular shape, and she feels the 2hr 32min Athens qualifying time

should be well within her capabilities. "Its taken me a while to build up

my training, you can just jump from 75 to 140 miles a week, Im doing 105 now

compared to Paulas 145. Ill err on the side of caution on Sunday, and go for

2.30/2.31 pace, get to 20 miles and see whats left. If I get the qualifying

time, Ill just focus on Athens".