e.g.
And rabbiting, although a difficult job in some aspects, pays very well in the world of running. Outside of appearance fees (which I definitely don't get) it is the only guaranteed payday in the sport (assuming you do your job correctly).
Instead of hearing people cheering for Khalid Khannouchi, Paula Radcliffe or Catherine Ndereba, all I could hear were the 2 loudest voices in the crowd yelling, "LetsRun.com, yeah LetsRun.com". I couldn't help but laugh.
Once we hit the 25 mile marker, I started jogging with a big smile on my face. My job was done, Paula would smash the record, and I could enjoy the final mile.
And I definitely enjoyed it. The marathon is a lot more enjoyable when you can jog it home. Once I started jogging, I began to wonder how slow I'd run it. For I figured if I had gone this far, I might as well get under the Olympic Trials "A" qualifying time of 2:20:00, but I wasn't going to pick it up from my jog. The only good thing is after you've run 25 miles at 5:15 pace, a "jog" apparently is around 6 minute pace. So I finished in 2:18:10 and got a marathon pr to boot.
As for my own "race", or whatever you want to call it, it was definitely the highlight of my year for 2 reasons. First, 2002 had been very frustrating for me in terms of my own running and I thought my comeback from injury was progressing very slowly. But I was surprised with how good I felt during the marathon, and ended up even setting a pr.
It confirmed to me that I can run a lot faster in the marathon. (Whoops. That never happened.)
And secondly Chicago was a highlight of my year, because I got to do my little part to help make history. Paula Radcliffe is simple (sic) an amazing athlete.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE SHE DOESN'T EVEN GET TIRED DURING THE MARATHON. (ha ha ha)
I don't doubt for a second that she could have set the world record without any male escorts, that's how good she is. But nonetheless, after the race, her and her husband Gary must have thanked me a thousand times for doing what the race had paid me to do. That meant a lot to me.
I had met Paula and Gary at Gerard Hartmann's office in Ireland and had seen first hand what an amazing athlete Paula is, but also her complete dedication, (and I mean total dedication that I honestly believe no other athlete in the world has) to the sport. Plus, I had seen the team environment that surrounds her and how it is totally focussed on making Paula the best athlete she can be.
And now that means being the best athlete in the history of the sport.
It's hard to believe but a year ago this week before Paula won the London marathon, she was regarded as a gallant loser by all of Britain. But those around her, never once doubted in her abilities, for they had seen her day to day dedication and talent. Gerard Hartmann's office is really also an athletics museum of sorts. Its walls are covered with pictures and memorabilia from virtually every track and field star you can think of.
However, when I was there, one athlete was conspicuously missing from the walls, Paula Radcliffe, the athlete Gerard works with more than anyone else. I asked when he'd put her up on the walls. "When she wins a Gold Medal" was his reply indicating that's how good she was.
(It turns out that Paula's OOC hemoglobin level of 16.2 g/dL at Monte Carlo, Monaco in 2012 would of caused Ms. Radcliffe to be BANNED FROM COMPETITION IN CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING . . . and the equivalent 48.6% hematocrit (= 51.6% in a male) was also above the 47% cutoff hematocrit level used in female professional cyclists, which would of caused Ms. Radcliffe to also be BANNED FROM COMPETITION IN PROFESSIONAL CYCLING. Oh well. It's not a big surprise.)
"If I was a small part of Paula's team for a day, it means a lot to me."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2018/02/16/paula-radcliffe-reveals-tore-colon-smashing-marathon-world-record/
http://www.letsrun.com/2003/escortingpaula.php
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11913981.Pythonesque_Radcliffe_crushes_field_Paula_worth_millions_after_world_best/
https://news.sky.com/story/radcliffe-give-athletes-lie-detector-tests-10340201
Have a nice day.