I notice there’s very little comment on the notice board about the actual winner of the women’s marathon. I understand marathon running is very popular in Japan. If so Mizuki Noguchi must now be a national heroine and deservedly so. I’d award her every bravery award going for sheer courage and guts under incredibly adverse circumstances. In every close up we had of her in the later stages of the race, we could in her eyes the pain she was experiencing as she fought to stay in front of Ndereba; seemingly all over the road at times and it seemed only a matter of time before Ndereba passed her. In fact she almost emulated Pheidippides in ultimate sacrifice as she managed to blurt out only a few words to Japanese television after she finished, then collapsed. While every eye was on Radcliffe before the race, certain astute observers considered the Japanese very much dark horses, especially Noguchi. She had greater leg speed than the others and was known as a bundle of energy, famed for her long, bouncy strides and strong muscle power. They weren’t far wrong there! I was intrigued and perplexed early on when the commentators were insisting that the course was still uphill, indeed all the other runners were obviously running with an uphill action, but Noguchi was flowing along as if she was the only one running downhill. I was overjoyed when that delightfully appealing little bundle of bravery broke the tape.