Paula: My Story So Far

Having realised that walking up my own house stairs had me almost passing out I decided to take up running (walking was a good start in my case) and within 6 months I completed my first 10K. Passing that finnish line I was the proudest and most elated I have ever been in my life and it was then that I realised what this "buzz" people kept talking about was. I felt amazing!

Not long after this I picked up Paula Radcliffe's autobiography and was hooked. I started reading and became in awe of someone who was so dedicated to her sport and who was so disciplined that while I was out getting lashed at every available opportunity while at Universtity, at the same time in another town Paula was working doggedly towards getting her 1st class degree while still managing to train religiously in the sport she loved. To me - someone who was brand new to running and who finds it very difficult - Paula became an inspiration.

I do, however, agree with some other reviews that the writing wasn't the greatest but then she is an athlete not an author, and I did notice that there were several explanations as to why she thought she hadn't run her best (I hesitate to say excuses as I have found myself saying things like "I didn't have a great run today, my legs felt heavy" etc) and I admit that this sometimes bacame repetitive.

I would still recommend this book highly though, as whether you're new to running like me or a seasoned racer the fact is that Paula Radcliffe is still one of the greatest athletes that this country has ever produced and regardless of her written word talents, this should surely be celebrated. She is an inspiration to many and rightly so. I enjoyed this book very much and it certainly spurred me on so thank you Paula.

Could be better (0/2 people found this helpful)

Good read but nothing that really gets to the heart of Paula's obsession with running. Also nothing that is not known already by the general public. Hopefully her final story will be a better read than her Story so far.

Worth reading (0/3 people found this helpful)

Yes the book is in part repetitive (Hello other reviewers, welcome to the mentality of a runner ...repetition) and yes Paula is a "nice" person, but the book is not half as bad as some of the reviews I have read here...and the only reason I wanted to throw the book across the room (as one reviewer commented) was because of the endless support she receives, though this is only out of frustration of my own lack of support. Never once was I bored by this, learned from it, and I welcomed her "excuses" as mere honest portrayals of what went wrong in her preparation. "The other athlete was better than me on the day" would not under any circumstances give the reader an incite into Paula Radcliffe, machine. This is an autobiography, it is about her. To this part she has been very honest, though the real star is Gary. I'd give my right tooth to have a partner that supportive.

Disappointing and full of excuses (2/2 people found this helpful)

I am an avid reader of sportsmen and women's autobiographies and as a former competitive distance runner, I was particularly keen to read Paula's autobiography. Before I read her autobiography I had great admiration for her and had followed her career with great interest.

Unfortunately, reading her autobiography caused me to lose some respect for her as a person and as a professional athlete. The book is full of excuses about why she didn't win particular races, as another reviewer wrote. I am in complete agreement with that reviewer's comments (see review: "100 greatest excuses").

I had to stop reading this autobiography on numerous occasions as I became so frustrated. At the point where she states that her legs were heavy in a particular race due to it being the wrong time of the month, I felt like throwing the wretched book across the room!

I normally find sports autobiographies enjoyable and inspiring. However, I really didn't enjoy this one at all, and if you don't want to read excuse after excuse, you won't either.

Nice (10/12 people found this helpful)

Paula Radcliffe is a nice person. She had a nice childhood with her nice parents and her nice brother. She joined a nice club run by a very nice couple. She's nice about her competitors, her friends and pretty much everyone else. Only her poor husband comes out as a bit of a git - and that's mainly because he writes small sections himself.

All this makes for a nice life but an extraordinarily dull autobiography from such an inspirational runner. This might be forgivable if the book were well written. Unfortunately it is one of the most badly written professionally published books I have read: repetitive (count the 'as I said before's), chronologically confused, and poorly structured.

On the plus side, it is not fair to describe this as a book of excuses. There are some interesting insights into the fragility of pushing the body to peak performance and the impact that small injuries and minor illness can have on elite atheletes. Possibly a bit too much insight into Paula's bowel movements, but the indignities she is happy to face in order to win are impressive.

Paula's a runner not a writer. But she was helped in this book by David Walsh, three times winner of the Sports Writer of the Year Award. And he really should have helped her make a better fist of this.

Let's hope Paula has lots more victories - and a better second volume - in her.

Paula Radcliffe

Reader Reviews:

An Inspiration (5/5 people found this helpful)

Could be better (0/2 people found this helpful)

Worth reading (0/3 people found this helpful)

Disappointing and full of excuses (2/2 people found this helpful)

Nice (10/12 people found this helpful)

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