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Agree the description of her as a fun runner is a joke - and it wasn't that big a surprise after all she was in the FLM magazine as one of the main contenders for the last olympic spot.
she has been named for the British team
Can't quite imagine Paula saying that.
I sat there watching the marathon thinking that those girls who have been training for years for this event and for the chance to go to the olympics must be feeling the way I feel when i turn up at a 10k race and there is some guy there on the start line nursing a hangover and eating a bacon sandwich wearing trainers that look like they were bought yesterday from JD Sports on the "expert advice" of the 12 year old behind the counter who then sprints off into the distance and beats me by 25 minutes!
I just hope that this does not raise the hopes of all those people that take up running on the back of this thinking that if they add on a couple of miles on their treadmills a week they will be heading off to China in the next Olympics.
Run for yourself, run for the sheer joy of running. Run because you can.
The memories, the medals, the blood and sweat, and the fun will all be precious to you, whether or not some scally in reebok classics thrashes you.
That's the way I fee, anyway. I don't judge myself against anyone else, if I feel that I've run well then I'm pleased.
Well done Tracey.
The only person who I race against is myself, I run and enter races because I enjoy doing so.
Rather than resenting other runners doing well get out there and celebrate with them.
My favourite runner of the year is the old, registered-blind woman who was interviewed on BBC who is still on her way round now and hopes to finish tomorrow (sorry I can't remember her name) - she has got real guts and I hope she makes it even though it looks like there is a storm brewing over london at the moment.
Given the huge grin on Tracey's face as she whizzed down Birdcage Walk, by that criterion fun runner fits the bill. The grin was even bigger in that post-race interview. That and a show of sincere humility makes her a winner in my book anyday.
You suggest that she somehow managed to beat all the other girls by means of natural talent when they had all been training for years. This is not the case - Tracey trains harder than any of them - or at least, she trains to the right level and rests to the right level. Surely her result yesterday proves that - you do not run 2:33 for a marathon by sheer fluke.
You must ignore the comments of those who simply don't know her history but who instead go for the good story - it makes better reading to tell of some 'fun-runner' who trains a bit and then beats all of the more-fancied British runners. Stuff of dreams, etc.
This ignores the fact that she is the third-fastest female half-marathoner and 10-miler this year. Only Paula Radcliffe has a faster time this year over 10k. She is the Welsh 10k champion, and represented her country in cross-country last year (as well as when she was a schoolgirl).
Tracey Morris is nothing like a scally with a hangover on race day. Trust me.
Of course if she'd like to join Barnsley AC...:-)
Can everyone please forgive me?
Much nicer vests.
I have been running for 5 years, and my marathon PB is 5:50. I hope, with a decent spell without injuries, to eventually get down to 5 hours, and love to think that one day I could do 4 hours.
The fact that someone who is the same age as me can make such vast improvements gives me inspiration to keep going to improve *my* time, but a small part of me is a green eyed monster.......... if only I had half of her natural talent.
I hope she does great in Athens, the lucky beggar :O)
I took almost twice as long as Tracey to finish my marathon, but I give not a hoot, sent my medal off for engraving Saturday.
Shall wear it with pride. :-)
Definitely agree that TM doing it while holding down a full time job is all the more impressive, but that's no need to resent Paula for being a pro.
Dont know where the comparison with Paula Radcliffe came from, or who started it. Paula Radcliffe is surely the boss when it comes to long distance running,
Agree with Chimp. No need to apologise I know just what you mean - its like the kid at school who used to come top in all the exams. You don't resent it, you just wish it could happen to you.
Looking at the Tracey Morris splits, she actually ran a very controlled even paced race and had plenty in the tank at the end by all accounts. With a bit of luck and a following wind she could be a serious contender in Athens...
With regard to Tracey being poached by a larger club (you mention Bingley and Wakefield), she was asked to train with some of the Leeds City runners following her Brass Monkey success. From my experience of small clubs, this usually leads to the bigger club asking "Why don't you join us, you'd be so much better off, etc."
Of course, they might have wanted to just help her out (rather than just wanting her to help their best female marathoner), but I don't remember them asking her to run with them when she wasn't as good.
But I think she'll stay put - it hasn't done her any harm so far!
The standard of runnimg clubs in Yorkshire is pretty high anyway in my (amittedly biased) opinion. Dont forget, the first man home last year in the FLM was a Bingley Harrier if my memory serves correct.
Of the 'smaller' clubs, 3rd Yorkshire runner was Ian Fisher of Otley, who did 2:21 (14th British male, I believe).
It's all those hills we have to run up!