Let’s Do This’s Pioneers podcast releases its latest episode this week, sitting down with Paula Radcliffe, former marathon world record holder, one of the greatest distance runners in history.
The episode unpacks what mass participation running actually means to someone who spent her career at the very top of elite sport. Paula spoke openly on the next generation of athletes, especially Sifan Hassan, on why she thinks she’s such an incredible talent to watch right now.
It also explores the business side of elite sport, specifically the relationship between top athletes and the sponsors who support them. Radcliffe is candid that being a professional athlete was never just about performance: ‘I wasn’t just an ambassador for Nike because I ran quick… It’s about who you are around that, and you’ve got to recognise that if you’re not delivering on one level, why should you expect to be given on another level?’ She states elite athletes owe something back to the sport that supports them, not just to themselves. The conversation also touches on a shift Browne raises with a question about whether today’s elite athletes fully understand the give and take the way Radcliffe’s generation did, and what obligation, if any, that creates toward the mass participation races that increasingly fund elite competition.
The conversation also goes into harder territory: the injury that nearly ended Radcliffe’s career before it had properly begun, the honest admission that no elite athlete really wants to see their own record broken, and the fuelling philosophy built on proper nutrition rather than restriction that she credits for her own longevity in the sport.
‘This one strips away the false belief about being the best in the world,’ said Sam Browne, Co-founder and CEO of Let’s Do This, and host of Pioneers. ‘Paula was honest that talent alone wasn’t what set her apart, and just as honest about what she owed the brands and races that backed her. For her, it’s always been a two-way relationship.’
The episode is available now and follows Pioneers’ previous episode with Lord Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, on Road running no longer being an afterthought.
About Pioneers: Pioneers goes behind the curtain of the greatest experiences in sport, speaking to the people who are at the heart of the experiences and moments we all remember.
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