In November 2008, my life was slowly changing. While still competing for Calderglen Harriers, I was 5 weeks into weekly track sessions with Cambuslang Harriers which eventually saw me joining the club in March 2009. I had also been in my first, and current, qualified solicitor post with Macallans Solicitors (the site is a wee bit out of date. I don't feature on it) for 4 months.
During the winter, endurance sessions are arranged in various parks in the Glasgow area on Saturday mornings. One such session took place at Tolcross Park on 22nd November 2008 where someone called Paula Radcliffe would be present. Being a sucker for celeb spotting, I went along.
Sure enough, there was one of the UK's finest female distance runners limbering up for a training session. I pretended not to notice, completed my warm up and went to the start line to hear the lead coach's instructions. 4 minute efforts, minimum of 4, maximum of 10. I became aware of someone in a white top and pink shorts jogging on the spot beside me. It was Ms Radcliffe. I still pretended not to notice. We were then told to follow the course marked out by cones. Radcliffe turned in my direction and said "I don't see any markers." There was no-one beside me so she had definitely addressed me. I replied to the effect of just follow whoever is front of you which actually got a laugh from her.
Above: setting off on a 4 minute effort. Photo courtesy of http://www.snspix.com/
Joking aside, it was amazing how someone so prominent and who had won the New York Marathon days before could simply merge into a training session with a dozen or so other athletes with no-one really batting an eyelid. We are all athletes at the end of the day. My fitness had a fair bit to go at this point and I had blown a gasket after 6 efforts. Radcliffe and others carried on for another 4.
The purpose of Paula's visit was to be Guest of Honour at the Scottish Athletics Awards Dinner that evening. As luck would have it, I had a ticket since I was still Whitemoss Athletics Club treasurer. We arrived early. Paula had too and, before too long, an impromptu autograph and photograph session started. I hung back to the end of the queue, secured my autograph and had the pleasure of a chat for several minutes. After talking about that morning's session and her New York Marathon victory, the subject turned to asthma. Both of us are sufferers of exercise induced asthma and I was interested to know how she coped with it. She had wondered who was coughing a bit that morning. That would have been me!
Out of the few famous people I've met, Paula Radcliffe has easily been the most pleasant and approachable. She had time for everyone that weekend.
Above: the Whitemoss delegation meet Paula Radcliffe.
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