Customer Reviews

Paula: My Story So Far

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Being a runner, I love reading about runners, and their stories. Paula Radcliffe comes across in this book with frank honesty. She doesn't sugarcoat it, and tells it straight. She comes across confident, but human, like just another person. Granted, she is an elite athlete that has accomplished much in her life, but unlike some autobiographies, she doesn't sit there and tell you how great she is.

I learned a lot about Radcliffe herself in the book, along with a lot of interesting things about running, injuries, dealing with injuries, the triumph of her victories, the agony of her defeats, her drive to always give it her all, and that she is quite funny at times throughout the book.

Also, for those of you that don't know, she is asthmatic and if you know someone that has asthma and struggles with it, get them a copy of this book. It will inspire them.

This book really starts in Chapter 4 for the running enthusiast. The first three chapters provide an insight into Paula Radcliffe's childhood. The final 17 chapters provide indepth descriptions of the motivation, injury, pain, perseverance and acheivement of a deicated runner. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the emotional, psychological and physical characteristics of a serious and successful athlete.

This book starts off a little slow in that Paula's initial thoughts seem to jump around a bit in the first chapter. She seems compelled to defend herself right off the bat regarding her 2004 Olympics performance, which is a shame, because she is truly the world's best female marathoner. Once past the introduction, the book progresses in a more organized fashion that is easier to follow. I loved reading Paula's insights into her performances. She lays it all out there and her determination and grit are pure and uncensored. Paula is an incredible athlete and her talent and will to win are amazing. I was very inspired as a runner myself and admire Paula all the more after reading her story. Looking forward to more from her in the future.

good for the price. I paid .99c for it. I now it was a used book, but I am glad I ordered used because even though the read it is interesting in parts it gets boring.

A few years back I had a posteriar tibial sfx and had to stop running. The only xt I could do was pool running. A friend recognized I was a bit down and lent me his copy of this book. So I read it during my lay off. Honestly, this book really helped. While Paula's in a class all her own, to read the trials and tribulations that she went through and overcame was motivational and I really feel helped me mentally get over my injury. So glad I came across her book and highly recommend it to any runner who's frustrated with being sidelined by injury.

This is an inspiring read about Paula's career in athletics and her dedicated training. You can tell she is a very grounded honest person who tries to be as unbiased as possible in an autobiography. The one niggle I have with it is that she repeats herself from chapter to chapter which can become frustrating to read, and she also jumps back and forth chronologically at times which gets a little confusing. Considering she isn't a writer, these faults should have been rectified at editing stage. Never the less, this is an enjoyable read about a dedicated, honest athlete with obvious integrity to her sport.

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Paula is a living legend, and in this book we get to hear, in her own words, details about her personal life, but more interestingly, her professional training life. She goes into detail on her significant injuries over the years, and how she's worked thru them. She details her significant races (from childhood up thru a little thing called SETTING A NEW WORLD MARATHON RECORD!!!). Being a female marathoner myself, I found this book AMAZING! I've only had it for a few months and already read it twice. Thanks Paula!!!

Radcliff writes a very personal book that provides a profile of her life, growing up to her early success as a gifted athlete all the way through her international success, her amazing world record in the marathon and hard luck with injuries and illness that harpooned her Olympics. Radcliff discusses it all in a rather forward, yet reasonably tempered descriptions of her feelings and perspectives on situations, her relationship with her running/managing husband, her race preparations, training locations around the world, her extensive medical regimen, the of course great descriptions of her races. The description of the races starts with broad descriptions of her training, pre-race strategies and physical preparation. It is quite startling to read of her numerous injuries, hard luck and illnesses particularly intestinal that, in the case of the Athens Olympics destroys her Olympic dream. By reading of her sense of loss and after the criticism she received after Athens, you can understand why she continued to run in Bejing 2008 even though she should have dropped out due to injuries. Her openness in her set backs, injuries illness and victories such as her amazing 2:15 marathon record are very down to earth and pleasant to read. You have the feeling that she can relate virtually to all runners as she faces similar hard luck, as all runners do. An example, she receives severe injuries after being hit by a bicyclist. The book is of particular interest for the female athlete as some of her challenges are uniquely female. Radcliff reminds me of the great Ron Clarke who set so many records like Radcliff and both found challenges at the Olympics that were beyond their control. Like Clarke, Radcliff is an admirable individual and an amazing athlete. Note, "My Life so far", runs up to the 2005 world championships.