The 35-year-old, who had not raced since the New York Marathon nine months ago after undergoing surgery to remove a bunion in March, finished just two seconds outside the course record in a time of 1hr 9min 45sec - 1min 18sec ahead of her closest rival, Ethiopian Mamitu Daska.Radcliffe had chosen the race to test her fitness before committing herself to next Sunday’s marathon in Berlin. Although she said her chances of competing were now more likely than they were a week ago, she will not make a final decision until later this week.
The marathon world record-holder is due to fly into Berlin this morning and will consult her physiotherapist before deciding whether she is up to racing over 26.2 miles just two months after resuming full training.
“I have to decide if I have the required strength to go out in Berlin and compete against a high quality bunch of rivals,” she said.
Radcliffe, who won the world title in Helsinki in 2005 but missed Osaka two years ago because she was pregnant, would be a hot favourite to win Sunday’s race, which starts and ends at the Brandenburg Gate.
“I want to there if I’m the shape to do it,” she said, “but if I’m not 100 per cent ready to go then I don’t want to put myself on the line.”
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