London Marathon 2015: Paula Radcliffe thanks the fans after finishing her final race

An emotional Paula Radcliffe thanked the support of the London crowds after competing in her final marathon.
The 41-year-old set the world record marathon time of 2:15:25 when she won the London Marathon back in 2003.
Today, she was not going toe-to-toe with the women’s Elite runners, starting instead with the main pack.
And Radcliffe would finish with a time of 2:36:55, “It was so loud, my ears were ringing. It was just amazing the whole way round. All the way along, there were so many people giving me encouragement.
“I came into this race totally unprepared and hoped the magic of the London Marathon would help me and I’m sure it did. You can’t help but come here and run hard. You have to give it your best effort and that’s what I did.
“When I knew I was going to finish I just wanted to thank as many people as possible.”
The 41-year-old offered a ‘thank you’ as she waved to crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace, before embracing her family at the finish line.
“Down the last mile I thought ‘I don’t care about the time’ I just wanted to thank as many people as I could,” she continued.
“You can’t come to the London Marathon and not give an honest effort. But I went off way too fast but from then on it got more and more emotional.
“There was a big sign at Embankment saying ‘we will miss you’ but it won’t be as much as I will miss you.”