NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Briton Paula Radcliffe won the New York half marathon yesterday in her first race in nine months and said she was heading to Berlin where she will decide if she is fit enough to run the world championships marathon.
Radcliffe, who had foot surgery in March and has not raced since winning the New York City Marathon in November, clocked one hour nine minutes 45 seconds, more than a minute ahead of Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia with Catherine Ndereba of Kenya third.
“I need to see how I come out of it,” Radcliffe told reporters. “My legs felt a bit heavy in the last few miles. At this stage not really sure.”
The 35-year-old Briton said she would leave for Berlin last night.
“I’ll see how my legs feel in the next two or three days,” she said. “At this stage, I’m not really sure. More likely now than last week.”
Radcliffe, the world marathon record holder and 2005 world champion, broke away from her rivals near the seventh mile.
“It was great to be out there and to win a race,” she said. “This definitely did me good.”
