Radcliffe determined to pound streets of London

The injury that forced her to miss the 2008 London Marathon has struck again and the 38-year-old has been receiving treatment to manage the condition.

Radcliffe, the women’s marathon world record holder, is seeing a specialist but expects to be running at the Games.

“Preparations for the Games have gone really well and I was really pleased until the last 10 days or so,” she said.

“The joint in my foot that can give me trouble has been giving me a bit of a problem. I’m getting some answers on that so that I won’t be training in pain between now and then, but, hopefully, everything should be all right.

“I don’t think my participation at the Games is under threat at this stage. It’s just a case of managing it. I can run on it, it just hurts.”

Radcliffe has never won an Olympic medal and her only expectations for London 2012 are to do herself justice.

“Really I just want to get to the Games healthy and in the best shape I can,” she said.

“I’ll give it the best shot I can and want to walk away being able to say ‘that was a good performance’.

“I know that at 38 I don’t have as strong a chance as previous years, but there’s still a chance. I want to run really well in the streets of London with the support that British athletes will receive.”

Team GB have yet to decide who will carry the flag at opening ceremony and while Radcliffe is a possible contender, she says: “It’s a big honour but if you asked me would I rather run well or carry the flag, it would be run well every time. The ceremony is a great experience but it’s not something I’d particularly want to do a week before my race because it can take your focus off training.”