The 34-year-old Bedford world record holder, who finished 23rd in the Olympic marathon in Beijing, also claimed that if the race had taken place a few weeks later she would have challenged for a medal.

 

Her preparations for the race in the Chinese capital were badly disrupted by a stress fracture to her femur.

 

Radcliffe said: "I only needed five days off and I feel great - I just wish the Olympic marathon had been another three weeks later and I might have won a medal.

"I've got no regrets about competing in Beijing as I could not have sat at home watching on TV wondering what might have been.

 

"It was a long shot but I still thought I'd do better and that my legs would not react so badly to running on a road again."

 

Radcliffe, who yesterday competed in the London leg of the NIKE Human Race against another one million runners taking part in 25 similar events around the globe, said she has already started planning for the 2012 Olympics.

 

She said: "I did not need time to reflect after Beijing - I will be running in London in 2012 and I want to win a medal."

 

London would be Radcliffe's fifth consectutive Olympic appearance but so far her best performance was finishing fourth in the 10,000 metres at the Sydney Games in 2000.

 

Radcliffe has started eight marathons in her career and only failed to win two of them, both in the Olympics having dropped out of the race in Athens in 2004 due to illness.

 

But that has not dented her enthusiasm for the Olympics.

 

Radcliffe said: "China did a brilliant job staging the Games, but I know London will be 100 per cent better and hopefully it will be successful for me too.

"I'll be 38 and getting towards the end of my competitive career, but I'll never say never about running."

 

Radcliffe was cheered on during the fun-run by Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012 who is also an ambassador for Nike.

 

He said: "Paula gave a pretty brave performance in Beijing and everything I know of Paula tells me it is a big ambition of hers to run in front of her own crowd, if at all humanly possible, in 2012."