I wouldn’t be putting myself on the line if I didn’t think I could go in and win both.

It’s definitely very special – right up there with running the world record,

I’m pleased to have won the race and win the championship, … I knew I was well-prepared for this race.

It is a challenge and I do think it fits together well.

Actually I don’t choose to expose myself in public. I choose to compete; the other side just comes with the package.

I can swim I’m not bad, but not great.

I actually got a nice surprise about being a mother because I expected it to be harder and to have to make more adaptations.

I have always loved running on the roads, ever since I used to take part in relays for my club when I was 12 and 13. I felt really at home on the surface.

I took a lot of bad things after Athens. I just learnt to deal with it. The problem was beforehand I had this feeling where I was trying to please everybody – I wanted everybody to like me.

I’m not meek at all.

In the marathon anything can happen.

From next week I can start building things gradually back up to normal.

I executed my race plan. It worked really well. I knew that, if I went out hard, then everyone would have to work really hard to stay with that.

My training’s been pretty good and I am happy with everything.

I try not to worry about things that I can’t control.

I prefer just a women’s race. It’s a totally different game mentally.

As an athlete, there are advantages being with a team and getting regular physio.

I would be happy with an Olympic bronze. What I don’t have is an Olympic medal.

You see, with me, when I’m nervous, I smile and laugh.

I am excited about the announcement. It is a big step forward for the sport, the events and the athletes, that there has been this united stand from some of the major marathons. The results can be only positive and having experience of three of the events involved, I am convinced that their combined expertise...

I’m just pleased to win the race and win the championship because that’s what I came here for. And it was important to do that, not just for me, but for everyone else that supported me as well.

Boston is definitely a race I want to do at some point, but London is very special to me,

Plenty of people who are 38 have run really well in the marathon.

I apologise to people when I need to.

I deliberately returned slowly to training after Raphael was born and everything, apart from being bitten by a dog whilst out training in Monaco at the beginning of the year, has gone pretty well.

For an athlete, the biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you’re capable of.

It’s not a decision to double up, it’s more a decision to use the 10k as preparation for the marathon, … The marathon is still the main focus but I just felt I was in good 10k shape and wanted to build on that. I felt it could fit in without harming the marathon.

I knew I was running a good pace, so I just had to keep it up until the end,

I don’t really have an explanation. I’m struggling myself to comprehend what has happened and find a reason for it.

I am really pleased that the IAAF has decided to recognize performances achieved on the roads as world records,

For a while it felt as though I would never get over it.

I am really disappointed to have to miss this year’s event.

It’s totally different from last year because I came in with good shape with no health worries so it was about going out there and running well and enjoying it.

I have been doing 120 miles a week, when normally I would do about 140.

I have always run as hard as I can. You are not going to run any harder with or without men. You are running on your own two feet.

I am not going to let Athens affect the rest of my life.

From my training I can get a good idea of what I’m capable of.

It was good to blow away the cobwebs,

T his is totally different from Athens because I was on the start line with no injury worries and I felt 100% healthy. I knew I was in good shape and I just wanted to prove it.

I have never said I was doubling up for both titles,

I can’t imagine living and not running.

In my Olympic history I don’t think I have achieved my potential as an athlete. That’s what I want when I look back at my career. I want to be able to say I gave it my best shot.

I have not had the chance to go out there and do myself justice in an Olympic marathon yet. I have not been able to get to an Olympic marathon injury-free yet.

I’ve had a lot of success over the years racing in New York, but the main point is that I feel the marathon is a different event, a lot more my event.

If you look back at my marathons and ask whether I would swap one of them for my one balls-up, of course I would. But you can’t choose. You have to make the best of it on the day.

You can’t magic yourself back 10 years.

No one remembers who came fourth.

I’m confident of what I have to achieve in the buildup to London 2012.

At big championships it’s not the fastest person, it’s the person who gets it right on the day.

You can be strong and true to yourself without being rude or loud.