Radcliffe wins despite bout with bad spaghetti

It was the first time in four years that there was no Kenyan winner.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Paula Radcliffe covered herself in a Union Jack after winning the New York City Marathon.
No tears. No anguish. No failure to finish.
Radcliffe won this time around, less than three months after enduring heartache in Athens. The world record holder survived a strong challenge from Susan Chepkemei to win the tightest women's race in NYC Marathon history Sunday, crossing the line in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 10 seconds. Chepkemei was four seconds back.
Radcliffe and Chepkemei ran elbow to elbow through the final 5 miles. Each time one woman made a push ahead, the other came surging forward. That is, until the final few bits of the race, when Radcliffe took the lead for good despite having stomach troubles for the final few miles.
Just ran hard
"We both tested each other out a little bit and I was just feeling confident and just hanging on and then just running hard at the closing stages to win the race," Radcliffe said.
Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa got a bit of redemption of his own, winning the men's race in 2:09:28 for his first marathon victory. Ramaala also dropped out of the Olympic marathon because of a pulled hamstring.
Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi of the United States was next in a personal best of 2:09:53. Ryan Shay was ninth in 2:14:08, marking the first time since 1993 that two American men finished in the top 10. It also was the first time in four years there was no Kenyan winner.
Though Ramaala had a big lead in the 26.2-mile race through the five boroughs, he thought there was a chance Keflezighi could catch him.
Surprise
"I was scared. I was thinking the finish is still too far," Ramaala, who also has a law degree from Witswatersrand University in Johannesburg. "Only the last hundred meters I turn back and the guys, they are not there, [and thought], 'Oh this is wonderful!' "
Radcliffe decided to run here just two weeks ago, after having a few weeks days of training. She just wanted to feel like herself again, after what happened at the Olympics. Radcliffe went into the race as the favorite, but a leg injury hampered her from the start.
A queasy stomach forced her to quit about 3 miles from the finish. She sat on a curb and cried, holding her face in her hands.
But Radcliffe said she did not come to New York to make a statement.
"I don't think it was about sending messages," she said. "It was about running well for me and enjoying it and just being back to racing normally. In its own right, winning here in New York is very special to me."
Bad spaghetti
Radcliffe started feeling sick at about the 24th mile because of bad spaghetti she ate the night before that gave her stomach problems throughout the night. But Radcliffe kept jostling for position with Chepkemei and made one final push for the victory.
Russia's Lyubov Denisova was third in 2:25:18, while defending champion Margaret Okayo of Kenya was fourth in 2:26:31.
The previous record for closest women's finish in New York was five seconds, Wanda Panfil's margin over Kim Jones in 1990.
In all, a race-record 37,257 runners started from Staten Island, and an estimated crowd of 2 million lined the course.
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