Paula Radcliffe wins New York marathon - less than 10 months after giving birth to baby Isla

But most mothers aren't Paula Radcliffe.

Less than 10 months after giving birth, the British runner stormed home to win the New York Marathon yesterday.

The 33-year-old cradled her baby Isla and hugged her husband on the finish line while draped in the Union Jack.

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The triumph in Central Park marks an astonishing return to form for the Paula who completed the course in two hours 23 minutes and nine seconds.

It is the second time she has won the New York race - which has a prize of £65,000 - and her sixth marathon win out of seven she has competed in.

Earlier this year Paula's gold medal hopes looked less rosy.

Her agonising 27-hour labour took its toll on her tiny frame and left her with a stress fracture in her sacrum - a bone at the base of her spine.

The injury meant she was unable to compete in a marathon in Osaka this summer - and had to rest for eight weeks under the guidance of her coach and husband Gary Lough.

As the Big Apple's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg presented her with a gold medal he called her the "arguably the greatest female marathoner in history" as she climbed the podium.

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Speaking of the difference having a baby has meant to her, Paula said that she felt having given birth has made her a stronger runner.

"Generally, the happier I am, the better I run," she said. "Certainly I'm a lot happier with Isla in our lives."

She added: "I think your body is just a little bit stronger after pregnancy."

Paula said her injuries had made her all the more determined.

"I was thinking back to all of the weeks cross-training that I had to do with my back injury and all of the time that I missed out through pregancy and not giving up.

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"I was thinking, 'This is mine, this is mine,' and working really hard."

Her fierce rivalry with Ethiopia's Gete Wami on her heels for most of the race also spurred her on.

"I knew she was behind me but she wasn't dogging my heels like she would do on the track. She was more alongside so it wasn't as annoying

"Then coming into the park I had a lot of support. But it was so noisy you couldn't judge and I didn't know where anyone was.

"Then I thought I had a gap, and then she was right there, and then she came alongside me and then went past me at Columbus Circle.

"And I was thinking...this is mine, she's not getting past me".

Paula said she would love to be able to run the marathon in front of a home crowd in 2012.

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She said: "It would be an electric occasion to be able to take part in the Olympics in your home country, with that support.

"If my body can hold together, which I'm sure it can do, then I would really love to be there."

She also told reporters that she hopes to add at least one other child along the way.

Paula was among 38,000 other runners - including the retired cyclist Lance Armstrong and Tom Cruise's actress wife Katy Holmes - who gave birth to their baby Suri in April last year. Around two million cheering spectators supported the runners, while 315 million television viewers tuned into today's race.