FREYA MURRAY may have only just replaced Paula Radcliffe in the marathon but she revealed she has long been preparing to do so.
Veteran Radcliffe's withdrawal with a foot injury was confirmed on Sunday and the Scot insists one thing she won't be during the event is underprepared.
"I am absolutely delighted to have been selected to Team GB and I will be aiming to do Britain proud in London on Sunday," said Murray. "My thoughts go out to Paula, who has been extremely supportive towards me throughout this process.
"It has not been very nice for Paula the past few days, with rumours running rampant in the press, and I really feel bad for her.
"We'll see how the race goes. I've done some long runs this summer, with two hours on Sunday, and I'm happy to have that under my belt. I'm just looking forward to running in the Olympic Games."
Murray made her half-marathon debut in September of 2011 at the Great North Run and used this year's New York Half Marathon as a tune-up for London in April.
And she admits none of it would have been possible without her coach, Steve Jones.
"I feel I have been so lucky the past few years," she added. "I hardly ran in 2011 with injury but Steve made me believe I could do the marathon well, and London was my focus this spring."