How time does fly - especially when your wings belong to Paula Radcliffe. Great Britain's Radcliffe simply did what she came to do at The 25th LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. The British superstar obliterated the world record, running a 2:17:18 on a chilly and windy day, not necessarily conducive to super fast times. There had been talk of a 2:16 or 2:17, and she was right on the money - $250,000 to be exact, and new Volkswagen valued at $35,000. In just six months as a marathon runner, Radcliffe, the reigning World Cross Country Champion, has two of the three fastest women's performances of all time.

The weather, which turned out to be better than most people thought it would be, still was a factor as all athletes had to deal with a bad headwind, particularly over the last 2.5 miles, For marathoning's new golden girl, it didn't really matter that much. She just kept on pushing.

Radcliffe, the 5-7, 109-pound runner with the bobbing head, brought the women's record down a minute and 29 seconds, beating Catherine Ndereba, the woman who had set the previous record of 2:18:47 last year in Chicago. Ndereba finished in 2:19:26, the fastest women's runner-up performance in history.

"I think she can go a lot faster," said executive race director Carey Pinkowski. "I think she can go well under 2:17. She wasn't that exhausted when I saw her at the finish line. She ran controlled. After the race, she was fresh."

The woman who has shined in cross-country, on the track and on the roads this year, also was extremely happy.

"I'm really pleased. It has rounded out a brilliant year for me," Radcliffe said at the post-race press conference at The Chicago Hilton and Towers. "The route was good, the course was fast and the crowd was brilliant. I even got a marriage proposal out there (she already is married to miler Gary Lough)! The toughest part for me was between the 22nd and 23rd miles. I was having stomach cramps at that point.

But with world record-holder Ndereba and a determined Yoko Shibui of Japan doing their best to keep the British runner in the light blue cap and flesh-colored knee socks in their sights, Radcliffe didn't have this one put away from the get-go, even though she led from the start.

"Not until about the 20-mile mark, when someone yelled to me that I had about a 100-meter lead," Radcliffe said, when asked when she knew she had a good shot at the win and record. "But you never win a race until it's over. I had that bad patch around 23 miles, so you never win a race until you cross the finish line."

But although Ndereba was running well, Radcliffe had this one in control early and never let it out of her grasp. Although pacers are not allowed for women, she was able to enjoy plenty of mixed company much of the first 15 miles, and the men provided wind protection on a day when that was a valuable commodity. Ndereba, on the other hand, found herself running alone.

"Some places, the wind was just too strong for me," Ndereba, the two-time defending champion, said. "I guess I was just too light for the wind today." The 5-2 Ndereba is listed at 98 pounds, but reportedly weighs less than that. Still, she wasn't complaining.

"I felt great. I ran as hard as I could the whole way," said the deeply religious Ndereba, who attributes much of her ability and success to God. "I planned on running 5:19 to 5:20 pace and I was happy that I was able to hold my pace. She (Paula) did quite a great job. Knowing how she has been running, I was not surprised when I saw her a little bit ahead of me. I knew my pace. She was able to keep her pace better (faster) that mine."

Ndereba wouldn't mind a rematch.

"Oh sure, why not!" she said.

Next time around, Ndereba will have to run a faster second half. At 13.1 miles, Radcliffe went through at 1:09:01, Ndereba at 1:09:05 and Shibui at 1:09:17. From there, the distances between them grew and grew. By 25K (approximately 15.6 miles) Radcliffe hit the checkpoint at 1:21:34, Ndereba at 1:21:39 and Shibui at 1:22:17. By 35K, Radcliffe's lead on Catherine the Great was over a minute. Ndereba was just hanging on. Shibui's noble quest to win was starting to unravel. Soon the margins widened to the point where there was no doubt who would win. Ndereba was running valiantly, but would lose. Shibui had made it interesting in a game effort at national fame.

"It was a bit of a gamble," Shiibui said through interpreter Brendan Reilly. "She wanted to go for it. She wanted her shot at winning the race."

Shibui had come in with plans to try for a Japanese national record. She went home disappointed as Naoko Takahashi's 2:19:46 at Berlin in 2001 still stands. "She feels she has a lot more in her than she showed today," Reilly said. The 23-year-old Shibui finished in 2:21:22, for a hard-earned third place, staying just ahead of fast-closing Svetlana Zakharova of Russia who placed fourth in 2:21:31, a Russian national record. Zakarova had received little pre-race publicity, but had credentials, having placed second at London and third at the 2002 World championships.

For history buffs, it was the fastest first, second, third and fourth ever in a women's marathon. It also was the first marathon to have four finishers under 2:22.

If there was anything to be disappointed about, it was Deena Drossin's 2:26:53. It was a PR by five seconds for the up-and-comer from Mammoth Lakes, CA., but she had wanted to run an American record and take Joan Samuelson's 2:21:21 from 1985 off the books. It didn't happen.

"Although I would have liked to have run a lot faster, I tried my hardest out there," Drossin said. "That's the nature of the beast of the marathon, and that's why we respect the distance so much. I came through the half in 1:11:04, which is exactly what I wanted. I just didn,t run the second half as I wanted to. It got pretty ugly. I just couldn't hold it. With 10 miles to go, my quads started getting stiff. With six miles to go, my calves and feet were starting to get sore. The performance wasn't out there for me today. It was just an off day."

Deena ran quite a bit of the race with Zakarhova.

"I was with her until 18 or 19 miles when she made a drastic move and I couldn't get the wheels moving to go with her," Drossin said.

The American hopeful wound up sixth as Madina Biktagirova of Russia slipped into fifth with a 2:25:20. Also of note. Jeanne Hennessy of Mahopac, NY, placed 10th in 2:35:53, taking 4:04 off her PR. Joan Samuelson, now 45, ran a 2:42:27, placing 16th overall. Top Midwesterner was Carol LeGate of Green Bay, WI, who was 17th in 2:44:21. Kim Miltz of Hoffman Estates, IL, ran 2:47 (2:46:01 Chip time) and qualified for the Olympic Trials.