With the start of the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam only 20 days away, this week's journey into the past takes us to Munich in 2002 and a night to remember for a British superstar.
There was always something special about the Olympic Stadium in Munich, with its space-age design so far ahead of its time.
A venue of legends - and a setting Paula Radcliffe will never forget as the arena staged the 18th European Athletics Championships between August 6-11, 2002.
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Radcliffe had missed out on winning a major 10,000m track title in the previous three years: from silver at the IAAF World Championships in Seville in 1999, to Olympic agony in Sydney in 2000, when she was fourth having led for so long, and then fourth again at the 2001 world championships in Edmonton.
By 2002, her career was changing direction dramatically. In the April she moved to the marathon and made the greatest debut by a woman in the history of the event, winning in London in 2:18:55.
But the desire for that elusive gold on the track remained.
Nine days before Munich, she finally triumphed with 5000m glory in front of her home fans at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and now, on the opening night in Munich, she produced one of the all-time best European distance performances.
Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan had been one of the stars of Budapest four years earlier, winning the 5000m and 10,000m double, but this time she was no match for the 28-year-old Radcliffe.
As was her style, Radcliffe led from the start and in awful rain, she simply took control. By 3000m she was in total charge and incredibly, the race had only just reached the 5000m stage when she was lapping those at the back.
And as for those at the front…with every stride, Radcliffe moved further away from them.
This time, after the pain of doing so much of the hard work in previous championships only to be passed in the final 400m, Radcliffe was out on her own, coming home in glorious fashion to win in a European record of 30:01.09, victory by over 46 seconds from O’Sullivan.
As BBC commentator and former 10,000m world record-holder Brendan Foster said: 'Paula looks like she only has to stand up to become European champion but she is not interested in that. She wants a time out of this.'
What a time she achieved - smashing Ingrid Kristiansen’s 16-year record of 30:13.74 by more than 12 seconds.
Radcliffe became the first Briton to win a 10,000m gold at the European Athletics Championships and, having wanted to break 30 minutes, she said in the aftermath of her win: 'It sounds silly but my first reaction was disappointment. Having run my lap of honour, it's now sinking in and I am really pleased.'
It was a major part of an extraordinary year, which in October saw her break the marathon world record in Chicago with 2:17.18, a mark she then took to the present day's 2:15:25 six months after that back in London.
European Athletics Championships, Munich, August 6, 2002
10,000m Final
1. Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 30:01.09 AR
2. Sonia O’Sullivan (IRL) 30:47.59 NR
3. Lyudmila Biktasheva (RUS) 31:04.00 PB