PAULA RADCLIFFE is a name that needs no introduction - but Chorley Harrier Vicky Gill will be aiming to upstage her.

The 21-year-old is hoping to run in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester this year in the 10,000 metres.

And this could bring her up against Britain's number one runner for the first time with hopes of causing an upset.

"I have never raced against Paula, I have never met her," admitted Vicky, who is currently on a two year Athletics scholarship in Florida.

"But she is something of a hero for me. She has got where she is because she is talented but she also puts in a lot of hard work.

"You can see that in her running, she tries so hard. She puts everything into her athletics and I think that is how it should be."

Vicky does have a similar style to Paula. She admits that she hasn't got the best sprint and will be relying on grinding down her opponents during the race.

But tactics will be top of the training list this winter as she has never run a 10,000m before!

"I've done 5000 metres but never a 10 so I will have to see what happens. My best time for 5,000 is 16.26 and I have got to try and get between 32 and 33 minutes for the qualifying time to reach the Commonwealth Games.

"I hope to get it in America and then the trials for Manchester are in the Commonwealth Stadium at the beginning of June. There will be me, Paula and Cathy Butler is another good 10,000m runner. She is a Canadian who has come over here and runs for Britain.

"I think Paula's best time is under 31 minutes so I will have quite a bit to do.

"I am concentrating on my sprinting as this is my weakness if anything.

"I do about 100 miles a week so endurance is not a problem so I will be spending my time in Florida now on my speed.

"But it would be amazing if I qualified, especially as it is in Britain, and in Manchester. All my family could come and it would be great.

"They have backed me all the way even though they thought I was crazy when I was younger when I just kept running all the time! It is a great opportunity, though."

The 10,000m is 25 laps of the track, which also requires the athlete to be mentally as well as physically prepared.

"People ask if I get bored," admitted Vicky. "It does seem like it would be a drag! You do though just tend to focus on the race.

"I make it easier by breaking it down to five lots of five laps and that does help. Then I think it's one down and do it that way.

"You do though just go into a zone and think about different things, when you are going to make your move in the race, who is in front of you and so on."

It will be a quick rise to stardom for Vicky if she does make it to the Commonwealth Games.

She began running at St Michael's High School in Chorley.

"I just began to enjoy it. I did it for fitness and began to enter races and it just took off from there really.

"It was in my last year at St Michael's when I started to realise I was doing okay. I was a sprinter then and I was winning the 200m and 300m.

"I only went into distance running when I went to college. There I kept improving and decided this is what I wanted to do."

Vicky went to Winstanley College in Wigan and studied Biology, Chemistry, Maths and PE before moving to St Andrews University in Scotland where she studied medicine for three years.

"It was in my first year at University, I had just come back home and ran the Leyland 10 miles. I came second and Chorley Harriers asked me if I wanted to join them and so I started running with them when I was at home.

"I already had a coach at University, and he was in charge of five of us so my training in Scotland became more specialised.

"The first two years I tended to go out on my own but then in the last year it took off.

"I was training with the men - one who ran in the European Championships - and, in my final year, just got better and better."

It took some dedication as, while the rest of the students were sleeping, Vicky was up at 6am to run a six mile run before lectures from 9am-5pm and then more training at night.

"It was hard but I enjoyed it and never thought about giving up. I was always so determined."

There were a few races, a few cross country's and last year she got a big chance.

"I was competing for Great Britain and I finished ninth in the World Cross Country Trials in Nottingham.

"I just missed out on being a reserve for the World Championships and so I got to go to Japan to compete in a road relay for Great Britain.

"It was a marathon and I ran six km. I came fifth in my leg and the team finished tenth overall but we were a development team, competing against Japan and Russia's full strength side.

"But it was great experience."

It was her first taste of running abroad but more was to come when she won a scholarship to Florida.

"I saw an article in 'Athletics Weekly', my coach made a few contacts with people in the States, sent over some results and I was delighted when I won it. It was out of the blue really.

"It is superb but hard work. I have to study 12-16 hours a week but the afternoon is spent running.

"I tend to study music and liberal arts to give my head a rest from all the medicine as, after my two years here, I am going back to Manchester to study clinical medicine and finish my degree.

"I still do my early morning six mile runs and the afternoons are usually structured training. Sometimes it is five lots of 2km or speedwork, 400m and 200m. On Sundays I do a 90 minute run."

This will be intensified up until the summer but, if Vicky doesn't make it to Manchester, she is setting her sights on the Olympics.

"Greece in 2004 might come a bit to soon as distance runners tend to peak later. I could be looking at Beijing in 2008 as I would still be only 28, which is about the right time for runners."

Then she could be the next Paula Radcliffe.