AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK — Paula Radcliffe was several months pregnant last fall when she started thinking about running this year's New York City Marathon.

The world record-holder missed racing, and she knew the event would fit well in her preparation for the 2008 Olympics. New York Road Runners announced today that Radcliffe will run her first marathon in more than two years when she enters the Nov. 4 competition.

The 33-year-old Brit gave birth to her first child, daughter Isla, on Jan. 17. She hasn't run a marathon since the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.

"New York fit in perfectly," Radcliffe said during a conference call. "It gives me enough time to get good mileage and good work in here, then get in a good taper. It's not too long and not too short. On top of that, it's a great field."

Radcliffe returned to competition last weekend, placing second at the BUPA Great North Run half-marathon in Newcastle, England, in her first race since Dec. 31, 2005. She dropped out of August's World Championships because of a back injury.

Radcliffe set the marathon world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 25 seconds in 2003. She owns four of the five fastest times in history and has six victories in seven marathon starts, including the 2004 New York City Marathon.

This year's field features two-time New York champion Jelena Propokcuka, 2006 and 2007 Berlin Marathon champion Gete Wami, 2007 world champion Catherine Ndereba and 2007 Boston Marathon champion Lidiya Grigoryeva.