Paula Radcliffe hopes to be fit enough to take part in next month's New York Marathon despite being forced to pull out of the World Half-Marathon Championships in Birmingham.
The 35-year-old has been victorious in New York for the last two years but has been blighted by a series of injury and illness problems recently and is currently suffering from tonsillitis.
She said: "I hope I'll be fine (for New York). I don't know what it will do to me mentally if I lose another race."
Radcliffe was forced to pull out of the World Athletics Championships because of injury and a stress fracture of the femur put paid to her preparations for last year's Beijing Olympics.
"I've still been able to keep doing the training for the New York Marathon but it's just not worth risking running on antibiotics," she added.
The world marathon record-holder is now free to concentrate on securing a third consecutive victory in New York on November 1.