Jo Pavey has been forced to pull out next Sunday's BUPA Great South Run after picking up a groin injury. It is the second year in a row that Pavey has been forced to pull out of race, which would have seen her compete against Paula Radcliffe over the ten-mile course in Portsmouth.

Pavey, who finished third in the recent Great North Run, is continuing to receive medical treatment but says she is frustrated at missing the event.

"We did a session last Friday and Jo had to pull up on the second repetition," Gavin Pavey, her husband and coach, said.

"She had an MRI scan the day after the GNR and this showed no major problems only some minor bone irritation. She can run slowly on it but cannot stride".

Radcliffe will be competing for the first time since she failed to win a medal in the Olympics marathon on August 17.