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Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain Racing ING New York City Marathon
Photo above by www.photorun.net: Mara Yamauchi celebrated her 2010 NYC Half Marathon victory (1:09:25) in March.
From NYRR
August 11, 2010
New York, NY
Seven months after her come-from-behind triumph at the 2010 NYC Half-Marathon, Mara Yamauchi, 36, will seek a New York winning double by adding the 2010 ING New York City Marathon title on Sunday, November 7. No athlete has won both the NYC Half-Marathon and ING New York City Marathon in the same year.
"I am looking forward to my debut run in the ING New York City Marathon. After winning the NYC Half-Marathon in March, I can't wait to return to New York and race against the best marathon runners in the world," said Mara Yamauchi, who caught Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, CA near mile 11 to win the NYC Half on March 21 in a time of 1 hour, 9 minutes, 25 seconds. "New York is an iconic race and one of the best in the world. I will give it everything, and I hope to join the illustrious list of winners of this amazing race."
Yamauchi joins the already announced American pair of Olympic bronze medalists in the women's field: 10,000m medalist (2008) Shalane Flanagan, 29, of Portland, OR, who is making her marathon debut, and marathon medalist (2004) Deena Kastor, 37. Kastor has won World Marathon Major titles in London (2006) and Chicago (2005).
Yamauchi, 36, of Great Britain, finished sixth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon in 2:27:29, equaling the best performance by a British woman in the event. Last year, she was second at the London Marathon in a personal best of 2:23:12, a time that makes her the second-fastest British woman in history behind world marathon record-holder Paula Radcliffe.
"Mara joins our field well poised to achieve an historic double and to continue the tradition of strong British performances in New York," said NYRR President and CEO Mary Wittenberg. "The time seems right for Mara to shine here."
Joining Yamauchi in the field will be compatriots Claire Hallissey and Alyson Dixon. Hallissey, 27, of Bristol, England, is making her marathon debut. She was a member of the 2009 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships team, and was the top British finisher in 1:12:14. Hallissey recently won Potomac River Running's Leesburg 10K women's race (33:54) in Leesburg, VA; she currently lives in Arlington, VA.
Dixon, 31, of Sunderland, England, ran her marathon personal best at the 2010 Virgin London Marathon in 2:43:48, finishing 27th. Dixon is coached by Liz McColgan, the 1991 New York City Marathon champion.
More on Mara Yamauchi from David Monti, (c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Three British woman have won the New York City Marathon: Priscilla Welch (1987), Liz McColgan (1991) and Paula Radcliffe (2004, '07-'08).
Mara Yamauchi, who finished sixth in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon and has a career best time of 2:23:12, had planned to run New York last year, but was forced to withdraw due to a foot injury. She last ran a marathon in London last April after enduring a six-day journey from New Mexico to London because of the volcanic ash plume which snarled air travel throughout Europe. She finished tenth in 2:26:16, saying her ordeal cost her about one or two minutes on the finish line.
"At least getting from New Mexico to New York will be more simple," Yamauchi said, joking with reporters. "If a volcano goes up we'll be driving across the U.S."
Speaking from Britain, Yamauchi said that she planned to return soon to her high altitude training camp in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and that she would remain there until she competes in the Bupa Great North Run half-marathon in Newcastle, England, on September 19. From there, she and husband Shige, who also serves as her coach and massage therapist, plan to travel to Albuquerque, NM for more altitude training. Yamauchi said she would come to the New York City area three weeks in advance of the marathon to complete her training at sea level.
Last March, Yamauchi had an opportunity to tour the ING New York City Marathon course with a New York Road Runners official, and found it to be even more difficult than she had heard.
"I was quite surprised that it was even tougher than the legend says," Yamauchi explained. "Lots of ups and downs, lots of corners. I think it will be really challenging." She continued: "I'm not a super-fast sub-2:20 runner, so this kind of course really works in my favor. I'm really looking forward to it."
Yamauchi, who will turn 37 on Friday, August 13, said that she planned to focus on just two important marathons after New York: the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, Korea, next August, and the 2012 Olympic Marathon in London a year after that. However, she did not rule out a spring marathon next year and wanted to do shorter races in between for sharpening her fitness.
"I am planning to do the World Championships marathon next summer, and I may also do another marathon in the spring, the main purpose to qualify for the Olympics," she said. "Depending on the outcome of that, I will run a spring marathon as well. Then, [it is] probably unlikely I will race a marathon in 2012 before the Olympics." She added: "In addition to that, I'm planning to run various shorter races, 10K's and half-marathons. That would be part of my marathon build-up, but I haven't decided which ones yet. My main long-term aim is the Olympics, especially after my injury last year."
Yamauchi also had some foot trouble in July, withdrawing from the Sapporo Half-Marathon. She said there was no damage to her foot, just tightness, and she missed only about one week of training.
"It was a bit of an interruption," she said. "I made sure it didn't get worse."
Born Mara Myers in Oxford, Oxfordshire, Yamauchi moved to Tokyo permanently after her marriage to Shige in 2002 (she had previously worked in the British diplomatic corps in Japan before becoming a full-time athlete). A late bloomer, she didn't come into the consciousness of British fans until she won the bronze medal at 10,000m at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. She finished sixth at the Flora London Marathon four weeks later in 2:25:13, and has been a remarkably consistent performer at the marathon distance ever since. She won the 2008 Osaka Marathon, was sixth in the Beijing Games, and second at London in 2009; she has broken 2:28 eight times.
In New York, Yamauchi will face American Olympic medallists Deena Kastor and Shalane Flanagan. Like Yamauchi, Kastor--the American marathon record holder with a 2:19:36 career best-- also did not run her best in London last April, making alternative travel arrangements due to the volcano, and finished 18th in 2:36:20. But Yamauchi feels that the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medallist will be a factor in New York.
"I know she didn't have a great run in London, but I'm not one of those people who have written her off," Yamauchi said. "I don't underestimate her at all. All runners have bad patches; it doesn't mean your career is over. I'm sure she will run brilliantly in New York."
The ING New York City Marathon is the final stop for the World Marathon Majors series this year. The race offers an $800,000 prize money purse, including $130,000 for the winners. The race reported 43,660 official finishers in 2009, making it the largest marathon in history.