It's still three years away so still a bit of time away but running It will be absolutely amazing. Today I heard people calling out, "She's one of us!" and some of the pubs along the route were calling out, "She's British - give her a cheer!" That was great. Just to be here running here in 2012 would be brilliant.

 

Their support today was fantastic. There were people all round the course shouting, "Go Mara". There were a few "Marias", "Marys" and "Morias" as well. I hope a few more recognise me now.

 

I felt really good in the first half today. The last four or five miles were quite tough but I felt pretty good up to that point.

 

I felt here I am leading the race with the defending champion but I don't care, I'm not scared of doing that kind of thing, which I would have been two years ago. I think the knowledge that I have improved over the last year or so and the experience of knowing that the more you race the more you realise that these people up on a pedestal aren't unbeatable. I beat all the Olympic medallists from Beijing today so that will give me confidence for the next time out.

 

I haven't thought as far ahead as the World Championships in Berlin yet. I think the race there will be a very fast. If people are running 2 hours 20min or 2hours 21min then 2:23 isn't fast enough. I'm nearly there and I think I can challenge for a medal.

 

Championship races are very different. They can produce very unexpected results. They are usually so open and it is not normally the fastest person on paper who wins.

 

I was ninth in the World Championships in Osaka in 2007 and sixth in the Olympics in Beijing last year. If I jump up in threes again then I will get a medal in Berlin!

 

But I think I disappointed a lot of people in Beijing because I was so close to the medals but didn't get one. This time I was so close to winning but didn't. I think I still have a long to improve in race tactics.

 

I only really took up serious marathon running when I was 30 so I still have room for improvement. I don't think my training has been that ideal for the marathon so I definitely have the scope to get better. I have just taken two minutes off my best. If I can keep that going for another few years it would be great.

 

I have definitely benefitted from being raised in Kenya and now living in Japan. I was born in Oxford but brought up until the age of eight in Kenya at altitude. Then I lived in the UK before I moved to Japan, where I'm in a Japanese team and live in Tokyo.

 

Japan is where I can make a living as a marathon runner. It has a great marathon scene and lots of really good races. At the moment we are going to stay there, although I will keep coming back. I was quite anonymous but am beginning to get recognised more since Beijing.

 

Mara Yamauchi finished second in the Flora London Marathon today in a personal best of 2 hours 23min 12sec, 61 seconds behind the winner, Irina Mikitenko, of Germany. Yamauchi, 35, was born in Oxford, raised in Kenya and now lives in Tokyo. She was talking to Duncan Mackay. 

 

Comments


Mara delivered an amazing performance at the 2009 London
Marathon, which made me even more proud to be British! It has
been inspiring to see the way that her dedication and
determination have enabled her to rise to the very top of world
marathon running, after 4 years totally out of serious athletics
as a British diplomat in Tokyo. (She also learnt fluent Japanese
from scratch in just 2 years - is there no end to this woman's
talents? Her story would make a great film script!) I look
forward to seeing her go for gold in 2012. She can, and will, do
it!
By Wendy

26 April 2009 at 17:44pm