Mara Rosalind Yamauchi (born Mara Myers 13 August 1973) is a British

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling * Long-distance operator * Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths * Long-distance trail *European long-d ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

athlete. She currently holds the third fastest time by a British woman over the marathon, behind former world-record holder,

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Maratho ...

Biography

Early life

Yamauchi was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to Dorothy and

Norman Myers Norman Myers (24 August 1934 – 20 October 2019) was a British environmentalist specialising in biodiversity and also noted for his work on environmental refugees. Biography Myers was born in Whitewell (Lancashire, then Yorkshire) and was r ...

, and lived with her family until she was eight years old in

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows throug ...

. She was named after the

Mara River The Mara River is a river in that begins in Narok County (Kenya) and in ends in Mara Region (Tanzania), and lies across the migration path of ungulates in the Maasai Mara/Serengeti ecosystem. The River's Flow The Mara River basin covers a sur ...

which runs through

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

where her parents lived for 25 years in total. Yamauchi started running with Oxford club

Headington RoadRunners Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston to the north-west, Cowley to the south, and Barton and Risinghurst to the east. Th ...

while still at school, but took up running seriously when she was an undergraduate at university, competing mainly in cross-country races. After graduating at

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...

(Politics, Philosophy & Economics) she studied a one-year master's degree at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. During this time she joined Parkside AC (now Harrow AC) and was coached by Bob Parker, who coached

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

, former 10,000m world record-holder and current director of the Virgin London marathon. After finishing her studies, Yamauchi joined the British Foreign Ministry, the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

(FCO), in 1996. In 1997 she earned her first GB vest, finishing 38th in the European Cross Country championships. In 1998 she won the English National Cross Country championships. From 1998 to 2002 she took a break from athletics, focusing on her work at the

British Embassy in Tokyo The British Embassy, Tokyo (駐日英国大使館 ''Chūnichi Eikoku Taishikan'') is the chief List of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom, diplomatic mission of the United Kingdom in Japan, with the List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In 2002, she married Shigetoshi Yamauchi, a

ese national. After returning to live in the UK in 2002, she started running seriously again, under the FCO's flexible working scheme which enabled her to job-share and then work part-time. She ran her first marathon in April 2004 at the

London marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

, placing 17th in 2:39:16. She also earned selection for GB again, running in the Chiba

ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times accessed Feb. 19, 2009. The original Japanese term had nothing to do with a sport or a competition, but it sim ...

relay race in Japan in November 2004.

Marathon running

In 2005, she ran her second marathon (2:31:52) at London, earning selection for the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...

, where she finished 18th and won a team bronze medal. In November 2005 she ran another PB, this time in the

Tokyo International Women's marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inte ...

(2:27:38). In December 2005 she was selected for GB's support scheme for elite athletes, the Lottery-funded UK Sport World Class Performance Programme. In January 2006 she took unpaid leave from the FCO to focus on preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon, and moved to Tokyo, Japan with her husband. Yamauchi won the bronze medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

10,000m race and also ran this event at the European Championships of 2006. In April 2006 she became the second fastest British woman ever behind former world record-holder Paula Radcliffe, finishing sixth in the London marathon (2:25:13). On 10 September 2006 Yamauchi won the

Rotterdam Half Marathon The Rotterdam Half Marathon was an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres, that was staged in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on the second Sunday in September. The event was contested from 2004 to 2009. It was discontinued in 2010 due to lacking ...

finishing in 1:10:36 beating

Gishu Mindaye Gishu Mindaye (born August 18, 1986) is an Ethiopian long distance track, and road running athlete. Gishu won the 2006 Rotterdam Marathon on April 9 beating Helena Javornik and Isabel Elizmendi after 2:28:30, breaking away from Javornik passing ...

who won the

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...

earlier that year and Japanese

Aya Manome is a Japanese long distance track, and road running athlete. On September 10, 2006, Manome finished third at the Rotterdam Half Marathon in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Her time of 1:12:50 was 2:14 behind winner Mara Yamauchi. Manome also finis ...

. On 22 April 2007 Yamauchi was the leading Briton in the London Marathon, finishing sixth. In April 2007 she joined Second Wind AC, a new club set up in Japan by Manabu Kawagoe, the former coach of the Shiseido Running Club. However, she left the club in January 2010. She finished ninth in the World Championship Marathon in Osaka. She set a personal best in winning the 2008

Osaka Ladies Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Tel ...

in a time of 2:25:03 and then took third place in the Tokyo marathon.

Beijing Olympics and London Marathons

At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Yamauchi equalled the best performance by a British woman in the marathon by finishing sixth in a time of 2 hrs 27 mins 29 secs. In 2009, she came second in the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

setting a personal best time of 2:23:12 after earlier setting a half marathon personal best when winning the Marugame Half Marathon (68 m 29 secs). She suffered a foot injury after this and was eventually forced to withdraw from the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

in September, missing out on a medal chance in the marathon race. Having fully recovered, she scored a prominent win at the 2010

New York City Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...

, seeing off competition from

Deena Kastor Deena Michelle Kastor (née Drossin; born February 14, 1973) is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at t ...

to cross the finish line in 1:09:25 – an 18-second improvement on the course record. At the 2010

she finished in tenth position with a time of 2:26:16, after an arduous six-day journey to London due to the problems with air transport in the wake of a volcanic eruption in Iceland. She decided to miss the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Cat ...

to focus on getting a qualifying time for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

instead. Injuries ruled her out of competition from the end of 2010 to September 2011. She made her return at the

Grand 10 Berlin The Grand 10 Berlin is an annual road running event over ten kilometres which is held in October in Berlin, Germany. It is officially known as the ''ASICS Grand 10 Berlin'' due to its sponsorship by the sportswear manufacturer.

race in September and was unchallenged, winning in a course record time of 32:19 minutes. This served as preparation for November's Yokohama Women's Marathon, where she went on to take third place in a time of 2:27:24 hours, improving her chances of Olympic selection. In late 2011, Yamauchi, along with

and

Scott Overall Scott Overall (born 9 February 1983 in Hammersmith, London) is a British athlete who runs for the Blackheath & Bromley running club. Scott was officially named part of the 2012 GB Olympic team on 5 December 2011 after achieving "A-Standard" a ...

were named as the first 3 athletes to be selected to represent

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the 2012 Olympics in London. Yamauchi was set to compete with Radcliffe in the Women's Marathon event. However a foot injury forced Radcliffe to withdraw and Yamauchi failed to complete the race, dropping out after six miles with a bruised heel. Yamauchi retired from competitive athletics in January 2013, aged 39.

Campaign work

In January 2022, Yamauchi joined the Advisory Board of Sex Matters, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation that campaigns for laws, policies and practices to be clear about

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

. In June 2022, Yamauchi contributed an opinion article for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper arguing for the exclusion of

trans women A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

from female sport, citing concerns over fairness. Yamauchi has also written pieces for ''

Athletics Weekly ''AW'' (formerly ''Athletics Weekly'') is a monthly track and field magazine published in the United Kingdom by Athletics Weekly Limited. The magazine covers news, results, fixtures, coaching and product advice for all aspects of track and field, ...

'' on this topic.

References

External links

Mara Yamauchi Official site
*
UKA - Profile for Mara Yamauchi
*
EAA - Profile for Mara YamauchiWMM - Profile for Mara Yamauchi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamauchi, Mara 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Oxford British female long-distance runners English female long-distance runners British female marathon runners English female marathon runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British expatriates in Japan Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games