Mara Yamauchi: teeny, tiny, towering talent

Spot the elite runner

25.10.2014
Day 194

No Hillyfields Parkrun as the fatigue and inflammation continues. Instead, a cycle to Waterloo, thence to St Mary's University, Strawberry Hill, for a marathon lecture delivered by Mara Yamauchi

Mara Yamauchi is team GB's second-best ever marathon runner (PB 2:23.12). Only Paula Radcliffe has run the 26.2 miles faster. Mara has retired now, but she vouchsafed that she ran the local Cabbage Patch 10 last Sunday (she was third woman). She's clearly a contender still. It's interesting that she retired at 39, having only discovered the joy of marathon running at 30. Jo Pavey, at 40, has her sights set on Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. I wonder if Mara may make a comeback. She seems to be in great shape. Talking about nutrition, she told us she was experimenting with the no/low carb, high fat diet. She says she feels fit, strong, fleet, clearheaded. Depressingly, a vegetarian finds it difficult to follow suit. It's difficult to live on nuts, avocados, olive oil and eggs with no bread to put them on. Still, who am I kidding. Even if I ate liver and steak at every meal and never touched a baked potato again, the improvements would be minimal. Mara is built for the marathon. It's got her name all over it.