The organising committee of the IQEQ Isle of Man Easter Festival of Running are delighted to announce that our special guest for the 60th edition of the event is former Great Britain Olympic Marathon runner Mara Yamauchi.
During her athletics career Mara competed at the highest level, with three of the highlights being a bronze medal in the women’s 10,000 metres at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, a brilliant sixth-place finish in the women’s Marathon at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and second place in the 2009 London Marathon. In the latter race, Mara set her lifetime best time of 2:23:12 which until recently placed her second on the all-time Great Britain Marathon ranking list for women behind Paula Radcliffe.
As an Oxford University student and under her maiden name Myers, Mara was the women’s champion at the 1998 Easter Festival when she won all three races. She especially remembers the Peel Hill race! She was thrilled to be invited to return to the Isle of Man 26 years later to help us celebrate our landmark 60th staging of the Festival, and she plans to run in all three races.
Mara remains heavily involved with the sport of athletics through coaching, writing and regular television commentary work.
Festival Director Chris Quine says “We are delighted to be welcoming Mara as our special guest for the 60th Festival. As someone who competed in the Festival as a young athlete and then went on to achieve success as an international athlete, she symbolises the important role that the event has played throughout its history in helping athletes to reach their full potential.”
We wish Mara and her partner John, who will also be running, a very happy and enjoyable Easter weekend on the Isle of Man.
