Naoko Takahashi made a triumphant return to the scene of her greatest disappointment by cruising to victory Sunday in the Tokyo International Women's Marathon...etc...etc...Lithuania's Zivile Balciunaite finished second in 2:25:15 to rewrite her own national record..."It was a little too fast to stay with Naoko," said the 26-year-old Balciunaite, who denied a note in the race program that she moonlights as a fashion model in Lithuania.

The last time Mara Yamauchi was grafting in Tokyo she was on a diplomatic mission. This time it's personal. When the Oxford woman lived in the Japanese capital, between 1998 and 2003, she worked as a Foreign Office diplomat - acting as an informal interpreter for Baroness Thatcher on one occasion...[Now] she is back as one of the invited elite overseas athletes in the Toyko International Women's Marathon...Whatever happens, the invitation alone is evidence that Yamauchi has made a name for herself as a distance runner: a name she adopted when she married Shigetoshi Yamauchi. "It's great to be back in Japan," she said. "The people are so friendly and Tokyo is such a dynamic city. We are going to Meiji shrine, where we got married, to buy a good-luck mascot for Sunday."

Mara Yamauchi from Britain:
The last time Mara Yamauchi was grafting in Tokyo she was on a diplomatic mission.

Mara Yamauchi, a marathon runner and a British Foreign Office diplomat, has an extra incentive to leave her mark on this summer's IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, simply because the event is being held in Japan. "Japan is my second home. I lived there for six years, and my husband is Japanese," the 33-year-old runner said in a recent telephone interview with The Daily Yomiuri from the United States, where she is training and participating in races...Although much of Yamauchi's training has come from a Japanese coach, it is Japanese food, she says, that gives her energy for the sport. "It's very good for marathon runners because it's basically high in carbohydrates and low in fat. I eat a lot of hijiki seaweed because of its high iron content," said the runner, who prepares Japanese home-cooked meals, such as nikujaga beef and potato stew and grilled fish...more...

Mara Yamauchi, who is second on the all-time British rankings behind Paula Radcliffe, yesterday signalled her intent in Olympic year by running her fastest time as she won the Osaka International Marathon. Yamauchi (middle), who lives in Tokyo, triumphed in 2:25.10, breaking her personal best by three seconds, in beating Tomo Morimoto (right), one of Japan's outside hopes for Beijing, who was second in 2:25.34 with Julia Mumbi, of Kenya, third in 2:26.00. "I made a mess of things last year," said Yamauchi, who was ninth at the World Championships in the Japanese city in September. "I was determined to be stronger this time."

There are many obstacles facing Paula Radcliffe, the pin-up marathon mum and national hero, as she eyes Olympic catharsis. They range from asthma, pollution and high-tech running masks to the trio of women who ran faster than her last year. Now she can add her Great Britain team-mate to the list. Mara Yamauchi won the Osaka International Marathon ten days ago amid stunned silence. The Japanese crowd looked on in horror as she passed the pink-suited glamour girl, Kayoko Fukushi, who later fell face down on the Nagai Stadium track, while her success created the merest ripple of acknowledgement at home. However, the Tokyo-based diplomat has become a serious threat since taking a sabbatical from the Foreign Office and is on the brink of becoming an athletics star in her marathon-mad adopted country. “When I went past Fukushi I said to myself, ‘You're not making any friends here,' but the difference between winning and coming second is enormous,” Yamauchi said. “People are warming to me, especially when they find out I speak Japanese”...With Shigetoshi, her husband and coach, she has been to Beijing for a dry run, to drive and walk the course. “It can be a nightmare logistically, so it's good to visit beforehand and we've found a good Japanese restaurant,” she said. Noodles and seaweed form a key part of her diet...more...