YAMAUCHI AIMING TO FOLLOW IN FOOTSTEPS OF RADCLIFFE AT BUPA 30TH GREAT NORTH RUN

Mara Yamauchi is aiming to become the first British winner for seven years of the Bupa 30th Great North Run when competing at the anniversary race on September 19.

Yamauchi, based in Japan, has not competed since the Virgin London Marathon in April but is strongly tipped to challenge in the world's biggest half marathon race. The 36-year-old Oxford born star will line-up against three former Bupa Great North Run champions - Berhane Adere of Ethiopia, Kenya's Susan Chepkemei and Jessica Augusto of Portugal, who will be defending her title. Mara said: “I’m really looking forward to racing the Great North Run again. It always attracts the best athletes in the world and is a fast course, so I’ll be aiming for a fast time and hope to win. I last ran the Bupa Great North Run in 2005 when I smashed my PB, so I certainly have fond memories of this great race! “Since the London marathon I’ve been building up my training towards the autumn and winter road racing season. I had a small foot problem in June but that is now resolved and I am training well again. The Bupa Great North Run will be my first race since London so I’m looking forward to racing again, and a good result.” "Mara is a very experienced half marathon runner and I know is determined to follow in the footsteps of Paula Radcliffe, the last Brit winner of the race in 2003," said Peter Riley, the meeting's elite athletes manager. "She showed her ability over the distance when winning the New York half marathon in March where her time of 69 minutes 25 seconds, a course record, was phenomenal considering the injury problems she had last year." Yamauchi, after a superb second place in the 2009 London Marathon, saw her hopes of challenging for the world marathon title in Berlin later in the summer thwarted by a foot injury. The sixth finisher in the 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon took several months out after further problems before opening her campaign early this year, but wasn't quite ready to repeat her podium finish of 12 months earlier. "I know since finishing 10th in London she has managed to put together a solid block of training and it is great to be able to welcome here back to our event for the third time," added Riley. Yamauchi, before making her mark as a world class marathon runner, finished 22nd at the 2004 Bupa Great North Run and then the following year improved significantly to place sixth with an impressive time of 69min 51sec. "I'm sure the crowd, just as they always have for Paula and other British runners, will get firmly behind her on what will be a difficult task next month," added Riley. Ends For further information call nicola.hedley@nova-international.com 0191 2263231 Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great North Run is brought to you event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Great North Run, the world’s biggest event with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run Celebrating the 30th staging of the Bupa Great North Run, this major new exhibition explores this enormously popular event. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run looks at the significant role this event has played in reflecting and shaping the region's cultural identity. As well as the well known stories of elite runners, In The Long Run will also explore the huge organisational effort behind the Bupa Great North Run, documenting the event’s community spirit and creating a powerful piece of social history. Alongside interactive exhibits, memorabilia and star objects, In The Long Run will present artwork from the archives of Bupa Great North Run Culture and new commissions will be presented by Sir Peter Blake and Claire Leona Apps. Bupa Bupa is a leading international healthcare company. Established in 1947, it has over ten million customers in more than 190 countries and employs over 52,000 people around the world. Its main interests are health insurance, care homes for young disabled and older people, workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching and healthcare services in the home. While Bupa’s largest and original business is in the UK, it has significant operations around the world including Sanitas in Spain, MBF, HBA, Mutual Community in Australia, IHI in Denmark and Health Dialog in the US. Bupa also has businesses in Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and Latin America. In addition, Bupa Care Services owns care homes in Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Bupa has no shareholders. We reinvest our money to provide better healthcare for our customers, helping them to live longer, happier, healthier lives.

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