At last weekend's Kobe Marathon, 67-year-old Mariko Yugeda ran 2:58:59, becoming the world's first woman over 65 to break the three-hour barrier in the marathon.
The previous fastest marathon for women over 65 was also held by her. At this February's Himeji Castle Marathon, she set the world record for women over 65 with 3:01:06.
Looking at her splits, she ran the first half in 1:28:17 and the second half in 1:30:42 — almost even pacing throughout.
Japanese media interviewedMariko Yugeda, uncovering the difficult process she went through preparing for this race. This is the first time since competing in the Nagoya Women's Marathon in 2022 that she has broken the three-hour mark again.
"Since breaking the three-hour barrier at 63, I've gone through many setbacks and injuries. I've suffered three stress fractures, and my iliotibial band and knees have been injured. But even if I can no longer do high-intensity speed work, I believe that as long as I keep looking, there are still many things I can do."
"With that in mind, I started doing full marathon pace runs and pacer training. After joining a training team for blind runners, there were times during camp when I ran 50–60 km in a day. After running so many kilometers, I'm no longer afraid of 40 km, and my monthly mileage increased to 700 km."
"After taking part in the Mt. Fuji mountain race in July this year, from August to October I ran 40 km or a full marathon two to three times a month. From May and June I gradually began doing interval training; in the summer I did one session a week of 20 × 300 m repeats on a nearby track. I have recently also started hypoxic training. So I still have a lot of training to do."
"Then, on November 16, the Kobe Marathon arrived. The weather was perfect for me. Many friends came to cheer me on. Some even came all the way from Hokkaido and Shizuoka. I decided to go all out; even if it meant my legs would get injured, I ran. Practice never betrays you. The miles you run will never betray you. Dreams will eventually come true."
