Sussex Run Leaders learn from Mara

It was a packed house of Sussex Run England Leaders recently when retired elite athlete Mara Yamauchi held a workshop for Sussex Run Leaders.

Mara talked about her running experiences – her highlights such as running a PB in the 2009 London marathon of 2:23:12, her downs when injured and what led to her decision to retire as an elite athlete and retrain as a coach.

Mara then led a practical session on useful strength and conditioning exercises and dynamic stretches, that leaders could show their runners.  Overall, it was great  afternoon and the feedback was very positive.  Mara was very approachable and generous with her time, and shared her knowledge willingly.

One of the Leaders said, "I felt privileged that Mara came to work with us leaders." and another added, "I will definitely be encouraging groups to do more strength and conditioning."

Sussex Running Activator Marion Hemsworth (pictured holding Mara’s medal from the Helsinki World Athletics Championship) commented, "Thanks to Mara for coming and sharing her knowledge and experience - I myself  found it most interesting to hear about the background of an elite runner."

Pictured top: Mara with Sam Murphy of Runner’s World and Marion Hemsworth.