Yoshiko Yamamoto, from the land of the rising sun to La Ciudad del Running

The international expansion of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon, organized by SD Correcaminos and the Valencian Government, continues its exponential growth. This year is expected to be the most international year ever due to the growing recognition of Valencia as one of the best races in the world and the global promotion tour that has seen Valencia represented at every major runners fair. Of the 1,600 international runners signed up so far, Yoshiko Yamamoto stands out as a runner we’d like to know more about.

Yoshiko will travel over 10,700 kilometers, almost half way around the world, to run in Valencia. Yoshiko decided to make the effort to run in Valencia based on recommendations from other runners and the reviews she read in the International Marathon Guide, the bible for marathon runners. Yoshiko says “I have run 28 marathons, this year I will run 3 more, Zurich, Luxembourg and Reykjavik before the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon”.

An expert Marathon Runner

This veteran runner who is 65 years old has ran at most of the top marathons in the world, such as New York, Berlin, Athens, Prague, Rome and Vienna, this international experience, and the amount of races she has run has forged an expert runner for top races. “In 2015 I ran in Barcelona, I really enjoyed Spain. That’s why I want to return to Spain and run in Valencia”. In Valencia, Yoshiko will be running on her own, but she will have the whole of the city of Valencia cheering her on as she runs under the blue Mediterranean skies on November 20^th.

This will be Yoshiko’s first visit to Valencia, but she is already well aware of two of the most famous exports of the city, “I have tried Paella, and I love oranges”. We are sure that even with the 3 races she will run before arriving in Valencia that she will arrive with energy and be impressed by the warm welcome that awaits her.  

Yoshiko runs 3 or 4 times a week and spends at least an hour in the gym working with her personal trainer. Her love for running started when she was 50 when she started running competitively. “For me it is more important to be physically fit than mentally, if your legs are ok, you can concentrate and not suffer mentally in the race”.

With more than 28 marathon races under her belt and after running in most of the top races around the world, Yoshiko says that in Japan the races feel more ‘squashed’ and that in Europe the courses are much wider, giving the runners more space, like when she ran in Barcelona.

Valencia is the big one for Yoshiko in 2016

Yoshiko has big expectations for the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon in 2016, “I am expecting lots of crowd support, cheering, music, supporters shouting out the names of the runners as they pass by, this helps you fly to the finish line”.

Valencia is sure to meet and exceed Yoshiko’s expectations as she rubs shoulders with an ever more international group of runners. Even in Japan they know that running is not the same as running in Valencia.