YAMAUCHI WITHDRAWS FROM LONDON WITH HAMSTRING INJURY:
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission

Mara Yamauchi, the second-fastest British marathon woman of all time with a 2:23:12 personal best, has been forced to withdraw from the Virgin London Marathon, with a hamstring injury.  Yamauchi, 37, who finished sixth at the Beijing Olympic Marathon, had hoped to run both the NYC Half-Marathon on 20 March (she is the defending champion), and then the London race on 17 April.  "I am very disappointed to have to withdraw from the 2011 Virgin London Marathon due to a hamstring injury," Yamauchi said through a press release.  "London is an iconic marathon which I have enjoyed racing many times.  I was looking forward to returning to London this April.  But my injury treatment and rehabilitation must take priority, especially with the 2012 London Olympics approaching fast."  Yamauchi finished 10th at London last year in 2:26:16 (after a 5-day trip to get from Albuquerque to London because of the volcanic ash plume over Europe), and had her best run there in 2009 when she finished second.