A 40-year-old Australian mother-of-two who last year endured multiple operations to ward off cancer finished second in the Melbourne Marathon yesterday.
Pre-race favourite Mai Tagami, Japan, won by a comfortable margin in two hours, 38 minutes and 46 seconds, with Melbourne's Michelle Bleakley (2.49:02) second and Sydney's JennyWickham (2.50:17) third.
It was the first time Bleakley had completed the Melbourne event, after pulling out mid-race last year because of illness.
A mammogram later prompted doctors to assess her as at high risk of getting breast cancer.
On the basis of her family's cancer history - her identical twin sister Karen Harris has survived both leukemia and breast cancer - she opted to have a double mastectomy, requiring five operations, the last in January this year.
Bleakley was happy to finish runner-up in what was her sixth marathon, but disappointed not to have beaten her personal best of 2.41.
She has previously completed marathons in New York, Chicago and Boston and was eager to run one in her home city.
"I am happy with the place, but disappointed with the final time," she said. "I wanted to run sub 2.40 and was on track at the turn around point but once we headed back to [the finish line at] the MCG, the headwind made it a hard slog home."
Bleakley wore the No. 1 bib as she led out the 3700 entrants in the gruelling 42km race to the MCG.
"I won but I am not happy with my time, it was a very strong wind from the 25km mark," Tagami said.
Ethiopians dominated the placings in the men's race.
Asnake Fekadu won, while fellow Ethiopian Yared Mekonnen came third, with Kenya's Josphat Mwangi splitting that pair.
