Taeko Terauchi was born in Tochigi, Japan, and has spent the past 16 years in Tokyo. Although she had previously only lived in Japan, she has spent much time in Boulder, Colorado, training as an elite athlete. She has also traveled to about six different countries, learning from the various cultures.

Taeko has been a runner for about eighteen years. She first started her running career as a member of the Shiseido Running Club, an elite women’s team sponsored by Shiseido Cosmetics. From there she went on to participate in a number of marathons and cross-country championships. Her major accomplishments include placing first in her age group in the Honolulu Marathon, receiving a Race Rookie MVP award at the Tokyo International Ladies Marathon and representing Japan in the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships. She also ran 2:28 in both the Osaka International Ladies Marathon and the Flora London Marathon. Before her running career began, Taeko was a high school volleyball athlete, qualifying for the national championship tournament.

Taeko first heard about the Blue Planet Run through her former sports agent Brendan Reilly and became inspired when she saw the opportunity to “see the world.” Because Taeko is retired from her professional running career and now works independently, she found that her flexible schedule permitted her to undertake such a big commitment. She was most excited about the travel and adventure aspects of the run.

Taeko believes that making a positive difference in someone’s life means seeing him or her become excited and passionate about something.

Right now, she is in Canada and adjusting to her new life. She took an introductory English class and is really getting into cooking. Their family is now composed of their running dog, their samurai cat, two fish named hope and happy and she is thrilled to say that this year Jason and she will be bringing a new life into this world! She can't wait to return to racing and running a marathon in 2009.