Domestic Championships Record
1998 – National Cross Country Championships gold
2005 – AAA Championships 10,000m bronze. Flora London Marathon silver (AAA Championships silver)
2006 – Flora London Marathon 6th (AAA Championships gold)
2007 – Flora London Marathon 6th (National Championships 6th)
2009 – Flora London Marathon silver (National Championships gold)
2010 – Virgin London Marathon 10th (National Championships gold). ING New York City Marathon 13th. New York Half Marathon gold

Major Championships and International Record
2008 – Olympic Games Marathon 6th. Osaka International Ladies’ Marathon gold<
2007 – World Championships Marathon 9th
2006 – European Championships 10,000m 13th. Commonwealth Games 10,000m silver. World Cross Country Championships 23rd
2005 – World Championships Marathon 18th. World Cross Country Championships 27th. World Half Marathon 18th. Tokyo Women’s Marathon 5th
1998 – World Universities Cross Country Championships 6th
1997 – European Cross Country Championships 38th. World Universities Cross Country Championships 6th

After making the European Cross Country team in 1997, Mara went to work as a diplomat in Japan for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and dropped out of athletics for a couple of years. In 2005, the Japanese-based athlete made a breakthrough on the world stage as she lowered her lifetime best from 2:39:16 to 2:31:52 in London, before finishing 18th at the World Championships in Helsinki in 2:31:26 and in her third marathon in seven months, Yamauchi improved again with 2:27:38 in Tokyo.

In 2006, the veteran picked up a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games over 10000m and improved to 2:25:13 in the London Marathon and at the 2007 World Championships, Yamauchi finished a creditable ninth in blistering conditions. The Harrow AC athlete won the Osaka Marathon in January 2008 (finishing ahead of Constantina Tomescu-Dita) in 2:25.10 and was a fine sixth in the Beijing Olympics, which equalled the best ever performance by a British woman at the Olympic Games.

In the Osaka Marathon in November 2008, Yamauchi was third in a lifetime best of 2:25:03, which was also a British over-35 record. In 2009 she posted her best ever half marathon with 68:29 at Marugame, Japan and also lowered her marathon pb to 2:23.12 when finishing second in the London marathon. After suffering from injury and much lost time she fought her way back to fitness and things looked up after a victory in the New York Half Marathon but below-par London and New York City Marathons emphasised the time lost and lack of racing.

She was named after the Mara river in Kenya where she lived until the age of eight and where her parents had lived for 25 years.

Mara's own blog is here.