MARA Yamauchi, the former Headington Roadrunner who finished as runner-up in the 2009 London Marathon, is well on the road to recovery as she bids to go one better at this year’s event in April.

Yamauchi, who lives in Japan with her husband Shigetoshi, suffered a bad foot injury after the London Marathon last year, a setback that made it impossible for her to train for several months.

The condition was diagnosed as Plantar Fasciitis, which affects the tendons along the sole of the foot, but rather than give up the hope of returning to the UK for the 2010 London Marathon on April 25, the 36-year-old set about a rehabilitation programme and a battle she is on the verge of winning.

“The injury was quite bad, because it was the tendon which takes a lot of pounding when you are running,” she said.

“Usually it’s a very strong tendon, but due to overuse, it got small tears in it. It’s quite a common running injury.

“And to make matters worse, I also had a stress fracture in the same foot, so it all happened at once.”

The injury forced Yamauchi to miss the 2009 World Championship in Berlin, but she remains fully focused on competing at London in 2012, and sees this year’s Virgin London Marathon as another stepping stone to achieve her goal.

“The injury pretty much cleared up by the end of October,” she said.

“But because I was out of action for so long, it’s taken me until now to build up any decent training.

“Since then, I’ve been building things up to avoid further injury, and I’m now up to about 80 miles per week, which is not far away from where I was last year before the injury.

“My maximum would be just over 100 miles per week, but consistency is everything.

“I’ve only done one week of 80 miles so far, so if I can string four or five weeks together, it would be great.”

Watching television news from her home in Japan, beaming back scenes of deep snow in Oxford, Yamauchi was happy to be away from it all in perfect conditions for training.

“Winter weather in Japan is very good for training, and nothing like it’s been back home.

“It’s been very dry, clear and sunny, but cold, which is perfect really.

“I must admit I’m relieved I’m over here. I’ve been following the snow back home on the TV, and although I normally love running in Oxford, it wouldn’t be ideal at the moment.”

Despite Yamauchi’s recovery, she is staying realistic about her hopes for London.

She said: “While I would love to win in London, I have to realise that I am on the way back from quite a bad injury.

“I’ve run it five times now and never won it, and given the time I’ve had out, it would be tough.

“But if my training continues to go well, I certainly feel top three would be a target, and who knows on the day?

“The time I ran last year was second in the world in 2009 and was a personal best, so I’m there or thereabouts.

“I will probably be back in the UK for about ten days before the marathon.

“I will also train at altitude in New Mexico.

“I want to make sure that I am fully prepared.”

Yamauchi will put her injury to the test for the first time on February 7 when she runs in the Marugame Half Marathon in Japan.

“That’ll be my first race back after injury, so it will be interesting to see how I cope with it,” she said.

“If I get through that OK, I will be fully focused on London, and will do a couple of shorter races in February and March too.

“After London, I may also do one autumn marathon. I’d love to do New York.”

Meanwhile, Yamauchi’s long-term goal remains the London Olympics in 2012.

“That’s been my goal since it was announced that the Games were coming to London,” she said.

“I will be 38-years-old in 2012, which is not over the hill by any means.

“The winner in Beijing (Constantina Tomescu-Dita) was 38 when she won it, and Paula (Radcliffe) is the same age as me.

“It would be a dream come true to compete in that, and so I know that the hard work has only just begun.”