Richmond’s Mara Yamauchi boosted her hopes of a medal in this summer’s World Championships in Berlin with a superb second place in the women’s race.

Yamauchi, 35, now based with her Japanese husband in Tokyo, carried British hopes in the women’s race in the absence of the injured world record-holder Paula Radcliffe.

She said before the race she was looking to take a “big chunk” off her personal best of two hours, 25 minutes, three seconds, set in November’s Tokyo Marathon.

The former Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomat stuck doggedly to defending champion Irina Mikitenko, from Germany, for the first 20 miles of the 26.2-mile race and kept going to slice almost two minutes off her best with 2:23:12.

Yamauchi, who finished sixth in last summer’s Beijing Olympics, said: “The field today was probably good or better than any major championship, so it gives me hope for the World Championships.”

The marathon takes place on August 23, 10 days after her 36th birthday.

“I hope I’m challenging for a medal in Berlin,” she added.

“I have been improving gradually for the past four to five years and, if I can get to 2:20 by the 2012 Olympics in London, then I think a 2:20 runner can challenge for a medal there.”

Yamauchi said she also hoped her performance would inspire more women to take up marathon running.

Hercules Wimbledon’s Claire Grima broke her club record in finishing 29th in 2:52:56 after reaching the halfway mark in a speedy 1:23:51.

She took almost three minutes off her previous best time.

Her Hercules clubmate Zoe Pike also clocked a personal best – by just one second – of 2:56:25 in finishing 39th.

Wimbledon Windmilers’ Paula Rutherfoord took more than 12 minutes off her best marathon time in finishing 59th in 3:00:40.

The first Herne Hill finisher was Gabriel Carnwath, who was 104th in 3:06:59.

Epsom & Ewell’s Jane Davies was second in the women’s over-60 category in 3:17:37.