Mara Yamauchi 10th in London Marathon after six days on the road

Mara Yamauchi's epic struggle to reach the start of the London Marathon proved a journey too far for the Japan-based Briton as she failed to repeat last year's runner-up performance, crossing the line in 10th place. The 36-year-old admitted she had considered dropping out at one point in the race, but refused to use her gruelling six-day journey to London, due to the volcanic ash, as an excuse. "I don't want to make excuses," Yamauchi said. "So many athletes try and justify poor performances with excuses. I just wasn't fast enough and I've got to go away and figure out why. The time I ran was OK. Considering the journey I had and the training I lost through injury last year, 2hr 26min is not that bad, although coming 10th sounds pretty rubbish." After a positive start, in which she was well positioned behind the pacemaker, Yamauchi began to fade as the pack approached the halfway point. By the time she crossed Tower Bridge Yamauchi was five seconds off the leading pack, with Liliya Shobukhova of Russia attacking the pace and stretching the group. Yamauchi could not cope and fell back to eighth. "At that point I was thinking about dropping out," Yamauchi said, "but I told myself to try and hang on. The group came past me quite quickly and there were so many of them it was a bit mentally demoralising. I went through a phase of thinking, 'I'm going to come way down and I'm not going to close this gap, is there any point?' But then I thought, 'I've got to keep going because by 30km some of them might come back', and that was worth fighting for." Yamauchi was not alone in her struggle. The defending champion, Germany's Irina Mikitenko, dropped out of the running altogether after crossing Tower Bridge, while the Olympic champion, Constantina Dita, Deena Kastor, Ludmila Petrova and Berhane Adere fell further away from the lead group. Shobukhova, a European record holder at 5,000m, sensed her advantage and used her speed to push. By the 20-mile point the 32-year-old had whittled the lead group down to four runners, the race developing into a Russia versus Ethiopia battle between Shobukhova, Inga Abitova, Aselefech Mergia and Bezunesh Bekele. Mergia tried to snatch the win in the closing stages, forcing the frontrunners into the fastest mile of the race, but she could not sustain her lead. Shobukhova took over at 25 miles and crossed the line in 2hr 22min flat, almost two and a half minutes faster than her previous personal best. She is the first Russian woman to win the London title. Her compatriot, Abitova, finished in second place, with Mergia in third. Yamauchi ran solo for the second half of the race, finishing in 2:26.16. The Oxford-born runner, who came sixth at the last Olympic Games, said her focus remained on 2012 in London and, as a first step, running a qualifying time later this year. "I hope I can now train injury-free over the summer and by the autumn be back to the form I was in last year," she said. There was better news for Britain in the men's race with the marathon debutant Andrew Lemoncello finishing in eighth in a time of 2:13.40 and Andi Jones in 10th. Lemoncello, who is based in the United States, said he was pleased to have made the switch from track to the marathon. "I really struggled out there today," the 27-year-old said, "but I don't actually feel that dead now so maybe I had more in my legs and could have pushed a bit harder. I think I've been justified in making the step up to marathon running and I'm looking forward to the future. I'm looking ahead to the European Championships later in the year and of course there is the focus on the Olympics, which is a great motivator." Tsegaye Kebede became the third Ethiopian to win the London title after the defending champion, Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya, dropped out with 10 miles to go, having injured his right knee. By then only Kebede and the world champion, Abel Kirui, were in contention for the win, but as Kirui faded in the final miles – eventually limping across the line to finish in fifth place – it was the Olympic and world bronze medallist Ethiopian who won in a time of 2:05.19, just outside the course record. Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya finished in second place, while the 38-year-old multiple gold medallist Jaouad Gharib of Morocco took third. There was more disappointment for British hopes in the men and women's wheelchair races as the favourites to take the titles – David Weir, who had been aiming for a record fifth win, and Shelley Woods – suffered punctures. They finished in third and sixth place respectively.