Athletics: Mum-of-two targets Rio

One Tree Point marathon runner Mary Davies, now based in Houston, Texas, has no intention of hanging up her shoes after the birth of her second child. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Returning to where it all began was the perfect start for One Tree Point's Mary Davies as she eyes a spot at the Rio Olympics four months after giving birth to her second child.

Essentially the marathon runner is rebuilding her body after the rigours of childbirth so it can return to the rigours of international competition - a long process which requires patience, Davies says.

It is still early days for the 32-year-old, although this is not her first rodeo and Davies hopes to draw on her experience from three years ago when her son Lucas was born.

"I'm building a lot slower than I did because last time I got a few injuries, but hopefully this time I can keep it all together," the softly-spoken Houston, Texas-based runner explained.

"The doctors told me not to do anything for quite a few weeks after Olivia [four months old] was born, just to get that all healed up.

"Since then we have been slowly building each week, just a little extra each time."

Davies plans to be nearing a more intense workout by next month even though she expects to still be a bit off the pace.

"We'll see how the body responds to the training again, it seemed to work after the last one."

Helping fuel the fire for the super-mum is her recent return to Northland, which saw her family meet four-month-old Olivia for the first time.

Also meeting Olivia for the first time was her long-time coach Ian Babe, who coaches Davies from distance through supplying programmes and tracking through data and Skype.

Babe plans to get Davies back into the form of her life, something he had her in prior to the World Championships in Moscow in 2013 - where she was on the same team as Valerie Adams.

"It's really great to make contact again person-to-person and work out a way during the early stages through childbirth, which we've done before," the legendary coach said.

"We want to make sure the body is right and the athlete is healthy. The critical factor in any elite development is actually being able to stay healthy but also do the business."

Davies' road to Rio is not likely to begin competitively until next year, and even then it won't be until she is cleared by Babe and her doctors.