Hara made her debut over the classic distance at the 2005 Nagoya Marathon, which she won in a time of 2:24:19,[3] and she went on to finish sixth at the 2005 World Championships.
She achieved a personal best time of 2:23:48 hours when she won the 2007 Osaka Ladies Marathon. Having won in a sub-2:26 time, she received automatic selection for the World Championship marathon, also in Osaka, later that year.[4] She was eighteenth at the 2007 World Championships. She returned to the Nagoya course in 2008 but could not repeat her previous success as she fell behind the leading pack at 31 km and finished in fourth place.[5]
Hara took third at the 2009 Osaka Ladies Marathon,[6] but did not compete for over a year after the run. Having left her coaching team (Kyocera track), she began training alone. She approached Japanese coach Yoshio Koide (who trained 2000 Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi among others) and Hara joined his stable in 2010. She quickly responded and won the Hokkaido Marathon in August, running 2:34:12 in hot and humid weather.[7]
Hara has been arrested for shoplifting several times. She was arrested for stealing cosmetics and other items on July 30, 2017. She was subsequently convicted and sentenced to a one-year prison term, which was suspended by the judge in the case.[8]