RUNNERS braved heavy rain and winds for this year's Clarendon Marathon.

Mud and puddles made the 26.2-mile cross-country route between Winchester and Salisbury even tougher than usual.

Rotary Club organisers put in extra work to enable social distancing.

“These were the most challenging conditions we have ever faced,” said JJ Heath-Caldwell, chairman of the organising committee, who ran in the half-marathon.

“It didn’t just rain continuously on the day but on the Friday and Saturday before. There was mud and puddles everywhere.

"On top of Storm Alex, we had to manage the race responsibly to ensure social distancing because of Covid-19.”

Mr Heath-Caldwell paid tribute to the “teamwork” of the organising committee and 200 volunteer marshals along the route who endured the wet and windy conditions.

Joe Bright, who took photos of the popular annual event, said: “It rained all day and underfoot it was quite bad in places but the runners seemed to be in good spirits and thanked the race marshals, giving them the thumbs up.”

Romsey Road Runners collected three pieces of silverware: Matthew Hammerton, 42, was the overall marathon winner with a time of 3:01:26; Becky Tovey, 37, was the fastest female (3:32:23) and Tom Bray, 34, won the half-marathon (1:20:20).

Meanwhile “Molly’s Boys” picked up the trophy for the relay marathon and Rhiannon Paton, 17, from Westbury Harriers, won the five-mile race.