Over 300 runners - young and old - took on the challenging terrain of a popular running race in Marlow this week.

The Danesfield Dash 10K and 1K returned by popular demand on Sunday, April 17 and raised £7,000 towards traffic warning signage on the notoriously busy Henley Road outside Danesfield School.

Although torrential rain running up to the event forced organisers to change the route – which usually winds through woodland – at the last minute, the race was a resounding success according to one of the managers, Carolyn Wharton.

She said: The weather was incredible. It was absolutely glorious. Because the sponsorship was so fantastic we raised around £7,000 which was a little up from last year so we are really happy.

“It (the race) is just so vital for Danesfield. Schools are so underfunded at the moment so we have lots of ideas of how the money should be used. Last year we used it for new books.

“We had more people from clubs entering this year. We wanted to make sure it was not just a school event but for the whole area."

A grand total of 233 people finished the 10k route with around 90 children crossing the finish line at the 1k race.

And now plans for next year's fifth anniversary race are already underway, organisers are thinking about permanently changing the route after runners praised the diverted course.

Mrs Wharton continued: “This year we had to change the course as there was really heavy rain last week.

“There were parts of the route that were just completely bog so we decided it was better to do it on road. Everyone really liked it was a lovely route through the Chilterns.”

The first to cross the finish line was Nicholas Buckle from Belgrave running club who completed the race in a staggering 36.27 mins and the winning lady was Faye Sharpley from Thame Runners who finished in 42.29 mins.

The winner of the children’s 1k race was Ollie Cooke and Rosie Jones was the first girl.

Each year the dash is organised by the school’s Parent Teacher Association in association with Purple Patch Running.

Organisers hailed the sponsors – Runners Retreat, Huntswood and SAS – for their help in raising thousands of pounds towards the school.