ABOVE: Race winner Matt Hawcroft

A SOAKING Marlow Half Marathon took place this morning with over 800 runners braving the cold and sopping wet conditions.

The winner of the race was Matt Hawcroft, 31, from Henley, with a time of 1:16:20.

The victor is studying for a PHD in meteorology and said he checked the charts today knowing the weather would be a factor in the race.

First female was Samantha Amend, from Marlow, (in video below) who won the women's contest for the fifth straight year.

Her time was 1:23:45.

Both runners described the event as being made even tougher by the inclement weather. Parts of the course were flooded.

Watch our video interviews with Matt below and with Samantha HERE.

Second in the men's race and overall was Hajume Ohsawa and third was Mark Harris.

The ladies runner up and third place went to Val Swingler and MG Spalton respectively.

The full list of results can be found HERE.