Raced madly into the wood (5)
I believe the answer is:
cedar
'the wood' is the definition.
(cedar is a kind of wood)
'raced madly' is the wordplay.
'madly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'raced' is an anagram of 'CEDAR'.
'into' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for cedar that I've seen before include "Deodar" , "Evergreen tree" , "may have needles?" , "Tree giving fragrant wood" , "Great hardwood tree associated with Lebanon" .)