LOCAL athlete Mark Croasdale has completed an amazing first in one of the world's strangest sporting showdowns.

The 35-year-old Royal Marine corporal, became the first human to beat a horse in the annual William Hill Man versus Horse Marathon at Llanwyrtd Well, mid Wales.

He beat Roama and rider, Jackie Gilmore, by more than ten minutes in Saturday's 22-mile Lord Sutch Memorial Man vs Horse Trophy event, to claim a £1,000 prize.

The Monster Raving Loony politician was the race's official starter for ten years before his sad suicide last year.

However, Croasdale is still chasing the £21,000 on offer to the first runner who can beat all the horses home, having finished just 1 minute 20 seconds behind the winning horse.

And Mark's talents are not restricted to racing horses. He represented Great Britain as a cross-country skier in the 1992 Winter Olympics and narrowly missed out on this year's Summer Games after finishing 22nd in the London Marathon.

The former Carnforth High School student said: "The first time I ever got involved was in 1987. A friend of mine invited some of the ski-ing team around to his new mountain biking centre in Wales.

"He mentioned half way through the week that he had entered us all in this race, which used to be people against horse against bikes.

"The first year I did it on a mountain bike, but I was involved and I have returned virtually every year.

"Some of the horses and riders are in it for fun, but they always put a few good quality horses up every time.

"I was helped this year by the fact that the horse I was racing lost a shoe halfway through and had to be re-shoed, but I always said that something like this could happen one day.

"I will return again next year and, hopefully, I'll be able to beat all the horses."

Sadly however, Mark's long-standing ambition to compete in the Sydney Olympics now appears to be dead.

He added: "London this year was the Olympic trial, and I was hoping to do 2 hrs 14 minutes. In the end I did 2 hrs 16.03 and finished as the fifth Briton home, which was a bit disappointing.

"Qualifying was the whole point of this year, and I had been out in South Africa training with Simon Lesson, the world Triathlon champion who is favourite for the gold medal."

Spokesman Graeme Sharpe of sponsors William Hill said: "Mark Croasdale has proved that a man can beat a horse over this distance.