Bradford marathon runner Ian Fisher is celebrating a major win.

The 35-year-old, of Shann Street, is part of Team GB which has just won gold in the Nations Challenge for Oceania and Europe - and with it a prize of £10,000.

The "Greatest Race on Earth" is a four-marathon relay, nicknamed the Marathon World Cup, and Fisher's fast time in the Nairobi leg helped the team cause for their category.

Legs are run between September and February and Team GB's fourth-leg competitior Andrew Muir finished his run in Hong Kong at the weekend, sealing the victory.

The team won the event 24 minutes clear of second-placed Australia.

After the T&A broke the news to Fisher that the team had won gold and £10,000, he said: "The money is a bonus - winning for the team is the main thing.

"It's good that the event was

separated from the Africans because they are in a different league. We

were fourth last year but the Africans had their own category this time."

Fisher, who runs for Otley and Idle Athletic Clubs as well as representing Nab Wood, is now preparing to take part in the London Marathon, where he expects to finish up among the leaders.

"I am aiming to get 2hr 15min or 2hr 20min, which would push me right up among the leaders," he said.

"But the standard of marathon running over the past 20 years has gone downhill. My personal best is 2hr 20min."

Fisher is constantly training. "I tend to do around 11 hours a week training - about 100 miles a week."

He certainly turned plenty of heads while preparing for his Nairobi marathon last September - pounding the streets of Bradford dressed in ski clothing.

The ploy to help him acclimatise for the 1,600m altitude worked. He came third and won a bronze medal.

"A few people commented about the ski suit but I needed to get used to the intense heat and the lack of oxygen," said Fisher.

"Running in ski clothing was the best way to replicate the conditions I faced when I arrived in Nairobi. It was worth the funny looks."

Despite his success - Fisher is Yorkshire's leading marathon runner - the sport does not receive much national coverage.

"We live in a football and cricket world so we don't get a lot of praise for marathon running," said Fisher. "The British always seem to be lagging behind on sponsorships."

l The National Challenge was split into several categories - Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia, Middle East and Americas, and Oceania and Europe.