David House's intention was to go out and have fun in Monday's Marathon Derby like every other participant.

But now the new Bermuda resident finds himself at the centre of controversy over his eligibility, just a day after finishing fifth overall in the 13.3 mile classic.

House's entry form was pulled from the files by officials soon after the race finished at Bernard Park. His address, home and work telephone numbers and age were listed, but information regarding length of residence had not been requested.

And that is at the root of the controversy as race rules were changed several years ago after visitor Karl Kupferschmidt of Switzerland beat local Garry (Buster) Wilkinson for first place overall.

Now runners must be resident in Bermuda for at least six months prior to the big event. That prevents visitors from competing in the Island's top road race.

House, an Architectural Technologist, has only been living here since April.

He assumed he was cleared to run once he obtained his number (285) and then saw his name in the official list of entries which were published in last Friday's Royal Gazette .

"Nobody advised me,'' said the 38-year-old Canadian when contacted yesterday.

He admitted he had heard something about residential requirements prior to the race and said he tried to clear up the matter with phone calls to Bermuda Track and Field Association.

"I tried to contact the BTFA about this and phoned them for two days straight with no answer and left messages and no one called me back,'' said House.

Yesterday, House was contacted by a race official when attempts were made to verify his employment and length of residence.

The race official declined to comment when reached afterwards, but did confirm that the matter was being investigated.

"I was talking to somebody from the Marathon Derby and he said that someone had made a protest and they thought I was a visitor and not a resident,'' said House.

"I asked what was the definition of a resident and he couldn't give me one.

At the place where I entered (Sportseller) I asked about it and they just said: `Are you working here, are you living here'? "I'm doing both and they said put your entry in. I put it in, got a number and filled in the BTFA form which was a requirement.'' House, who hails from Thunder Bay, Ontario and has been running for 22 years, was in the spotlight from the outset of the race as he was part of a three-man lead pack for the first three miles. But his face wasn't familiar and several onlookers were wondering who he was.

It brought back memories of the 1991 race which Mike Watson won when Terrance Armstrong's college room-mate, Lance Hess, entered unofficially. He, too, helped set the early pace and such was his impact that the organisers threatened to disqualify Armstrong.

After an early burst on Monday, the hills and humidity eventually got the best of House and he dropped behind Jay Donawa and Tracy Wright before battling it out with the likes of Jamal Hart, Brett Forgesson and Kevin Tucker on his way to a fifth place finish.

"I ran a 1:12 half marathon in the fall last year but I'm used to running in cooler conditions with less humidity,'' said House.

He now faces having his fifth place scratched from the results which would make him ineligible for his prize as a top 10 finisher, and move every other finisher up one place.

"I would be upset about it but if those are the rules I guess we have to abide by them,'' said the Canadian.

"I think it would be unfair as it wasn't spelled out that there is a six month waiting period. I understand that this is a very important race to Bermudians but by the same token for someone who is a new resident that should be a little more spelled out if it is a major requirement.

"I hear that the top 10 get prizes and they are not given out until May 31, so I guess there is a little bit of time to stew this one around. If I have to go in and talk to them about it I'll be more than happy to do that. I made an effort to try and find out what the requirement for residency was and no one would tell me definitely. When they posted the list of entrants in the paper on Friday and I saw my name in there I thought I must be in.'' It was incorrectly stated in yesterday's Gazette that Monday's women's champion Jane Christie last won the race 13 years ago in 1985. It was, in fact, 15 years ago in 1983 that she last triumphed.

RUNNING INTO CONTROVERSY -- Marathon Derby entrant David House, who finished fifth, is embroiled in a row over his eligibility to compete in the event.