Scottish athletics legend Liz McColgan MBE and celebrities Nell McAndrew and Ben Fogle will be joined later this month by runners from the UK and the United States in the First Monster Challenge – a 120 kilometre relay duathlon (running and cycling) around the shores of Loch Ness.
The event on Saturday, September 13 is being organised by FirstGroup, the UK’s largest transport operator, to raise money for its charity partners, Save the Children.
McColgan, the former Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games medallist, will captain her own elite team that includes husband, Peter, a former athlete himself. She said: “I took part in the First Monster Challenge 07. I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was certainly a tough challenge. Although my 10km run was fine, not being used to cycling, I found the 20km cycle quite tough! The event itself was great fun, plenty of good team spirit and banter, very well organised and the course simply spectacular.”
She added: “I have already started to talk tactics with my team – I want to make it very clear to them that I expect a finish in the top ten or at least an improvement on last year’s time! The First Monster Challenge 08 on September 13th promises to be even bigger and better – I can’t wait.”
In teams of four, each competitor will complete two legs – a 10km run and 20km cycle – of the eight-legged event. Teams from throughout the UK, and even six from the United States, have already registered. To register for the First Monster Challenge, or for more information, go to www.firstmonster.com
