Former Olympic gold medalist and world record holder, Sally Gunnell, and Scottish rugby legend, Gavin Hastings, joined around 1,000 competitors on Saturday, taking on a Monster challenge.
The pair were competing in the First Monster Challenge, a 120km team relay duathlon around the shores of Loch Ness, in aid of Save the Children.
Sally Gunnell assembled an impressive team line up which included, her husband Jon Bigg (himself a former athlete) and two fitness fanatics from Sussex.
‘Team Gunnell’ finished in 23rd place out of a field of 230 teams (almost 1,000 competitors) in a time of 7 hours and 6 minutes.
Speaking after the event Sally Gunnell, who was competing in the event for the second time, said:
“I really enjoyed myself out there. The course is very tough, but great fun and the camaraderie between the teams is fantastic. The organisation is first class – FirstGroup organises a fleet of coaches to transport competitors from leg to leg – the logistics are incredible.”
She continued: “Last year my team finished 40th overall so I’m delighted with the improvement. All the hard been training during the Summer has paid off.”
The First Monster Challenge boasted a new winning team. ‘Blazing Saddles’, from Inverness, finished in a time of 5 hours 45 minutes missing out on the course record by some 18 minutes.
“The winning team were untouchable,” added Gunnell. “However the most important element of the race was raising money for charity and in particular Save the Children – hopefully we can beat last year’s total of £188,000.”
Meanwhile Gavin Hastings’ team finished in 55th place in a time of 6 hours 44 minutes. The former Scottish internationalist was taking part in the event for the fourth time. He said:
“The weather was mixed but the competitors and I, as ever, thoroughly enjoyed the event.”
He added: “I’ve taken part in every Monster since 2008 – it makes for a fabulous weekend.”
‘Blazing Saddles’ won the event some 35 minutes ahead of their nearest rivals. Team captain, Andrew MacRae (35) from Inverness said:
“We’re simply astonished, but absolutely thrilled to have finished first in such a tough field.”
Completing the team were Paul Miller (41) Ross Nixon (38) and Donnie MacDonald (32) – all are based in Inverness and run for the local Harriers team.
Harley Davidson (26) from Inverness, also an Inverness Harrier, triumphed for in the Iron Monster – an event that sees competitors tackle the entire 120km course solo. He said:
“I could not be more pleased with the victory, but couldn’t have done it without the support of my sister and brother in law.
“It’s a really tough event – the equivalent of running a marathon followed by cycling a further two on hard, mountainous terrain.”
Harley finished in a time of 7 hours 25 mins, some 41 mins shy of the course record.
Organisers FirstGroup, the UK’s largest bus and rail company, hailed the First Monster Challenge a resounding success with the event attracting a sell out field – almost 1,000 competitors in total.
FirstGroup’s Marketing Manager, Avril Gill, said: “For the third year running, our Monster event has sold out. Teams have travelled the length and breadth of the UK to take part today and I was particularly pleased to see 21 teams from FirstGroup take on the Monster, including a team from our Greyhound operations in the USA.
“Although we have yet to calculate a grand total, we hope to have raised around £200k for our charity partner, Save the Children, and other good causes.”
Meanwhile winner of the First Mini Monster, a mile long run, walk or cycle aimed at families and children was Cameron Young (13) from Inverness.
The First Monster Challenge, which has been officially accredited by the British Triathlon Foundation, consists of teams of four. Each competitor is required to complete two legs of the eight-legged event – one 10km run and one 20km cycle.
