Text your news or pictures (plus ‘SLNEWS’ or ‘SLPICS’) to 80360 2:50pm Sunday 30th August 2009 Energetic MP Tom Brake is hoping to be
a serious front-runner when he competes in a 30km charity duathlon race this autumn. The Liberal Democrat member for Carshalton and Wallington is swapping the mud-slinging of politics for muddy trails and ravines. He will be among a field of about 2,000 lining up at Aldershot army testing base on October 17 for an event known, forbiddingly, as the Grim Challenge.
The course comprises a 5km run over sand dunes, followed by a 20km cycle ride over uneven terrain, then another 5km run through knee-deep torrents.