The 2008 First Monster Challenge is a 120km duathlon (running and cycling) race that’s routed ’round the shores of Loch Ness. This year’s event on Sept. 13 is the second running, but will be the first to offer a £1 million bounty for any race participant who actually makes a confirmed sighting of the Loch Ness monster.

The race supposedly has some charity tie-in (raising money for blind starving orphans with polio or something), but according to the FAQ, you don’t have to participate in that. I know I wouldn’t. The last thing I need as I’m opening up an insurmountable lead (while at the same time keeping an eye out for a lake monster) is the anticipation of a horde of sightless crippled moppets swarming me as I cross the finish line.

Sign up for the race here.

Read about the £1 million Nessie-spotting prize here.