As you probably know, I have some rather unusual ways of spending my leisure time. My main distraction at the moment is doing long-distance triathlons, and along with a group of clubmates (yes, there are clubs for people who do this) I recently completed the Challenge Copenhagen race (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42km run) in early August with a shiny new personal best time and big smiles all round, once I could walk again.

Some of the guys from the club had such a good time racing in Copenhagen that they decided to do it again, but this time as a relay (one person swims, the next does the bike and the last one does the run) at a race in Henley on September 18^th over the same set of distances as the Copenhagen race.Triathlon is a pretty selfish activity, but they’re doing this one to raise some funds for a charity called 21 and co, which is a support group for children with Down’s syndrome and their families. Blythe, the daughter of Brian, who is the runner in the relay, is one of our clubs biggest supporters and is always there with a smile for us but she also needs the support of groups like 21 and co, so the idea is to use this race to give something back to her.

That’s nice Rob, but what about you? Well, I want to give something back to Blythe as well, so I’m going to be doing the race as well, but I’ll be doing the whole thing myself. To make things a bit more interesting I’m not just asking people to sponsor me, I’m going to give you the opportunity to take part in a competition. It’s quite simple: guess the difference between my time and the relay team’s time and win an exciting prize!

To help you decide on a time difference there is a form guide here with our splits from the Copenhagen race, and to enter just make a donation of at least £5 (but preferably more!) and when you get the option to leave a message just put your prediction in the message (e.g. “My prediction is that the relay team will beat Rob by 28 minutes”). Alternatively, just give me some money and tell me your prediction and I’ll add it to the page myself. Make sure you don’t choose the options for anonymously donating if you want to enter. Don't forget gift aid if you're eligible.

The prize is a bottle of fine vintage champagne, provided by me. If there is a draw (two or more people choose the winning time) then the winner will be selected randomly from the potential winners and if either the relay team or I fail to finish I’ll choose a winner at random from everyone.