Expensive rental to secure church? There are obstacles to participating in this (12)
I believe the answer is:
steeplechase
'there are obstacles to participating in this' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'expensive rental to secure church?' is the wordplay.
'expensive' becomes 'steep' (I've seen this before).
'rental' becomes 'lease' (synonyms).
'to secure' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are secured inside).
'church?' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'lease' placed around 'ch' is 'lechase'.
'steep'+'lechase'='STEEPLECHASE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for steeplechase that I've seen before include "run?" , "Race over fences" , "Non-flat horse race" , "Running event over hurdles and water jumps" , "Horse race with ditches and hedges" .)