Run in preliminary contest, showing courage (5)
I believe the answer is:
heart
'courage' is the definition.
(heart is a kind of courage)
'run in preliminary contest' is the wordplay.
'run' becomes 'r' (cricket abbreviation).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'preliminary contest' becomes 'heat' (I've seen this before).
'r' inserted inside 'heat' is 'HEART'.
'showing' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for heart that I've seen before include "Kernel" , "Decorated (cake)" , "Not a club" , "bottle" , "It beats" .)