Strive; hard contest (8)
I believe the answer is:
struggle
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'strive' is the first definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hard contest' is the second definition.
(I've seen this before)
(Other definitions for struggle that I've seen before include "Contend with difficulty" , "Proceed with great effort" , "Conflict involving effort" , "pains" , "Strive; difficult task" .)