Hello to all my friends worldwide, This year I will undertake the biggest trail run of my life, the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB)! My goal is to raise at least 2000 Euro (approx. AUS$3200) for the UTMB Environmental Commission and I need your support. Once I had qualified for the race I was presented with the opportunity to select a race bib to help raise funds towards a multitude of initiatives. As most of my vessel and drone work in Australia is heavily focused on the environment and its protection, a cause aimed at preserving the environmental heritage of the Mont Blanc area really resonated with me. From August 27th - Sept 2nd there are 7 races being held in Chamonix, the most prestigious being the UTMB 171km race. This involves 10,000m of vertical incline and a cut-off time of 46hrs 30min. The race starts 31st August at 6.30pm. A link to the UTMB race is shown below. You can read for yourself what I have signed up for: http://utmbmontblanc.com/en/page/20/utmb%C2%AE.html Also a link to the Event PDF booklet for some light reading: http://utmbmontblanc.com/documents/presse/Dossier%20de%20presse/Dossier%20de%20presse%202018%20-%204%20Avril%20-%20UTMB%20-%20EN.pdf A link to the Environment page I am raising money for is shown below. Here you can read what your kind donations will be spent on. http://utmbmontblanc.com/en/page/305/eco-responsability.html Examples include: - Maintaining the trails used around Mont Blanc during race week. These trails extend through France, Italy and Switzerland. - Waste management. - Raising awareness around respecting the rules associated with recreating in the natural environment. - Transport during the week for all athletes to reduce vehicle pollution. - Protecting the nature reserves. If anyone enjoys being out on the trails in any form - be it walking the dog, hiking, running, climbing or sightseeing you will understand the importance of keeping such trails and nature reserves protected from erosion, litter, weeds, vandalism, over use etc… I see this is a great way I can give back to the world trail community in some way. I am not one for posting much on social media, especially my upcoming races, but this is for a great cause, and this is one race I am keen to advertise! I hope you can help me raise the money in time, which is also a huge motivation for my training and preparation. Donations are accepted up to 31st May. I thank you in advance for any $$ you can spare to help me achieve my goal. Cheers, Andrew (NB in preparation for UTMB170 I will be racing UTA100 in May and LUT120 in June, the same races I did last year. If for any unfortunate circumstances I severely injure myself while training in the next 4 months or participating in these 2 events and I cannot make the start line, all donations will still be lodged to the UTMB Environmental Commission. If I haven’t reached my goal then I will make up the difference)