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Man vs... another bloody great hill

Why is Snowdonia so funny?
Because it's hill areas.

Not kidding. None of it is flat.

Not even the car parks.

Driving in to North Wales I was struck by how steep and rocky it all is! Having never been up here it was nice to see, and I could really imagine how incredibly fun tomorrow is going to be.

It's the third part of the most action packed and gratifying trilogy since Toy Story.

The "Man vs..." series is coming to an end, and it's concluding with a hell of an event.

"Man vs Mountain" takes on the rugged landscape of North Wales, from sea level to the summit of Snowdon. There's over 5000 feet of ascent across the 22 miles, the famous vertical kilometre, and a healthy dose of TAKE THAT from Mother Nature.

Earlier on this week Rat Race had to issue a kit update because the weather forecast had deteriorated. Low mountain temperatures, wind and rain. "Bring your waterproofs" they said.

Thankfully it now just seems to be thick cloud and wind, so we can look forward to a great view and some stunning scenery I'm sure.

It's nice to kick off September, which is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, with a big event.

This makes it a good time to introduce one of the Anthony Nolan campaigns called Communities vs Blood Cancer.

There is an online tool set up where you can enter your postcode and find out how many potential donors are signed up to the register in your area, your constituency’s ranking and the average age of donors.

It's then something you can email to your local MP to ask them to support the campaign. You can find the tool to check your local stats online here.

I now know that my constituency is ranked 361 out of 650 in the UK, and there are 912 people on the register. Plenty of opportunity for any local readers to boost those numbers!

Thank you to all the latest sponsors, the new ones and the returners as well (they just can't give enough!).

You're all superb, and we're now over halfway to the final ambitious target. It's a massive effort from everyone and as I keep reminding you, it really helps the legs keep moving when I'm 6 hours in, halfway up a hill, stuck in the middle of a moor, or on my backside under my bike.

There's nothing left to say. Let's go - I have a mountain to climb!


Instagram: philvsnature
Twitter: @PhilJ0606

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