The Clown Doctors

Time spent in hospital can be very traumatic for young children and their families. My recent experience of this was with my son, Jack (pictured below), who had cause to visit a hospital in Durham with suspected appendicitis. Thankfully, after an examination, a blood test and an overnight stay for observation, he was given the all clear. His short visit in hospital got me thinking about how lucky we were for him to be seen, diagnosed and treated so quickly and how other families aren't quite as fortunate as we were with their visits to hospital. This is especially true when I think of those families whose visits are on a daily basis for a prolonged period of time. 

While the care and attention given to Jack was really excellent, there were certain aspects of his stay in hospital that he found really traumatic. At the same time, I thought about a service that I'd seen demonstrated at an open day organised by The Children's Foundation; The Clown Doctors. It became very obvious to me how that service would have benefited Jack's stay in hospital but more importantly those children who unfortunately have to stay in for much longer periods of time undergoing far more traumatic things than Jack did. 

I was delighted to hear recently that, as a result of funding from The Children's Foundation, the Clown Doctors' service would be making a return to The Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle. Libby Nolan, the fundraising manager at The Children's Foundation said "The return of the clown doctors is due to the successful year we have had through various forms of fundraising and individual support.".

Just to give you an idea of what their service entails, I gleaned the following from The Clown Doctors website (www.clowndoctors.co.uk). Their "ethos" states that "The Clown Doctors programme recognises that the implications of hospitalisation are far wider than simply those relating to medical conditions. Fear, boredom, loss of control and other insecurities can adversely affect children in hospitals, and the Clown Doctors offer an impartial way of entertaining, supporting and empowering the children who may be struggling with these issues. Performing arts such as storytelling, music, improvisation and clowning are used to engage the children and to help them come to terms with their situation using humour and play.". 

If you've sponsored me over the last few years and made a donation to The Children's Foundation then you should be very proud of yourself. Please give yourself a well earned round of applause. If you have the energy, why not add a pat on the back! You've played your part in helping to reinstate the Clown Doctors in The Great North Children's Hospital. The continuation of this service is so important to the children and their families during their time in hospital. 

The Clown Doctors website (www.clowndoctors.co.uk) makes for very interesting reading and I found this report of particular interest as it shows just how well the Clown Doctors are thought of.

I, for one, will be going all out to continue to raise funds this year for The Children's Foundation by running across Australia. Of course, The Clown Doctors are just one of many services or projects that The Children's Foundation provides funding for. I'll write about other projects such as the Whoops! Child Safety Project and Regional Small Grants programme in due course. 

For now, though, I'd just like to thank those kind folk who have sponsored my 2600 mile run across Australia and give you an example of just how well your money is being spent by The Children's Foundation. If you would like to join that very generous group of people then the link to my Virgin Money Giving page is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rungeordierun1. Thanks so much in advance for your kind generosity and thank you to the wonderful Clown Doctors for doing such an amazing job.

Australia 2013 - It will all end here!

I decided on the exact start point of the run across Australia (The Indian Ocean at Cottesloe Beach) a little over 12 months ago. I've always said that I'd finish the run on Bondi Beach. I can now confirm the exact part of Bondi Beach that will be the finish line for the run across Australia. When I say "beach", I really mean the point where I'll be entering the Pacific Ocean!

The image above shows the final few hundred meters that I'll be running. Once I reach Bondi Pavilion, I'll make my way down the steps, past the life guard station and into the Pacific Ocean. Just like the run across the USA, this will be a true coast to coast run and is scheduled to finish at 17:30 local time (07:30 GMT) on the 24th of December 2013. 

Watch this space in the coming months for further details of how you can get involved at the finish line on Bondi Beach.

Run Geordie Run t-shirts down under

Run Geordie Run t-shirts have been posted all over the world over the course of the last few weeks. I was quite surprised that 40 or so t-shirts have have ended up in Australia and New Zealand. The picture below shows Geordies Glen Bruce and Gav Wallace checking out the sights on one of the roads that I'll be running on.

Meanwhile in sunny Wellington, New Zealand, Peter Jones is seen below showing off his new Run Geordie Run t-shirt.

Finally, Julie and Malcolm Preston are seen below with their Run Geordie Run t-shirts in Darwin, Australia.

Please send your Run Geordie Run t-shirt photos to sponsorship@rungeordierun.com and I'll do my best to include them on the site. 

Run Geordie Run Australia 2013 t-shirts SOLD OUT

I'm pleased to report that all Run Geordie Run Australia 2013 t-shirts are now sold out in aid of The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation. T-Shirts sales have made £2600 for the 2 charities and, as a result, the fund currently stands at £10,832.17.

The t-shirts were paid for by Benfield Motor Group and designed free of charge by Dave Shenton of Shenton Creative. It's because of this that every single penny that was paid for t-shirts went to the 2 charities.

Thank you to everyone who bought a t-shirt. If I can get funding for any more there will be a brand new design available in the Summer. Watch this space.

Last week for buying Run Geordie Run t-shirts

I'll be putting the "SOLD OUT" signs up on the Run Geordie Run t-shirts this Friday (probably sooner if they all get snapped up before then.).

All of the technical t-shirts sold out a few weeks ago but there are still MEDIUM and LARGE cotton t-shirts left.

Thanks again to Benfield Motor Group for paying for the production of the t-shirts and also to Dave Shenton for the snazzy design.

Each cotton t-shirt is £10 with the full £10 going to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation. Please use the form below to order your t-shirts. As a guide, sizes as follows: Cotton: Chest (to fit): M-38/40 L-42/44

ALL T-SHIRTS ARE NOW SOLD OUT.

A switch to Virgin Money Giving

From now on, all of my online fundraising for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation will be done through Virgin Money Giving.

I now have 1 page for both charities. Behind the scenes, this which will make reconciliation much easier and less time consuming. I'll also be able to keep the amounts raised online for both charities at an equal amount.

The real benefit of using Virgin Money Giving, however, is the fact that more of a sponsor's donation will go to the 2 charities. By my calculations, if I'd used Virgin Money Giving for the run across the USA then an extra £2500 would have been given to the charities.

If you would like to sponsor me for the run across Australia then a donation can be made via http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rungeordierun1. 

Crucial times

These are crucial times in the current campaign. I really feel that what happens in the next 4 to 6 weeks will have a significant bearing on the run across Australia. First and foremost, getting myself physically prepared to run 41 miles per day is the main priority. Surprisingly enough, I haven't done a great deal of running recently. The main focus has been on burning calories and fat in the gym. I've lost 6% body fat so far this year and have gained a lot of strength in the process. There is still a long way to go but there has been some good work done so far in 2013. 

I aim to start running in ernest in April and will slowly but surely condition my body to run the required 41 miles per day. This is the more the kind of training that I'm used to. I slogged out many miles in the build up to the run across the USA. The difference this time must be a sensible and sustainable diet around that kind of mileage. My weight ballooned to 18.5 stone before I ran across the USA. If that happens again then I will stand no chance of being able to run the required 2600 miles in 70 days. Under the guidance of David Fairlamb I have learned to follow the Paleo way of eating recently. It's a pre-agriculture diet. Some call it the Cave Man Diet. It's basically a lot of lean meat and leafy green vegetables. The general rule of thumb seems to be if you can kill it or it grows naturally above ground then you can eat it. It's served me well so far but the real challenge will be eating like that when I step up the miles later this year. 

It should take me to mid June to be able to run 40+ miles in training and the 3 months after that will be the usual "no rest and no recovery" type of training that helped me to run John O'Groats to Lands End in 2007 and across the USA in 2011.  

As I said at the top of this post, the next 4 to 6 weeks are very crucially important. I must go into the running phase of my training in the best shape possible and with an established routine of eating.

Aside from training there is the small matter of getting the remaining sponsors and overall headline sponsor on board. I've got 5 potential suitors in the pipeline. That's all well and good, the real challenge is getting 2 or more of them "over the line". 

Currently, there are enough funds to pay for flights, insurance, fuel, accommodation at the start and finish and food. There are no funds for the all important RV that will house the support team and I for 70 days. For that reason, I'm currently devising a "Plan B" that will see us use tents instead. The Support Team crew haven't signed up on that basis so there is a risk that some of them may have second thoughts. I would't blame them either given the prospect of camping in the middle of nowhere night after night. Time is ticking and it's so important that I get those final sponsors signed up. As I said earlier, these are crucial times!

If you would like to become a sponsor of the run across Australia then please read the prospectus below.

Fundraising Milestone

I'm pleased to report that the first major fundraising milestone has been passed for the Australia 2013 campaign. Thanks to the sale of Run Geordie Run t-shirts the £10,000 barrier has been broken. The grand total for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation stands at £10,009.67.

It's still very early days but that's a great start to fundraising and the chances of reaching the £50,000 target became just that bit more realistic.

Thank you to everybody who has made a donation or bought a t-shirt. Your money has gone to 2 very worthy causes and will be put to very good use.

Speaking of t-shirts, the new Run Geordie Run t-shirt in technical fabric is now completely sold out. There are no plans to have any more made. Unless, of course, a generous business out there would like to pay for some more to be made. There is still a handful of cotton ones though so all is not lost if you would like to buy one.

The t-shirts were only printed last Friday. I personally thought that the technical ones would sell out by the end of February. To be sold out within 6 days is testament to the amazing generosity of so many people. There is the small matter of the clever design by Dave Shenton and the generosity of Benfield Motor Group who paid for their production.

The remaining sizes for cotton t-shirts are medium and large. The cotton t-shirt is £10 with the full £10 going to charity.

Please use the form below to order your t-shirts. As a guide, sizes as follows:

Cotton: Chest (to fit): M-38/40 L-42/44

ALL T-SHIRTS ARE NOW SOLD OUT.

Run Geordie Run t-shirts close to selling out

Since the new Run Geordie Run t-shirts went on sale 2 weeks ago, over 160 have now sold in aid of The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation.

There aren't many left, so if you would like one then please get your order placed (using the form below) as soon as possible. I expect the technical t-shirts to be sold out this week, closely followed by the cotton t-shirts next week.

The secret of the success of the sales, I think, is down to the particular design (pictured below) created by Dave Shenton.. Thanks again must go to Benfield Motor Group who paid for their production. It is because of Dave and Benfield's generosity that the entire amount paid for each t-shirt goes to charity. Brilliant!

At the time of writing, T-shirt sales have helped the charity fund for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation burst through the £9000 barrier and the fund currently stands at £9,905.67. The fund is so close to the first major milestone of £10,000!!!

Unlike previous years there are 2 versions of this t-shirt; a traditional cotton one and a "technical" one for use while out running and in the gym etc. The remaining sizes for cotton t-shirts are small, medium and large. The only sizes left in the technical version and medium and large.  The cotton t-shirt is £10 with the technical t-shirt priced at £12.

Please use the form below to order your t-shirts. As a guide, sizes as follows:

Technical: Chest (to fit): M-40 L-44 
Cotton: Chest (to fit): S-34/36 M-38/40 L-42/44

ALL T-SHIRTS ARE NOW SOLD OUT.

Sponsorship prospectus

As you can see from the header of this website, I have some tremendous sponsors helping to make the run across Australia a success for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation. There is still the need for 1 or 2 more of the right kind of companies to back the run across Australia and share in it's success through sponsorship.

Please click EXPAND on the document below to view the Australia 2013 sponsorship prospectus.