Wednesday 27 June 2007

Meet the support crew (Part 2)

The second of the four support crew members is none other than that cheeky wee Celtic Supporting Scotsman; Owen McMahon.

Owen, who lives very near Glasgow, will be providing 5 days of support from Bristol to Exeter. I doubt that Owen actually knows where either Bristol or Exeter are as he is famous for believing that the Spanish city of Barcelona lies north of London. Needless to say, that Owen will be relying heavily on the support car's satellite navigation system.

As I mentioned earlier, Owen is mad daft on Celtic FC and he has followed them all over Europe, albeit via cities they were not actually due to play in! His navigation skills might not be up to the highest standard but the craic should be good as he will, no doubt, attempt to explain how Celtic FC are the greatest "fitba" team in the world.

Over the years, Owen has been a very generous sponsor for the various runs I've done. He's had me singing all sorts of Celtic songs over the phone while up a mountain for extra sponsor money. I've even recited Robbie Burns and scenes from Braveheart for extra dosh. The "low" points were in 2005 where I wore a kilt for 134 miles on the C2C run and then in 2004 where I ran a naked 100 yards on the same route in a Billy Connolly style. All in the name of charity and extra sponsorship of course! This year he's offered an extra £1 for every picture of me running in a Celtic shirt. That should be interesting in Edinburgh!

Like the other members of the motley crew, Owen has taken valuable annual leave in order to provide this support. This is very much appreciated. Meanwhile, I'll be brushing up on my "och, jings, help ma boab" and all that in order to sustain a conversation with my friend from up north!