USA 2025 - Meet the support team (Alan)

This is second in a series of articles which will introduce the kind bunch of volunteers who make up the Run Geordie Run USA 2025 Support Team. Next up is Alan who will be joining the team on day 33 in St. Louis, Missouri. That's the day John leaves the team. 

Alan is on his own on the team for 26 days. That's the longest individual stint that any of the team are doing. The 845 mile route that he is supporting is one of the most complex to navigate. There are many twists, turns and trails on the route through Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. When I say "trails" that means that I'll be on sections of the route inaccessible by the motorhome. Good communication and a robust plan is important as ever during times like that. 

One Alan's first day, there is a steady climb from 400ft in St. Louis to 6,500ft through to his last in Walsenburg, Colorado. There's a whopping 14,000ft of ascent during that time. Add to that, the ever increasing temperatures we'll be facing where 30+ Celsius is expected every day by that point. It promises to be quite a challenging adventure through the American Midwest for Alan.

Alan says "Having retired a few years ago, I have enjoyed doing a range of activities I didn't have time for when working, travelling, golf, tennis, etc. 

My route to supporting Mark and joining his support team began over a year ago. My wife sits close to Mark and Donna at St James Park on match days. After chats about Mark's mission and meticulous planning, I discovered, unknown to me, that she had suggested that I could be a fair candidate for support driving on the run! 

Mark and I spoke, and he explained the tasks and expectations. It is an amazing challenge to undertake, and I'm looking forward to supporting Mark to reach his goal. 

So here we are almost ready for the Run Across America. 

Just saying, I'm not a runner and definitely not an omelette maker ....yet!"

As is the case with the rest of the team, a huge amount of gratitude goes to Alan for the amazing sacrifice and contribution he is making. Without which, this run would simply not be possible. 

I'll meet you in St. Louis Alan.

USA 2025 - Meet the support team (John)

Welcome to the first in a series of articles which will introduce the kind bunch of volunteers who make up the Run Geordie Run USA 2025 Support Team.

First up is John who will be joining the team on day 14 in Wheeling, West Virginia. That's the day Carlton leaves the team. John starts his official duties the following day with Deb who is on the team from day 1. They'll have 9 days together before Deb leaves the team. 

John then has 9 days on his own through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois before finishing his tour of duty in St. Louis, Missouri. 

I asked John how he became involved in the team - "I first came across Mark at his beloved St James Park and through NUFC.COM around the time he ran the length of the UK, I was an avid runner and was amazed by how he could cover such distances day after day. Not long after that I bumped into him on the start line of a local 10 mile race, since then I have followed his many exploits. 

I retired from my job in December 23 and over Christmas the subject of what I was going to do with myself was fairly topical, my wife reminded me that I said during Marks run across Australia that if he ever did another one I would like to be involved. So by chance I went on the Run Geordie Run website and low and behold plans being made for this USA trip, one email and subsequent telephone call later I find myself on the team and learning to make omelettes ! 

Sincerely it will be a privilege to be involved my only hope is that I can reach the porridge and omelette standard required to keep the fire burning."

In total, John will be supporting me for 18 days and 560 miles. That's a huge undertaking which I'm extremely grateful for. 

WARNING! Contains mild peril

In 2010, 11 months before the 3100 mile run across the USA was due to start, I broke my ankle wile riding my bike coast to coast. It was a setback but, as you will know, it all worked out in the end. 

Why am I mentioning this? Well, on a routine visit to the dentist for a polish and scale back in February, I had a routine X-ray taken. This revealed that one of my wisdom teeth was growing towards the adjacent tooth. Unfortunately, this was causing some decay in that tooth and action needed to be taken. 

The dentist recommended that the wisdom tooth should be taken out at the earliest opportunity. That turned out to be May 2025! Thankfully, they were able to fit me in, last Thursday. I had the wisdom tooth removed and a temporary filling placed in the decaying tooth. It remains touch and go, as to whether it’s worth putting in a permanent filling or just removing the tooth altogether. I hope to make a decision and have a timeline for that next week. Thankfully, the dentist is aware of the up and coming run. 

Bearing in mind that I’ve never had a filling before and only had 1 tooth removed when I was about 12 years old, this is quite daunting. And that’s even without the prospect of running 3200 miles in a foreign country! 

Thankfully, I do love a bit of jeopardy or “mild peril” as I often refer to it as. I was reminded of the newspaper headline below with a photo of me in a hospital bed just hours after having pins inserted into my ankle.

Own a piece of history

To help pay for my new kit, I’ve decided to put up for sale some of the running shirts that were used on previous trans continental runs. I’m making available for sale the Adidas running shirts that I wore while running across Australia in 2013 and then across Europe in 2016. They are complete with all the sponsors logos on the front, back and sleeves. 

Sizes range from small to large. Proceeds from the sale of these will go towards kit costs for the 2025 run across the USA. 

Shirts are £55 each for postage to the UK. 

Please get in touch for the overseas postage cost which will vary depending on your location. 

The shirts available are: 

• Australia 2013 - white or yellow 
• Europe 2016 - White or blue 

 Please send me a message or email sponsorship@rungeordierun.com if you’d like one.

Our man in NYC

I had a good conversation with Geordie exile Steve, our man in NYC, last week. He is going above and beyond the call of duty to make sure things go smoothly at the start of the run across the USA. Steve will be on hand to take us to pick the motorhome up in upstate New York. He’s also going to be driving me to the start line at Coney Island (pictured below) and joining me later as we run together through Manhattan. 

The plan for those early stages of the run are coming together very nicely. I’ve said this many times, but it’s always a huge relief to have local help. 

Thank you to Steve for the contribution he is making.

Scouting report from Nevada and California

I received a very detailed scouting report from Phil, the Geordie exile from California, who will be joining the support team from day 83. To say that it is detailed is an understatement. There were even some brochures and maps from the few The report detailed potential overnight stopping places, the best places to restock supplies, refuel and dump waste and, very importantly, recommendations with regard to running in Death Valley. A large gap in my plan was around potential places to stay after Death Valley. I’m pleased to report that Phil has been very thorough in this area. 

A huge thank you to Phil for driving the route in Nevada and California and documenting his findings.

50 mile training run

Last weekend saw me tackle a 50 mile route from Bedlington to Otterburn then back to Morpeth over 2 days. It was in lieu of a run from Edinburgh that I’d planned for some time. I just couldn’t find the time to do that one. Conditions for the run weren’t great. Not even the peace and tranquility of the Northumberland hills could lift my spirits. The cold and wet weather made this as much a tough mental task as a physical one. “I can’t wait for the heat of Death Valley” was a sentence I said to myself on a few occasions. 

At the 19 mile point on day one I was very pleased to see Thomas from the support team waiting by the roadside. His wife, Caroline, had dropped him off and we ran the final 9 miles together. By the look of the elevation profile, you’d think that I’d ran up a mountain! After 28 miles, I was pleased to reach Otterburn where a hearty supper was there waiting for me.

The journey back to Morpeth the following day was every bit as tough as the first day. I was again accompanied by Thomas and we both agreed on a plan before we set off. We set off steadily up to Elsdon then slowly up the climb to Winter’s Gibbet. The straight five mile stretch from that point was where we tried to get into a good rhythm with both of us taking turns to lead from the front. It was an excellent effort.

Each one of the next 8 miles proved to be tough and I could feel my energy levels fading fast. Thankfully, the Dyke Neuk Inn was on the route (17 miles in) and after a bowl of soup and a full Sunday roast, we were on our way again. 

The final miles to Morpeth were very straightforward. I was pleased to hit the 50 mile point and get home to a nice warm house! Thank you to Thomas for some excellent running company and Caroline for some really nice food (including a slice of her birthday cake!).