The run across the USA 2025

“As long as I can put one foot in front of the other and run to raise funds for St. Benedict’s Hospice I will do so” is a phrase I’ve both spoken and written many times over the past 31 years. 

At 4.30pm on 11th July 2025 I felt that I could no longer do that. It had taken almost 13,000 miles since I started running to raise funds for the hospice for my feet to say “no more” and “enough is enough”.  

DAMAGED FEET 

This current coast to coast run across the USA is far more difficult than I could have ever possibly imagined. Trust me when I say that “I can imagine quite a bit”. 

I never thought that the run across Australia, back in 2013, would be beaten for difficulty. It absolutely has, without a shadow of a doubt. Not for the reasons I envisaged however. 

When I started this run across the USA on May 1st 2025, things were going as well as could be expected. I was on track with the daily mileage. As soon as I hit the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania things started to go from bad to worse where my feet were concerned. 

The superficial damage to my feet was just about treatable by day 7. I say “just about” but it would have been enough for me to reasonably stop there and then. 

Given the damage to my feet, every day I said to myself “I have no right to be able to continue to move forward across the USA”. 

While progress was being made, it wasn’t at the rate that I’d planned for. On average, I was losing 5.5 miles every day. While I was supposed to be running 32 miles I was able to achieve 26.5. Over time, that added up to an insurmountable mileage deficit. 

I had planned to overcome the deficit by extending the run by 12 days. Without having a support team and the expiry of the RV rental, that would have meant that Donna (my wife) would fly to the USA for the final stages and we would live out of a rental car. That’s the approach that was taken in Australia back in 2013. 

As much as the mileage deficit was insurmountable by day 72 it became very obvious to me that the issues with my feet were too. And then some. 

It was incredibly frustrating that ankles and above I was in good shape. I had a really good “engine”, no aches or pains and somehow had remained injury free. If only I could say the same for my feet.

THE SUPPORT TEAM

With the help of the support team, I was able to continue far longer than could be expected. It’s only right that I pay tribute to them at this point. They, like me, are unpaid volunteers. They have travelled to and from the USA at their own expense, often showing a huge degree of flexibility as I fell behind on the mileage. 

Although not a single member of the support team admitted to me, they have often had to endure horrendous conditions. Living in an RV, particularly one that doesn’t function properly (we had no flushing toilet or shower at various points during the first 30 days!) is far from easy. 

We have endured torrential storms where water was pouring in to our living quarters. The searing heat has also had to be contended with. Imagine, sitting in an RV at 40 Celsius, waiting for me to catch up, day in and day out. There is also the responsibility of cooking, cleaning and maintaining the RV. I’ve never done the job myself but it looks far from easy and is a huge responsibility to put on someone. That is not lost on me. I have the upmost amount of respect and gratitude to all of the team who have supported this run. To Deb, Carlton, John, Alan and Thomas I say “thank you”. I would not have managed to get 1866 miles across the USA without your incredible support. 

I must also thank Steve, Phil and Graeme who were due to join the team in the latter stages. I hold your contribution as highly as those who did manage to support on the ground. 

There have been many times where I have felt undeserving of their support and sacrifice. 

To say that the support team have gone above and beyond the call of duty is an absolute understatement.  

DONNA

I’m writing this on the 11th anniversary of my marriage to Donna. No one has shown more unwavering support and sacrifice for my fundraising journey than my wife. She has been supportive and critical when absolutely needed. She has picked me up when I’m down and brought me back down to earth whenever it was necessary more times than I care to remember. 

Donna is my rock, my guiding light and, after Órlaith our golden retriever, the love of my life. I have always thought of her as the Adrian to my Rocky or the Jenny to my Forrest Gump. 

It’s so true that behind every great man is an even greater woman. 

THE FINAL DAY

So back to those final moments on day 72. I had spent all day hobbling along the very barren Highway 10. I’d nicknamed it “sunflower road” due to the flowers of the same name that lined the road side. That’s very significant due to the sunflower being emblematic of St. Benedict’s Hospice. I felt like I had roadside support watching over me. In my mind, each flower represented someone who had been cared for at the hospice. There were thousands of sunflowers that day. 

At mile 23, I could see the RV in the distance. It was pulled over at the side of the road. I was due to meet Deb there for some pasta. Within seconds, and for the first time on any event I’ve ever done, I admitted I was beaten. I could go no further given the state of my feet. 

I made it to the RV and told Deb about my decision. In the heat of battle, I’m always wary of making a knee jerk decision. This felt very different to that. Deb and I talked it through. She was happy to support whatever decision or plan I had. Like the rest of the team, her support was unwavering. 

My decision was final. For the first time in almost 13,000 miles I decided to put the health of my feet first. It’s probably something that I should have done after the run across Australia in 2013. I’m glad that I didn’t and that an additional £170,000 has been raised for good causes since then. And still counting.  

THANK YOU

There is a long list of people to thank over and above those mentioned here. I will cover that on rungeordierun.com over the coming weeks. Yes, it will take that long over a number of articles. 

WHAT NEXT?

Despite all that I’ve said, this run has a little way to go yet. On Sunday 13th July (my birthday) I shall be running the final mile of the Run Geordie Run chapter of my fundraising journey. 

It is wholly appropriate that I do this in a place of great significance to me and my story. 

In 1994, when my Mam was receiving treatment for lung cancer, I watched a movie that would go on to influence all of my fundraising activities. That movie was, of course, Forrest Gump. 

My final mile will therefore be in Monument Valley. I will start running at sunrise one mile north of Forrest Gump point. The end point will be where the fictional character, played by Tom Hanks, decided to end his epic run. 

That end point in itself is significant on many levels for me personally. 

In the movie, Forrest then returns home and lives a happy life with his Jenny. That is exactly what I intend to do. 

Since the death of my Dad and Mam in 1988 and 1995 respectively, I have spent a lot of time looking back. Now is the time to look forward. 

It has been an incredible journey. The support shown to the charities I’ve raised funds for from all parts the world has been something I’ll be forever grateful for. 

If you have been one of those kind people, thank you. I’ll speak more about that generosity in the weeks ahead on rungeordierun.com. 

If you would like to join that group of kind people, in aid of St. Benedict’s Hospice, then please visit

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025 

For now, please watch out to see how the journey ends on Sunday July 13th around midday across all Run Geordie Run social media platforms.

Day 72 of the run across the USA 2025

The overnight stop was very quiet. That meant a decent sleep was had. At one point I even had to pull the quilt over me. 

The main issue that I have with sleeping is when my feet throb with pain or if I turn over and catch a blister. 

I was certain that I could hear dogs barking in the distance during the night. Given that there weren't any properties around for many miles, they may have been wild.

We drove to the start line just as the sun was rising. The day got underway on Highway 10 at 0558. Given the situation with the deer flies biting my arms and legs, it was another day of covering up arms and legs. Not ideal in this heat but worth it. 

The first meeting point for a water refill was at a large comms tower at the 6.5 mile point. It was an object that I’d been able to see for many hours yesterday and this morning. 

The RV disappeared into the distance. It was at the 10 mile point. From where I was, it appeared to be just a tiny white dot on the horizon. 

Although it didn’t feel like it, I was constantly climbing uphill. This has been the case for a few weeks now. 

The pains in both of my feet were particularly bad today. It didn’t feel like the painkillers were having any impact at all. 

I passed a herd of cattle. They immediately stopped eating and, as a group, turned to me and stared. 

I met the RV at the 10 mile point. I had a wrap followed by a tactical snooze. I’d not intended to sleep but had my feet raised on the bed. That was to try and reduce the pain. It partially worked. I got back out into the heat of the day. It was just 32 Celsius. Positively freezing compared to recent days. 

At the 17 mile point, I could see the next 6 miles or so right to the horizon. 

It looked like a storm was incoming at mile 19. Given the pain of my feet, I wasn’t at all bothered. I had bigger things to worry about. 

I met the RV at mile 23.75 and decided that enough was enough. I couldn’t take any more pain today. The final few miles had been incredibly slow. My hands had become sore from grabbing onto the walking poles every time I winced with pain. It was nice for my feet to have a companion! 

I got into the RV and slowly took my shoes and socks off. Some of the skin off my foot was attached to my sock. Nice! Deb gave my feet an inspection. It didn’t make for a pretty sight. 

As I’m writing this blog my feet are part tingling and part throbbing with pain. I’m just hoping for a decent nights sleep. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Too Beautiful To Last - Engelbert Humperdinck 

Continued thanks goes to those that have visited my JustGiving page and made a donation to St. Benedict's Hospice. The fund is now well on the way to £24,000.

If you would like to make a donation, please use the link below or scroll to the top of the page for the 'click here to donate' button. 

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

Day 71 of the run across the USA 2025

The overnight stop in a motel room for me meant that I managed to get nearly 8 hours of sleep. Absolute luxury. You can see from the chart below how much I need (green line) versus how much I’m getting (light blue line). 

Deb drove Thomas to Pueblo airport very early. They’d stayed in a Walmart car park overnight. By the time Deb got back to La Junta, drove us to the start line, cooked some porridge and I ate it, it was 0750. 

It was due to be another scorcher today. Unfortunately, to keep the flies off, I had my tracksuit bottoms and a base layer on. In chose to use the walking poles again. They really help to take the pressure off my badly damaged feet. 

There were some interesting sights as I made my way down the remaining miles of highway 194 to La Junta. 

First up was a most unusual sight. I had to do a double take when I saw a zebra staring at me. 

Next up was what I thought was a golden retriever the time. I’m now wondering if it was a Pyrenean Mountain Dog. 

I met Deb at the RV for a bite to eat at the 8 mile point. When I got back out I was greeted by a man wearing an England football shirt. His name was Ivor. He’d been looking for me. He left his car at the side of the road and accompanied me to the town centre of La Junta. 

On the way I met some of Ivor’s colleagues. Pictured are Austin, Ken and Ivor. The guys made a kind donation in dollars which I paid in to https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025. 

I said goodbye to them and managed to find the notorious highway 10 at the 13 mile point. That was mile 1800 of the tour. 

Highway 10 has no facilities and no obvious overnight stopping places. It’s going to be a challenge. I did notice that it was lined with sunflowers. That’s the symbol that St. Benedict’s Hospice use. I therefore started calling highway 10 the “sunflower road”.

Unfortunately, at the 19 mile point I saw flashes of lightning up ahead. I decided to get into the nearby RV and wait for it to pass. When I got inside the RV there was an almighty gust of wind. Thankfully, it didn’t last long and I was back out on the sunflower road. 

There was a bend in the road at mile 25. By that time I could see the tips of the Rocky mountains. Also, I could clearly see the Spanish Peaks near Walsenburg. They were 60 miles away! 

The sun started to set and made for some spectacular scenes. 

A solitary sunflower stood at the side of the road as the disappearing sun sank. 

The last 3 miles were done in almost complete darkness. I hadn’t run on such a long straight road at night since the Australian Nullarbor in 2013. 

The advantage to running at night is that you can see traffic miles away. 

Deb played a blinder and managed to find a great overnight parking spot (at the time of writing). There was not a train line or golf course in sight. 

I called it a day at mile 30.8. Given the late start and storm interruption, I was very pleased with that. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: I’ve been everywhere - Johnny Cash. 

The fund for St Benedict's Hospice is now £23,500 thanks to some incredible generosity throughout this tour. If you would like to make a donation, please visit my JustGiving site:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

Day 70 of the run across the USA 2025

The overnight stop at Hasty, Colorado was pretty good. Sleeping in yesterday’s clothes was not so. At least I was ready to get out onto Highway 50 pretty quickly on day 70. 

We didn’t have to drive to a start line for once so the day got underway at 04:58. That’s the earliest of this tour so far. 

There was more than enough twilight to feel safe. The wide hard shoulder also helped. I was 2 miles into the day when the sun rose behind me. 

I met the team for porridge at the 4 mile point. It was a quick turnaround and I was soon back out. 

The next stop was at mile 13.5 for a wrap. Afterwards, a local lady came to see if we were ok in the RV. That often happens as people tend to think it’s broken down. She was called Peg. She recommended that I take Highway 194 to La Junta due to some roadworks down the way. The team had already mentioned this so I decided to go that way instead. But not before I left her with a leaflet. 

As the team shopped in Walmart later in the day, they bumped into Peg who made a kind donation to St. Benedict’s Hospice. That’s now been paid via 

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025. 

Highway 194 was a lot quieter than Highway 50. The hard shoulder was smaller but it mattered not. 

The temperature rose to 39 Celsius (102f). I felt pretty comfortable though. Even despite wearing 2 layers on top and bottom. 

Today was a record day for snake spotting. I saw them live, dead and where they had shed their skin. This one was either sleeping or dead. I didn’t hang about to find out. 

All along Highway 194 I met the RV every 2 miles for a water top up. 

The award to most ornate mailbox went to a one spotted at mile 22. 

As I reached the 24.5 mile point it was time for food. However, I told the team that I’d be calling it a day. I felt really good in the searing heat. Arguably, the best I’ve coped with it so far. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: All Again - Charles Wesley Godwin 

The distraction of having a motel and it being Thomas’ last night was too much. I had a chance here for some good recovery time before tackling the start of the barren Highway 10 tomorrow. 

That won’t get underway until Deb has driven Thomas to Pueblo very early on. He’ll then catch a bus to Denver to get a flight home. That will leave Deb solo on the team until Monday when Steve arrives. 

Just like his predecessors, Thomas had done a great job. His cooking has been top notch especially. In fact, he’s left 3 days worth of wraps in the RV fridge for me. What a guy. 

Thanks to those that have visited my JustGiving page and made a donation. If you would like to do the same, here's the link:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

Day 69 of the run across the USA 2025

The overnight stop was most uneventful compared to previous weeks. The temperature dropped low enough at one point to warrant use of the thin quilt. 

I had hoped for an 0530 start. The team were up and about in plenty of time with porridge made. Everything I was doing was in slow motion. Put on kit, eat porridge, brush teeth and so on. Sooo sloooow. It was still a pretty early start though and before 0600. 

The previous 5 days of 34.7, 31, 32.8, 30 and 35.2 miles together with an average of 6 hours sleep is something I really felt as I set off towards the town of Lamar, Colorado. 

I had to use the walking poles for stability. My feet were in pain for 20 minutes until the painkillers kicked in. Those first few miles were so slow. 

The temperature was already uncomfortable when I got to Lamar. I met the team at the 4.5 mile point at the entrance to the Walmart car park. They had been in there to get supplies. Mainly water I think as we are going through a lot in these high temperatures. 

I asked if I could get (a second) breakfast somewhere. The easiest option was McDonald’s. Once there I had my first McGriddle since 2011. It was a staple during the run across the USA back then. 

I got back out onto Highway 50 afterwards and made my way through Lamar. There were a few things to see. I took a few photos but didn’t hang about. 

There was a hardly noticeable climb as I headed north for a short while before turning due west. That gradual increase in elevation has been ever present for a number of weeks now. 

As soon as I hit the 12 mile point, the familiar smell of a cattle feed yard hit me. It was horrendous. I then saw Five Rivers Cattle Feeding - Colorado Beef to my left. There were what looked like thousands of cattle eating one of their final meals. I’ve no idea how the system works so that may not be too accurate.  

I met the team a little further down the way for a water top up. They’d parked away from the smell of the feed yard, thankfully for them. While my backpack was getting filled we got talking to a local guy checking the crop. Of course, he got a leaflet. 

As the temperature soared towards 36 Celsius (according to my watch) I struggled up the rolling hills. It was tough going but I made it to the RV at the 18.3 mile point. 

Once inside the RV, I climbed on the bed. I hardly had the energy to remove my cap, glasses and face covering (buff). I was given some ice in a bottle to cool down. I was loath to have a tactical snooze as it was red hot in the RV. Both Deb and Thomas were ok with the temperature when asked so that was good. After 15 minutes, I took the decision to ask to be driven back to Lamar and take refuge in McDonalds with air con and a cold drink. My plan was then to get back out at 6pm. It would still be warm but there would be a reduction in temperature for the rest of the day. I reckoned I could still save the day in a late session and get the mileage to at least 30. 

I got back out onto Highway 50 just after 6pm. I felt much better than earlier in the day. The first few miles of the session were the quickest of the day. 

I saw a record number of crickets at the roadside. There must have been thousands upon thousands of them. It’s always at this time of night that the flies are at their worst too. I could not have done this evening session without a long sleeve base layer and tracksuit bottoms. Not to mention the complete head covering. 

The sun set at 2010. Many oncoming cars didn’t have any lights on. As per the previous 13,000 miles or so of running on roads, I didn’t take my eyes off them. 

As the sun plunged beneath the horizon I was reliant on the almost full moon to give a bit of light. The cloud spoilt that sadly. 

I took my earphones out for safety reasons. After a few minutes I heard an old familiar noise that had plagued me while running across Romania 2018. It was the high pitched noise of a mosquito. 

Those pesky varmints weren’t the real issue. By mile 26, I was pretty hungry. 

I met the RV at mile 26.1. Deb and Thomas were having mosquito problems of their own in the RV. One of which was when Thomas climbed up to bed. He heard the sound of a mosquito. He grabbed the fly swatter only to realise that the noise had come from Deb’s phone. Oh how we laughed! Well Thomas didn’t. I didn’t feel so bad about the fish prank yesterday. I didn’t capture the moment but let’s use AI to help us out. This will result in Thomas’s phone “blowing up” with messages from his friends and family. I believe there is quite a following of this blog in his native Belgium. 

I decided to leave it there for the day. I had a quick bite to eat. I decided against a shower too. 

The plan tomorrow is to get out at 0500. That’s 37 minutes before sunrise. It promises to be a scorcher and those cooler hours are so valuable. We are desperate for the mountains and the cooler overnight temperatures. I’m doing everything I can to get to Walsenburg by Friday evening. 

If you go to the Run Geordie Run Facebook page then there’s a video that explains the challenges of the next few days. It’s 21:55 here in Colorado. I’ve got a good 6.5 hour window to sleep in. Mosquitoes and/or Deb’s sound effects permitting, this could be the most sleep I’ve had for a while. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Bodyguard - Beyoncé 

Continued thanks for the donations for St Benedict's Hospice. If you think my efforts are worthy of a donation as I head into day 70 of the my journey across the USA, please visit my JustGiving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025