Saturday 19 December 2009

Whereeeeerrrreeereee has the t-shirt been this week?


Yet another week goes by and another set famous faces get pictured with the now infamous Run Geordie Run t-shirt. We started off with Melinda Messenger and Kate Walsh from Live from Studio 5 a few weeks ago. Then it was the turn of the Newcastle Falcons squad. Following that, was ex-Newcastle United midfield general Paul Bracewell.

"Where does the Run Geordie Run PR machine go from here?" I hear you ask. Well today's destination was the Sky studios in Isleworth, West London!

First up, before the shooting of Sky's Saturday morning show Soccer AM was the very lovely Helen Chamberlain and Max Rushden. I've watched the show for almost 15 years now and the picture to the left just hasn't sunk in yet. That's a Run Geordie Run charity T-Shirt on the set of Soccer AM! Very surreal!

When Helen and Max were told a few details about the 3100 mile run across the USA in 2011 they were gobsmacked! "He's doing what??!! Really??!!".

As an added bonus, I've been invited to join the actual live audience on the Soccer AM show in the New Year! Training schedule permitting, I'll try my very best to attend. Newcastle still have 2 games to play in London so I could kill a few birds with one stone!


Well, you'd think it couldn't get any better than that! But you'd be wrong! Next to lend his support to the Run Geordie Run cause was none other than the legendary Jeff Stelling!! This shot was taken just before Jeff took his place at the head of the Soccer Saturday panel.

Again, like Soccer AM, this is a show I've watched since the mid nineties and again the picture to the right seems a very surreal one! To see Jeff pictured with a Run Geordie Run t-shirt is an amazing sight for me personally. Jeff, is of course, a Hartlepool lad and is most respected, in my opinion, for his very unique style of enthusiastic punditry.

When I were a lad, growing up in the 70's/80's, it was Dickie Davies who I always remember on a Saturday teatime delivering the results. Thereafter, and what seems like a lot longer, it's always been Jeff and the team. That's just to put this into context and to try and explain just how thrilling this all is for me personally. More importantly though, is that fact that the word is spreading! The word is spreading thick and fast about one man's quest to become the first Geordie's to run 3100 miles across the USA in 2011, raising as much cash as possible for St Benedict's Hospice (Charity No 1019410) and The Children's Foundation (Charity No. 1000013).

Don't forget to tune in next week to find out where the t-shirt has been! Oh and at the time of writing I can report that sales of Run Geordie Run t-shirts have contributed just over £2,000 to the current total of £4496.

In the meantime, please remember that T-Shirts are priced at £10 each with the FULL £10 going to the charities. Production for each t-shirt was paid for by nufc.com reader Peter McCowie and made, at cost price, by my friends at www.customplanet.co.uk. They are screen printed, front and back, for durable and long term use. If you would like a t-shirt then please follow these 2 easy steps:

1) Pay £10 per t-shirt required to www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun1 (St Benedict's Hospice) or www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun2 (The Children's Foundation). Or you could choose to split your payment and pay £5 to each charity. The choice is yours. Cheques payable to either charity are also accepted. Please get in touch at rungeordierun@googlemail.com for details on where to post your cheque.

2) Email rungeordierun@googlemail.com with details of how many t-shirts you would like, size(s) and where they should be posted to.

Finally, I'd like to say a huge thank you to Susi Moser for arranging the support and taking the photos.