The importance of support

A funding crisis in the hospice sector made the news this week. The one in question was St. Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham. According to the Northern Echo “St Cuthbert’s Hospice has announced that it may be forced to make staffing reductions and close services in a bid to manage an increasing gap in its finances. 

Around 28 staff of the 124-strong workforce face redundancy as the charity struggles to cope with growing financial pressures. 

The hospice - which cared for more than 1,000 people in the hospice itself and out in the community last year - said it must raise £3.8m with around 42% of that income coming from commissioning. It comes as the hospice sector faces a financial crisis across the country. 

The Northern Echo reported in October how Butterwick Hospice and Teesside Hospice were both facing crisis point, with “unsustainable” financial pressures and “finite” charity reserves “fast running down”. 

At the time, chiefs warned that the sector could soon no longer be financially viable as hospices face a challenge to balance their books.” 

There was further coverage on the local and national news. It all made for very sobering viewing. In a world of many very worthy causes it underlined how important it is to do whatever we can for our local hospices. 

I don’t need reminding of just how important St. Benedict's Hospice was to my Mam. I constantly live those thoughts and feelings. This extract from my blog in August 2011 really sums it up “I have spoken on many an occasion just how I am forever in the debt of St Benedict's Hospice. They cared for my Mam during some very difficult times. As a then 23 year old, they answered my desperate call for help. 

The cancer from my Mam's lung had spread to her brain and as her days became numbered. Her body started to fail and the Hospice were there to lessen her pain and give her a dignified end to her life. 

I'm a firm believer that this kind of care should be available to all who need it. I'm an even firmer believer in the Hospice movement. It is with that in mind that, as long as I can run, I will continue to raise funds for the Hospice.” 

I followed that up in April 2021 on the blog “I shudder to think how my Mam's final days would have played out without the care and support from St. Benedict's Hospice. We are extremely fortunate to have an amazing hospice movement in this country. We must do everything that we can to make sure that these services continue to help terminally ill people and their families.’ 

If ever a reminder was needed about the importance of fundraising projects such as Run Geordie Run then it was certainly there this week. 

USA 2025 Support Team vacancies

The 3200 mile/100 day run across the USA between May 1st and August 8th 2025 requires a support team of volunteers to help make it a success. Duties range from driving a motorhome, cooking, cleaning, shopping for supplies and ensuring that the runner gets his daily miles run! 

The recruitment campaign has been a huge success so far. Thank you to everyone who has applied over the last 12 months and to those who made it through on to the team. The interest shown has been brilliant. There is at least one person on the team for the entire 100 days and we have the desired two people on the team for 52 days.

The gaps in the support team rota are as follows: 

24/05/25 - 01/06/25 (Indianapolis to St. Louis)

02/06/25 - 27/06/25 (St. Louis to Walsenburg)

12/07/25 - 23/07/25 (Kayenta to Las Vegas)

29/07/25 - 02/08/25 (Death Valley)

Duties on the team will be carried out against a backdrop of some of the most beautifully challenging and fascinating landscape in the USA. Not only is this a chance of a lifetime but it's a chance to play a key part in the success of a run that aims to raise at least £60,000 for St. Benedict's Hospice (Charity No. 1019410) in memory of my Mam and Dad. 

Here are some highlights to give you an idea of what is involved with being part of the support team: 

• The aim is to have 2 people on the support team at any one time. Daily duties include driving a motor home, cooking (mainly porridge and omelettes), motorhome admin (such as emptying waste, filling water and fuel) and that's pretty much the basic requirement. 
• All support team crew are unpaid volunteers like myself. We have retired police officers, a software developer, a retired banker, a B&B owner and a business owner among our ranks already. The ages range from 40 - 67 currently. 
• Support team crew are responsible for getting to the point of the run when needed and meeting up with the motorhome. For some this is straight forward (for example one lady is leaving at Indianapolis very close to the airport. One man is taking a 2 hour bus journey to Pittsburgh to fly out of there. 
• Overnight parking spots vary from RV parks (for which there is very limited budget) to Walmart parking lots to spaces at the side of the road. 
• The first gap in the rota is through the American Mid West. There are many minor roads. We are expecting low volumes of traffic and the driving should be quite straightforward.
• Once the team are in the motorhome the only expenses you'll incur are your own food requirements. There is no charge for staying in the motorhome. That's obvious to me but not to everyone and is worth stating. 
• A typical day starts at 0600 - 0630 for porridge. Once I set off running then the motorhome will drive to a meeting point ahead on the route. The number of stops will vary. The running day is usually split into two sections with lunch in the middle (and usually a sleep for me). The aim is to finish running, update the blog, edit and upload video and be asleep by 2200 ready to do it all over again. 
• A detailed route plan is available now. I'm adding various data to it constantly such as suggested overnight stops, RV waste dump locations, supermarkets etc. The only age restriction is to be 21 to 72 for motorhome insurance purposes. 
• We have a support team Whatsapp channel for questions and knowledge sharing. 
• There are opportunities to join me running if you so wish. 

If you are fit and healthy, hold a driving license, have a positive attitude, have good problem solving skills and can commit to plug some of the gaps on the tour, this could be for you. 

If you're interested in applying then please complete the form below. Even if you're not 100% sure about joining the team at this stage please apply anyway and we can have an informal discussion where there will be an opportunity to ask any questions that you may have. Also, please feel free to email me at sponsorship@rungeordierun.com with any questions.

Support Team Vacancies

There have been two changes to the support team plan recently with Tom unable to carry out duties in Indiana and Ohio and Graeme now starting a little later than planned in Las Vegas. Thankfully, the coast to coast support remains intact with at least one person on the team all the way from Coney Island to Huntington Beach. 

The support model I’m aiming for, requires two people on the team. That allows the support workload to be shared and to lessen the risk of any absence or illness impacting the run. The current rota looks like this: 

• TEAM ALPHA (Coney Island to Blaine) - Carlton and Deb
• BRAVO (Blaine to Indianapolis) - Deb and John
• CHARLIE (Indianapolis to St. Louis) - John and vacancy
• DELTA (St. Louis to Walsenburg) - Alan and vacancy
• ECHO (Walsenburg to Kayenta) - Deb and Thomas
• FOXTROT (Kayenta to Las Vegas) - Deb and vacancy
• GOLF (Las Vegas to Pahrump Valley) - Graeme
• HOTEL (Pahrump Valley to Death Valley) - Graeme and Phil
• INDIGO (Death Valley) - Phil and vacancy
• JULIET (Olancha) - Graeme
• KILO - (Olancha to Huntington Beach) - Graeme and Phil 

The vacancies are: 

• 24/05/25 - 01/06/25 (Indianapolis to St. Louis)
• 02/06/25 - 27/06/25 (St. Louis to Walsenburg)
• 12/07/25 - 23/07/25 (Kayenta to Las Vegas)
• 29/07/25 - 02/08/25 (Death Valley)

Some of those gaps in the rota present significant logistical challenges. St. Louis to Walsenburg and Kayenta to Las Vegas have limited options to join and leave the team. Death Valley is difficult for the same reason and also from the point of view of acclimatisation (or acclimation as the Americans might say). On the plus side, the parts of the route with only one person on currently are fairly easy to navigate. Also there is only really Alan who is on his own without any handover. John, for example, will partner Deb for the first 9 of his 18 days on the team. Graeme is only on his own for one day in Las Vegas and will be able to get a handover from Deb.

An attempt to plug those gaps will see another recruitment campaign get underway later today.

USA 2025 t-shirts now available

Over the years sales of Run Geordie Run t-shirts have raised almost £40,000 for good causes in the North East of England. Thanks to the goodwill of local businesses for paying for their production costs, EVERY PENNY from sales has been donated to charities such as St. Benedict's Hospice, The Children's Foundation, The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Useful Vision.

I'm excited to report that, thanks to further goodwill, this time from a very kind long time supporter of my running and also Doors and Floors Direct Limited, there is a Run Geordie Run USA 2025 t-shirt now available to order. I really can't thank them enough for paying for all production costs.

The four colour design is printed on the same technical fabric as previous Run Geordie Run t-shirts. They are ideal to wear in the gym, out running, on a walk or simply down the pub. They are available in sizes S, M, L, XL and XXL and are priced at £30. Postage to the UK is free.

T-shirts will be posted on 25th November 2024. To order yours, please complete the form below.

1) HOW TO ORDER 

a) Fill out the order form below. Yes, it's not very hi tech but it allows use of the JustGiving donation platform as the payment method which means all money goes securely and direct to St Benedict's Hospice. 

b) Pay the required amount using https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025. 

For example, one t-shirt posted to the UK will be £30.

Don't forget to leave you name at Justgiving. 

2) PRICE

£30 per t-shirt

3) POSTAGE PRICE

UK - Free

Rest of the world -  £12. (Only pay 1 postage amount for any number of t-shirts.) 

4) QUESTIONS

Please email any queries or questions to sponsorship@rungeordierun.com.

Charity Raffle 2024

CELEBRATING 3 YEARS OF EDDIE HOWE AT NEWCASTLE UNITED

Thank you to everyone who bought a raffle ticket at www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierunraffle2024. £232 was raised for St. Benedict's Hospice.

The winner is Andrew Simpson.

Run Geordie Run Leaflets proving their worth

The Run Geordie Run leaflet has continued to prove valuable in terms of getting the message out there and attracting donations. From using the last leaflets in 2018, I’d genuinely forgotten just how good a conversation starter they are (or an “ice breaker” as I called it in last week’s email). They are also really useful to leave with people when time for a lengthy conversation isn’t possible. 

I handed a few out leaflets at the match on Saturday. Pictured below are fellow season ticket holders Pam and Karen just before kick off. 

The beauty of the leaflet is the A3 map that is contained inside. It really helps to give the reader a sense of the size and scale of the 3200 mile route across the USA. Karen and her husband Alan are pictured below with the leaflet fully folded out.

Since I started handing out leaflets, I’m very proud to report that £255 has been donated to St. Benedict's Hospice via my JustGiving link. A huge thank you to everyone who has donated and to my main sponsor, Chapman Ventilation, for paying for the production of leaflets.

Run Geordie Run Leaflets Back On The Menu

Regular readers will know how important I feel that my leaflets are for spreading the word and raising awareness. These leaflets offer a concise and powerful way to communicate the purpose of my events, the charitable cause I support, and how people can get involved or donate. In a world where information is often fleeting, having something tangible to hand out ensures that my message sticks with people even after the conversation ends. 

The leaflets provide key details that might otherwise be forgotten, making it easier for people to follow up, support St. Benedict's Hospice, or share the story with others. I’m pleased to report that I now have 1000 Run Geordie Run USA 2025 leaflets in hand (minus a few that I handed out this weekend). I’m really pleased with the final printed result. As you can see from the images below, it’s a tribute-fold leaflet that opens out, revealing an A3 map of the route across the USA. 

A huge thank you goes to main sponsor Chapman Ventilation for paying for the production of the leaflets.

USA 2025 - A black and white send off?

I had contact from one of the Toon Army NYC branch this week. I’ve stayed in touch ever since I met him at the end of the 2011 USA run. It’s early days in terms of planning the send off but I think there will be a good black and white contingent at Coney Island. This will be brilliant from a personal point of view. 

Long term readers may remember that I had the company for the Toon Army NYC branch for the final 13 miles of the run across the USA in 2011. I look forward to being back on the boardwalk with them next year at Coney Island.

Run Geordie Run T-Shirts in the pipeline

I’m often asked when there will be a new Run Geordie Run t-shirt. Sales of various different designs have raised close to £40,000 over the years and it’s always been an excellent way of getting funds into St. Benedict's Hospice (and a host of other charities). I’m pleased to report that I have an initial design and will be reaching out to some local companies for quotes next week. If they come back as favourable (i.e. there is enough margin for a profit for St. Benedict's Hospice) then I’ll be taking up long term supporter, David Gateshill’s kind offer of paying for their production. 

If costs are deemed to high, then David will be paying the money direct to St. Benedict's Hospice anyway. While it’s an absolute win/win for the hospice, it would be nice to use t-shirt sales as a way of growing the charity fund. A huge thank you goes to David for his kind support. The initial draft design is below. 

The USA 2025 t-shirt design is very similar to the 2011 t-shirt that proved to be very popular.

Run Geordie Run Leaflets in the pipeline

The artwork files for the Run Geordie Run USA 2025 tri-fold leaflet have gone to the printer for checking. I’ve also asked one of my kind sponsors if they can settle the invoice. Hopefully, I’ll have 1000 of these important fundraising tools in my possession soon. I’m looking forward to getting back into the old routine of offering a leaflet to everyone I meet. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that the leaflets will dominate all of the contact I have with anybody, anywhere and at any time. They’ve always been so useful, before and during a big run, in being able to get a lot of information to people when I don’t have a lot of time to spend. They are also an important tool to have to hand to police, border control, the US embassy where I’ll be getting a visa next year to name but a few. 

I just did a search through my old tweets and there’s one from the 14th July 2016 that says “Croation border control not too interested in my passport but all over the Run Geordie Run across Europe leaflet.”. I don’t have a picture of that sadly, but I do remember handing one to a kind cafe owner soon after. 

If I see the same successful outcome with leaflets this time as I have done in the past then it’ll be money well spent. They have led to many charitable donations as well as discounts on supplies needed for the particular runs. I seem to recall getting a satellite phone rental in Australia at an extraordinarily good rate.  

One of my favourite images is the staff at my long term sponsor D-Line with the 2018 leaflet. I remember a good few quid being raised when I visited on that particular day.

Final USA 2025 route changes

I spent the majority of Sunday 11th August working on changes to the first 12 days of the route across the USA through New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The main reason for changing the route is to keep the first few days at a relatively low mileage. In theory this would just mean a change to the end point of each day rather than the actual route itself.

By the end of the day, I had managed to plot the route from Coney Island, through Manhattan and into New Jersey. It wasn’t an easy route to plot. However, the task was made easier with help from “my man in NYC”, Steve Pringle. You may remember that Steve came to our rescue in 2011 when the last USA run finished. He answered a call on social media for help to get a lift from the motorhome drop-offf point in upstate New York to our hotel own Manhattan. It turned out that this was the Steve Pringle who was in the year above me at the same school! It really was a poetic ending to that run. I’m very pleased and grateful that Steve is helping out again at the start of the run as I’ve written about before. In the meantime, with his help, I was able to one tune next year’s day1 route. 

Steve was able to advise on quite a few things including a query I had about the south side of the George Washington Bridge (the nearest pedestrian exit out of Manhattan). It turns out the south side is shut for repairs. That’s the side I ran across on day 100 back in 2011 (pictured below). The north side of the bridge is perfectly passable as confirmed by Steve who cycled the route recently. 

Between us we made a further few tweaks to the day 1 route. The first of which was a slightly longer but familiar route through Brooklyn. Running up Ocean Parkway has less traffic and there’s a dedicated cycle/running path. This is the road I ran on in the closing stages of the USA 2011 run. 

I decided to cross over the Brooklyn Bridge this time and run all the way up Broadway to Central Park then Harlem and upper Manhattan before crossing the Hudson River using the George Washington Bridge.  

To keep up the tradition of having Geordies involved at start/finish lines, Steve very kindly offered to run with me from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to the George Washington Bridge. That’s approximately 10 miles. 

I started and finished the previous runs across the USA and Australia with Geordie company. The runs across also Europe ended with Geordie company. 

Back to the 2025 route and I thought I had a settled day 1 route until Steve confirmed my thoughts on a bridge over the Hackensack river. While, it looks quite passable, there is no official footpath. Steve drove that way to work last Tuesday (going above and beyond the call of duty again!) to confirm. 

So fast forward to Sunday just gone and I tweaked the day 1 route to finish in close proximity to my 2011 route. This means that I’ll be running 26.5 miles on that first day (pictured below). A quite unique New York Marathon. This also means that instead of following a slightly southerly route, I’ll be running the reverse of my 2011 route over the first 11 days. There are some quite brutal climbs up and over various parts of the Appalachians. I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with the on in May next year. 

A huge thank you goes to Steve for his assistance in planning the route out of NYC and for his offer of some running company. As I’m following a previously trodden route now over the first few weeks, I’ve been able to plot some good daily end points. Familiarity of the localities I’ll be running through really has helped to shape the first 321 miles. There are a few changes after that, mainly to avoid a place where the motorhome was attacked in 2011. As you can see from the plan below, I don’t run more than 30 miles each day until day 4. This will really help me ease in to the run. These will be tough miles with plenty of climbing to be done every day. The mind boggling fact that I thought of today was that I won’t reach the USA 2011 day 100 start point until 4 miles into day 3 next year! What a last day that was back in 2011. 60 miles! 

Despite the changes and a more northerly route, the total mileage to Huntington Beach, California remains at 3180. I’ve decided to change the marketing of this run to be a round figure of 3200 miles. I’m sure the total mileage will end up exceeding 3200 anyway, once I take into account slight navigational detours or errors. 

So with the route planning now complete, I'm looking forward to getting on with the many other tasks that are still to be done. I'm also looking forward to running past the sign below again (in the opposite direction) next May.

USA 2025 Route changes

I've spent a lot of time in recent weeks replanning the final 19 days of the run across the USA. There were a few reasons behind the changes that I made. The main one being that I wanted to add similar jeopardy to the closing stages of the run that the 2011 event saw. I faced a huge mileage deficit back then. This made for an incredible final few weeks that really helped to further capture the public’s imagination. That “will he/won’t he make it on time” scenario was one of the reasons why people were engrossed in the run and the money poured in to the charities. 

I don’t plan to have any unexpected mileage deficits in the USA next year. However, due to the route changes I’ve made, which have seen an additional 30 miles added, a natural deficit has been introduced. On top of that, I have added some strategic lower mileage days of around circa 27 miles. It may not sound like a huge reduction from a required average of 31.8 miles but it soon adds up. 

The changes start on day 71 (10th July 2025) where I’ll begin running with a deficit of 28 miles. Back in 2011, I was 166 miles behind schedule on day 71! The 28 miles of deficit is a result of adding the 30 miles later on. Back to day 71 and instead of sticking to route 136, I’ll be tackling a 23 mile desert road section through Valley Of The Gods (pictured below). That will be an unsupported section and I’ll be meeting the support team as I rejoin route 136 further down. The end to this particular 34 mile day is Forest Gump point. This sets me up nicely for a 36 mile push through Monument Valley to Kayenta the following day. 

It’s 97 miles from Kayenta to Page (near the famous Horseshoe Bend). That will take 3 days to complete and will see the deficit reduced to 20 miles. Incidentally, it’ll be my 54th birthday in the middle of that stretch. It looks like I’ll be spending it at a fuel station called Shonto Marketplace. There is a laundrette there! I may get cleaned clothes for my birthday. 

The most impactful change to the route was made after Page, Arizona. Instead of heading north west to a familiar destination of Coral Pink Sands, I’ll instead be heading south, parallel to the Colorado River. As you can see from the route below, I’ll double back on my self, heading north again before crossing the river at Marble Canyon using the iconic Navajo Bridge. As the crow flies this day 76 isn’t a huge distance. However, I’ll be running an event high 39 miles (at that point in the run). 

The deficit will be reduced to 13 miles at the end of day 76. This will be further reduced the following day where I’ll have the stunning Vermilion Cliffs to my right on a day that will see 41 miles ran. 

The 180 mile stretch on days 78 to 82 are where I get reacquainted with some of the USA 2011 route (in reverse obviously). Colorado City, Apple Valley, St. George, The Virgin River Gorge and Mesquite remain very familiar in my minds eye after all these years. 

Unlike 2011, I won’t be running on Interstate after Mesquite. Instead, I’ve got a 20 mile unsupported desert section which will place me in the Valley of Fire State Park. By the time I get there on day 82, the mileage will be at an event high surplus of 17 miles. With 148 miles in Death Valley looming just a week away, the mileage surplus will be used to my advantage. 

The following 7 days (83 - 89) through and beyond Las Vegas will require an average of only 26.2 miles to be ran with 15 miles on day 88. That 7 days of average marathon distances towards the end of July will be done in expected extreme temperatures. 

Day 90 is the first of 5 days in Death Valley National Park. That will see be descend into the park, below sea level, with a 29 mile section to Badwater Basin. Temperatures of 45-50 Celsius are expected. 

Day 91 is an 18 mile section from Badwater Basin to Furnace Creek. That day starts at 272ft below sea level and climbs to the heady heights of 7ft before dipping below again. 

 

Day 92 is a 25 mile section from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells. If you’re familiar with Death Valley you’ll appreciate that there is nothing between these places other than road and extreme temperatures. 

Day 93 and 94 are where the ultimate challenge lies. The 31 mile section on day 93 from Stovepipe Wells to Panamint Springs starts at 7 ft below sea level and has a 5000ft climb to Towne Pass during the first 16.5 miles. That’s absolutely massive in any temperature never mind the extreme ones I’ll be faced with. Please spare a thought for the support team too. It's going to be brutal.

The 8 mile downhill section into the Panamint Valley (the final part is pictured below) may bring some relief but I doubt it. You wouldn’t think, by looking at the image below, that it’s a further 6 miles to the finish line at Panamint Springs (in the distance). That sits at 1900 ft above Sea level. It is at this point that the run will be 48 miles behind the average schedule.

The mission of getting the run back on track starts on the final day in Death Valley National Park (day 94, 2nd August 2025). Among many difficult and challenging days, this is the one that presents the biggest of them all and possibly of any run I’ve ever done. It’s certainly up there with day 100 of the run across the USA where 60 miles were required to finish on time. 

From Panamint Springs on day 94, there’s a 17 mile climb up to 5223ft followed by a steady 28 mile descent down to 3658ft and out of Death Valley. The 45 miles in total to Olancha will be physically tough, the second highest daily miles of the entire USA 2025 event and the final of 5 excruciating days in Death Valley. It is at this point that I’m prepared for nerves, panic and an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. I’ll be so close to the finish line in terms of time (6 days left) but there will still be 225 miles to run. 

If you’re keeping up with the maths then the run will be 32 miles behind schedule at this point. The final six days head due south towards the finish line. Days 95, 96 and 97 require 38 miles each day on route 395. The first of which will see me burst through the 3000 mile point. 

Day 98 will require 46 miles to be ran. At the end of route 395, 25 miles into the day, is the Outpost Cafe. This is where I was given a free lunch back during the USA 2011 run. I will be paying my respects to the owner who passed away a few years ago. 

The final 21 miles of day 98 will be tough. Firstly, I’ll be running through a locality where dogs sole aim appears to be to protect their owner’s properties. The sound of the vicious barks is already haunting my nightmares. Then there’s the 6 mile up and over the 4114ft summit and down into Cajon Pass (which I nicknamed the dogging capital of LA back in 2011). If the over friendly gentlemen don’t get me then the creatures making the growling noises in the mountains just might. I’ll be very happy to reach the finish line at Devore Heights that day! It’s at this point that the run will only be 1.4 miles behind schedule. 

31 miles on day 99 will leave just 34 miles on day 100 to get to Huntington Beach on time. That will be 3180 miles Across The USA in 100 days. 

I’m sure that there will be many twists and turns and not everything will go to plan. We will need a plan A, B, C, D and so on. 

That final quarter of the run gives me a platform to take the engagement with followers to the highest level that I possibly can. That’s not to say that the other days won’t. They are all very challenging days in that section too. 

To inspire and to challenge people’s perception of what a normal man in the street can do will hopefully encourage them to make a donation to St. Benedict's Hospice. 

As I said at the end of the USA run in 2011 “The significance of this won’t sink in with me for quite some time.”. I’m not 100% sure what I meant by that as I type this blog. I do believe the answer lies somewhere on a 3180 mile route next year however.

Whoop

One thing that has always puzzled me during the big runs is why some days I struggle to keep moving forwards and the miles tick by so slowly while other days I’m absolutely flying. Not to mention why, for example, miles 35-41 are really quick following a very slow start. 

The image below is the tail end of my miles on day 86 of the run across the USA in 2011. You can see mile from 33 I just got quicker. The image above is me and support man Carlton running that day. That was his first day on the tour! 

This is where I get distracted and think back to my blog from that day “What a day ladies and gents! What a day! The day actually kicked off at 5 am when Shelli drove the RV to pick new support man Carlton (pictured below saying "hiiyyyaaaa") up from the bus station in Columbus. Carlton had travelled for 24 hours on 2 planes and a bus. He looked very tired not only from the travelling but also a close encounter with pepper spray in the bus station.

After just 1 hours extra sleep, I set off running towards Columbus with Carlton. He managed 10 miles before bailing out. He's actually got a few injuries so I appreciate even more all miles that he runs with me. Carlton is a very funny guy and the first 10 miles flew over with his banter. 

I made it to Columbus just in time to talk to Gary and Lisa on the Real Radio Breakfast Show. This piece will be aired on Tuesday morning. I'll be talking to them again on Thursday for Friday morning's show. I'll be on the show 3 times next week and twice on the Legends. I'm very grateful to Real Radio for all of their coverage so far. It's been brilliant. 

The miles were ticking by really quickly out of Columbus. The temperature didn't get above 88 degrees Fahrenheit which made for a quicker than usual pace. At the 18 mile point I noticed a huge black guy pushing his car to a nearby a petrol station. I crossed the busy road to help him out. The poor guy was almost passing out. At the back window were 2 vicious dogs who seemed to be very "unhappy" with me. We managed to get the car to it's final destination and I went on my way. Moments later one of the dogs, a pit bull, came racing after me. This little blighter was clearly after a bite of my ankles so I tried using my trusty finger pointing method. The dog forced me onto the busy road where I was almost hit by a car. I "politely" shouted at the dog to "go away" (my son reads this by the way!). It took no notice so I was forced to enter into the next lane of traffic. One of the drivers saw my predicament and put himself between me and the dog. The dog gave up at this point and my heart was racing. The kind stranger made sure I was ok before driving off. That was as close as I've come to a) getting knocked over and b) kicking a dog in the teeth. 

I made use of my new found rush of adrenalin by getting to the 21 mile point at a very quick pace. There waiting for me was Mike Sumich, one of my followers on Twitter. He'd brought a couple of bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale for me. I'll be drinking those in New York. Thanks Mike. 

Mike joined me for 8 miles along highway 40 and it was nice to have his company. 

Mile 29 onwards are a bit of a blur and somehow I picked up the pace even more. Carlton joined me again for a few miles and I'd asked Shelli to do mile 40 with me. As I approached her, I aksed her to start sprinting. It took me a few hundred yards to catch her. She was running flat out. This had the effect of me being able to increase my pace even further and I got to the 41.5 mile mark before finishing for the day. The time was just gone 2030. This was not only the furthest I've ever ran but also quicker than my previous best for 37 miles (a record set in 2009). 

The most pleasing thing about the finish was that I felt that I had many more miles in me. Quite a few more miles in fact. I'm certain that this record of 41.5 miles will be beaten before this run is finished. I really hope that it will be as pacy as today's too. 

There was a tough start to life on the support team today. He managed to to run 16 miles with me, drive the RV and empty the RV waste (Pictured below. I forgot to tell him there were gloves available. Oops!).”

Anyway, back to my point. Why do I sometime get quicker during the day? During these months long runs, especially on difficult days, I seem to keep something in reserve. When the hard work is done. When I’ve battled through scorching conditions. There always comes a time when I feel I can go all in. I’ve seen it from John O’Groats to Lands End, across the USA, Australia and Europe. It seems to me to be a physiological thing. I wouldn’t know where to begin describing it. It is what it is. I look forward to that feeling of “I feel the need, the need for speed” next year in the USA (hopefully).

The bigger question is “Why do I recover well some days and not others?”. In other words, why do I feel fresh? Why don’t I feel like I ran 45 miles the day before? What is so different about today that I feel much stronger and quicker and less tired? To try and answer that question, with the help of the support team we’ll be logging various bits of simple data. This will include the amount of protein, carbs, sugar and sleep. I won’t be concerning myself with the daily average and peak temperature, humidity, distance ran and elevation.Instead I’ll be looking at 1 data item called strain from a Whoop fitness tracker. This gadget is used by many fitness professionals including many pro cyclists. 

The blue line on the graph below is the strain score during the Tour de France. It has a maximum value of 21 and I’m sure you can spot the 2 rest days on the graph. The other line is recovery expressed as a percentage. 

My hope is that through the logging and monitoring of both manual and Whoop collected data we can figure out what we can do to to give me as good a recovery as possible. I’m hoping we can spot trends and patterns and the support team and myself can agree that because we did x, y and z then you recovered better than when we did a, b and c. All of this is hardly being done under laboratory conditions but should at least go some way to giving me the best chance of having more good days than bad.

USA 2025 route re-planning finished

At long last, the task of replanning the final quarter of the route across the USA is complete. I now have a full coast to coast route from Coney Island, New York to Huntington Beach, California. It has taken me a good 12 hours today, as well as many hours in recent weeks, to re-plot a challenging and, at times, mind boggling course from day 71 right through to the finish line on day 100. 

You'd think it would be a simple case of taking the total milage (which is 30 miles longer than before and now sits at 3180 miles!!) and dividing it by 100 to give a nice steady set of consistent days. It's not as simple as that unfortunately. Plotting the route became quite a tactical exercise with some days exceeding 40 miles which will be done at the height of the US summer. 

I've spent much of today reflecting on my own capabilities and limitations. The new route and the physical and mental demands it will place on me and also the support team over a 100 day period, hover precariously between chances of success and failure. It won't be easy. It will take us to the absolute brink of breaking point. It will take an unprecedented amount of effort, discipline, luck, clever thinking and absolute bloody mindedness to succeed. When I'm writing sentences like that, I know that I'm setting the right kind of challenge. 

Following the regular weekly update I give my sponsors and support team this Thursday, I'll talk more about the changes I've made and the extreme challenges that we'll be facing on my blog and socials. In the meantime, there remains no doubt in my mind that this will be by far and away the most difficult running challenge I've ever undertaken. I, of course, include the last USA run in 2011 and the 2013 Australian coast to coast effort too in what was their hottest summer on record at the time. 

Getting to the finish line in 100 days is only the first of the two part goal for 2025. There is the small matter of raising at least £60,000 for St. Benedict's Hospice. I'm sure you'll agree, once you learn more about the route, that the 3180 mile run across the USA will be very worthy of sponsorship. 

Speaking of which the fund is growing very nicely indeed over at my JustGiving page. Any donations, in aid of St. Benedict's Hospice will be gratefully received.

Beach Bootcamp

Last Saturday morning saw me make a return to David Fairlamb’s Beach Bootcamp at Longsands Beach, Tynemouth. It was a tremendous session held in nice warm conditions. Having had some very warm sessions recently, I handled the heat very well. I’m also making a concerted effort to drink more water which helps. 

It’s good to get acclimatised to the “warm” temperatures. The fact that I’ll be running in 110 - 125 Farenheit this time next year really does put things into perspective though. I’m not worried about what is to come. I’m honestly relishing the challenge while maintaining a healthy amount of respect for the conditions I’ll be facing. 

I was really pleased with the efforts up the ramp at the beach. My fitness appears not to be in too bad a place. That ramp is usually where you get found out. That wasn't the case for me last Saturday. 

Like all of David’s other sessions I do, I left on a high. I really do think that GPs should prescribe exercise (particularly of the beach variety) instead of drugs to people who have depression, anxiety and to those who want to lose some weight.

Thanks from St. Benedict's Hospice

I received the St. Benedict's Hospice Summer Bulletin today. There was mention of the recent Beyond Mount Everest challenge where, thanks to some brilliant generosity, £520 was raised.

Thanks again to everyone who donated. You can view the final JustGiving page here.

USA 2025 - Further Kit Sponsors Added

Since making my kit sponsorship offering more dynamic, I’m pleased to tell you that progress has been made in the search for the remaining commercial funding. There is still a way to go but it’s been a brilliant week. I’m happy to announce that Vigon International (an Azelis company) will be on the front and back of my kit for the first 10 days of the run across the USA next year. They are “a leading manufacturer and distributor of ingredients for the flavours and fragrances market in North America”. Incidentally, their office is only 32 miles away from where I’ll be starting my run on day 4 next year in Pennsylvania. Vigon are the first US company to ever sponsor one of my running shirts.

To have the Run Geordie Run brand reach “across the pond” makes me very proud indeed. I’m looking forward to getting the run across the USA underway at Coney Island with their logo on my kit. A huge thank you to Vigon for supporting the run across the USA. 

The excellent kit sponsorship news continued this week when I had a really good conversation with Ian Watson OBE, chairman of Hadrian Healthcare Group. His multi award winning company has residential care homes in Gosforth, Whickham with involvement in others outside of the region. The homes are rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission with equally prestigious ratings by other bodies including the local authority of course. Hadrian Healthcare Group will be seen on my kit for the final 15 days of the run from Las Vegas, through Death Valley and all the way to the finish line at Huntington Beach. 

Once again, it makes me feel very proud to have the logo of such a brilliant company on my kit. A huge thank you to Ian and Hadrian Healthcare Group for very kind support. 

Beyond Mount Everest - DONE

Last weekend saw me tackle Beyond Mount Everest in aid of St. Benedict's Hospice. The concept of the event was a straightforward one. To climb 40,000ft on a VersaClimber at David Fairlamb Fitness’ VersaHub and hopefully raise at least £400 for the hospice. It was all to help celebrate St. Benedict's Hospice 40th birthday.

Despite being in unknown territory, I predicted that it would take between 10 and 13 hours to complete the climb. Proceedings got underway at 0840 on Saturday morning. I was really pleased to see the money coming in to the hospice via JustGiving.com and that served to give me an early boost. 

The first 10,000ft took 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete. At this point, I was well ahead of the anticipated 10 to 13 hour completion time. So far so good. Things got very tough soon enough though. The climb up to 20,000ft was incredibly draining from a mental point of view. While I managed to maintain the same pace, the depth of my steps reduced considerably. This meant that second set of 10,000ft took over an hour longer to climb (3 hours 25 minutes) than the first 10,000ft. That was quite a drop off in performance but I was aware that I’d set the bar high very early on. 

 I was so relieved to eventually reach the half way point. Just like the many 30+ or 40+ mile runs I’ve ever done, when I get over the 20 mile point, I was aware that things tend to get easier. 

The next section to 30,000ft was even slower still and took 4 hours to complete. It would have been even longer but I made sure that my pace didn’t get any slower and depth of step get any shallower. Reaching the height of the Mount Everest summit gave me a boost as did the continuing donations coming in to St. Benedict's Hospice. It all seemed very slow going though despite all of the effort. 

With 10,000ft left to climb I decided to take drastic action. That’s right, disco classics reverberated throughout the VersaHub (it has a world class speaker system by the way). I’m not saying that the volume of the music was loud but it’s a good job it was late on Saturday on Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate. Once again, just like my big runs, I was able to focus on pace in those later stages and take a few risks. The tempo of the disco music was perfect and I was almost back to the pace and depth of those early stages. I had a bit of a wobble at 36,000ft when YMCA played. In hindsight, it’s not a good idea to try and do the actions while climbing on a VersaClimber. I almost fell off! 

I’m pleased to report that I reached the finish line at 40,000ft after a further 3 hours of climbing and 12 hours 45 minutes in total. That last set of 10,000ft was the second quickest of the four. Again, that late surge was not unlike many days that I’ve spent running in the USA, Australia and Europe. 

To end the day on a great note, the fundraising target of £400 was smashed and finished on £480. So all in all, it was a very good days work with over 10,000 calories burned and 73,664 steps taken (the equivalent of 33.1 miles). 

The confidence that I got from the climb was most unexpected. “There’s definitely life in the old dog yet” I thought. I had a debrief with David Fairlamb the following day and we talked about the lessons learned and the many parallels to my big runs. Speaking of which, A huge thank you goes to David for allowing me to use the VersaHub at his gym. It’s the only place where I could have got through the event. The lighting and, moreover, the sound system is out of this world. It’s a very special place to train. 

The final donation page can be viewed here. Happy 40th Birthday St. Benedict's Hospice.