3150 miles across the USA - May Progress Update

The 3150 mile coast to coast run across the USA from Coney Island, New York to Huntington Beach California is scheduled to take place starting on May 1st 2025 and finish 100 days later on August 8th 2025. Planning and preparation for the challenge has seen some excellent progress made so far this year. There is still a lot to organise and plan and also plenty of support to find if the £60,000 fundraising target is hit for St. Benedict's Hospice. 

The debt of gratitude that I feel towards the Hospice is as strong now as it was back in 1995 when my Mam spent her final weeks in their care. It should come as no surprise to any followers of Run Geordie Run that I'm as determined as ever to make the next big run a huge success. 

The 3150 mile route will arguably be the toughest run I've ever done. It is extreme in every way imaginable. 100 consecutive days of running ultra marathons will make for quite a spectacle. 

There is so much progress to report and it's hard to do it justice in a blog post on this site. That said, the following is a short summary of where I'm currently at with some of the most important aspects. 

FUNDRAISING

At the time of writing, despite the run being quite some time away, £6215 has been donated direct to St. Benedict's Hospice via Justgiving. There is also a further £3000 in the pipeline for the Hospice. 

I have set a target of £60,000 for this run. With 337 days to go and 15% of that achieved already, it's safe to say that this is an encouraging start from a fundraising point of view. A huge thank you to everyone who has already made a donation via Justgiving. 

Prior to the main event in 2025, I have a few other fundraising irons in the fire such as a 40,000ft climb using at David Fairlamb Fitness at the end of June. Using one of my favourite and challenging machines, the VersaClimber, I will climb the equivalent of sea level up to the summit of Mount Everest. That's a distance of 29,029 ft (8848m). It doesn't stop there, however. Since it's St. Benedict's Hospice's 40th birthday, it seems "sensible" to push on and climb tp 40,000ft. I expect this to take between 10 and 13 hours.

In terms of other fundraising ideas, I'm hoping that a surplus of commercial funds can be found. They will be used to produce some Run Geordie Run USA 2025 t-shirts which will be made available to buy. Over £30,000 has been raised following Run Geordie Run t-shirt sales over the years. Newcastle United even warmed up in then once.

COMMERCIAL BACKING

I was so grateful that long term supporter Chapman Ventilation offered to become my main sponsor. You can trace their kind support back to 2011. Without their help, the current overall charity total of £351,984.67 would not have been achievable.

Another long term sponsor, D-Line, were also kind enough to continue their backing. Again, without their help, the charity fund would not be what it currently is.

The search continues for the remaining kit sponsors to fill the slots on my USA 2025 running kit. As you can see below, there is still room on the prime positions. Please get in touch at sponsorship@rungeordierun.com if you're interested in having your logo on my USA 2025 running kit.

SUPPORT TEAM

The task of recruiting the support team is going very well. There is now at least one person on the team on each of the 100 days that I'll be running. Of those, there are two people on the team for 56 days. For many reasons, it's important that there are at least two people on the team at any one time. 

Efforts will continue, over the coming months, to recruit the final support team members to fill the gap of 44 days. This is the part of the route from Wheeling, West Virginia to Walsenburg, Colorado. There is also a requirement for 4 days in Death Valley. There are two people on the team but one will remain outside of the national park in the motorhome. The other support person will be with me in Death Valley. Ideally, I need one other person for this very difficult section.

Contact has been made with a  Geordie exile in New York who I'm hoping can assist with picking up the motorhome and getting to the start line.

 

RUNNING SHOE SPONSORSHIP

 

I was very grateful to receive the support of Hylo Athletics who are supply running shoes. I've now ran a few hundred miles in Hylo Impact shoes. The support and comfort they give will serve me well in the USA. With my "battle damaged" feet, that's exactly what is needed. You can read my full depth review on their Impact shoes here.

TRAINING

There has been a further increase in training load recently. Regular Sunday runs are now well established and I continue to work hard at David Fairlamb Fitness as well as at my own home gym. 

I'm build the weekly mileage steadily. The next big test will be a 105 mile run from my home in Bedlington to Edinburgh. That will be done during the first weekend in August.

LEAFLET

The search is on to find a company who can print one of the most important fundraising tools that I have. Leaflets, such as the one that I designed for the USA 2025 run, have proved to be hugely important in the past. I meet a lot of people during my day to day life as well as the big event itself. Leaving them with a leaflet containing all of the relevant information really helps to get the message across and attract donations.  

THE ROUTE

I've spent a lot of time this month adjusting the route to the north east of Las Vegas. There are now a few days with 35+ miles to do in this area. As a result, the 3 days prior to reaching Death Valley see a reduced mileage of 27 miles. This is designed to ensure that I have a decent amount of recovery time before I go into the hardest section of the entire run. Although, running 81 miles in the 3 days before can hardly be termed as restful. 

I've spent further time checking the route. I've also been watching some really good YouTube content that just happen to drive large sections of my route. These have been shared with the support team. They should get a really good idea of the types of roads they will be driving on.

SUMMARY

USA 2025 is all consuming for me. I'm doing everything that I possibly can to make the run a success for St. Benedict's Hospice. 

As ever, if you feel that you can help with any aspect then please do get in touch at sponsorship@rungeordierun.com.  

Your kind donations to St. Benedict's Hospice (Charity No. 1019410) can always be made and gratefully received at https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025.