As I was walking to the Newcastle match on Sunday I had a most extraordinary encounter. Having a beer outside the Trent House pub was none other than Geordie exile Nick Davison. He was instrumental in helping me prepare for the last USA run at his home in Huntington Beach in 2011. He also ran the first few miles with me back on May 1st 2011 as I set off from his hometown across the USA.
Of all of the many routes I could have taken to the match today I would have thought that there was more chance of a lottery win than literally being face to face with Nick. We recognised each other straight away!
I was sad to hear that Nick was over visiting the UK for a funeral.
Within a few minutes Nick was talking about finish line plans and the possibility of an organised celebratory drink at a local ale house in Huntington Beach on 9th of August. Watch this space for that.
It was so good to see Nick and I came away from our meeting on cloud nine. It was another reminder of the support for Run Geordie Run. The USA 2025 run dominates the thoughts in my head. It can be a lonely place. I live, sleep and breath it. As a consequence, when others get involved, it feels really reassuring to me. I no longer feel alone.