USA 2025 - Meet the support team (Steve)

Next up in the meet the support team series is Steve. Before I get into the detail, it's worth winding the clock back to the last run across the USA in 2011.

A series of tweets that I wrote the day after the run finished (9th August 2011) went as follows: 

11:35 “Huge shout out to any New York tweeps could do with help emptying RV in Tappen NY any willing kind helpers ?” 

14:25 “Goodbye to the RV. Now stranded in Tappan! Might have to run back to Manhattan.” 

I was very relieved to report soon after the following. 

15:48 “An #nufc fan I met at Columbus is driving us to NYC. Turns out he was in the year above me at school. Thanks Steven Pringle.” 

“Why is this relevant” I hear you ask. Well… Not only is Steve our “fixer” in NYC (helping to pick the motorhome up and the like), he recently offered to plug a gap in the support team rota. 

Specifically, Steve will be joining Deb on day 76 from Page, Arizona at the 2400 mile point. His tour of duty comes to an end in Mesquite, Nevada on day 81 a week later. That will leave Deb on her own for only 1 day before Graeme and Phil arrive.

Having two people on the team at any one time is my ultimate aim. It’s a relief to me to have a full strength team particularly through that isolated desert section. 

Steve explained "I met Mark during the last USA run while I was watching NUFC play Columbus with Biffa from NUFC.com. At that time I wondered what had possessed a seemingly sensible man to undertake such an act of lunacy! Following Marks’ exploits on social media for the rest of the run was a real eye opener into just what an incredible feat this was. 

When the call went out for someone to help him and Carlton get into NYC [in 2011] I was happy to leave the office early and go get them. Opening the door to the RV office I was greeted by the the most knackered looking and sorriest pair of faces I’d ever seen in my life (although I think this was possibly because Carlton had been regaling fond memories of Roker Park - enough to make the cheeriest person sad I’m sure ). 

While chatting in the car it turned out that we went to the same school - small world. Fast forward more than a decade and Biffa from NUFC.com contacted me to ask if I could help Mark out with some logistics for the start of this years run, which I was of course more than happy to do. 

As the date of the run has got closer I’ve been able help a little more by joining the support team for a short time during the run. 

I’m a firm believer that you should only run if someone is chasing you, or you’re chasing a ball, so to think that someone is going to run 3200 miles out of choice boggles my mind but really shows the type of man Mark is. 

I’m happy to help him in anyway I can, even if it means I have to practice scrambling eggs.".

I said recently that Steve is going “above and beyond” to make sure things go smoothly at the start of the run in New York. He’s now taken that to the next level by joining the team at a critical time. Thanks Steve for all you are doing.