Day 11 - It's hot out there.

High temperatures are on the cards again but fortunately I'll be running over the Forth Bridge today dressed in Borat's bikini. That should keep things cool around the Trossocks!

Colleagues Michael Dunn and Paul Jackson coughed up £300 in sponsor money for this "stunt". Thanks lads. Borat will do you proud I'm sure. Pictures in due course. Steady ladies!!!

Due to having an early night last night, yesterday's review will appear this evening.

Borat fancy dress day sold for £300!!

Good news and bad news! The good news is that I get to wear something other than a Batman outfit on the big run. The bad news is that it's the Borat bikini. Even worse news - my sponsors have instructed me to wear it on the day that I run through Edinburgh City Centre!!!!!

Colleagues, Paul Jackson (33) and Michael Dunn (34) have begged, stolen and borrowed to come up with the necessary £300 sponsorship money. They have chosen day 11, of the run, as the day that I wear the skimpy little lime green number. That is the 24.7 mile section from the start of the Forth Road Bridge, through Edinburgh City Centre and then onto Middleton

At the press conference today, Paul commented "This is just our way of giving something back to the community!". Michael added "I just hope that bit of green string has been stress tested! It would be an unlucky day for the people of Edinburgh if Mark "popped out" while pounding up the Royal Mile".

Pictured are Paul and Michael fighting over who was going to try the outfit on first.

Expect photos on the day if I can manage to beat the Scottish lassies off! That's the female "lassie" and not the dog variety by the way.

In the meantime, I'll need to check if there any local by-laws in Edinburgh regarding semi naked fat blokes wearing lime green bikinis. Anne Oliver, the fundraising coordinator's final words to me last week were "Do not bring the Hospice into disrepute!". Don't worry Anne. I'll tell the Constable that I'm running for St Oswalds!

Blaydon Race in the balance!

I've tried a gentle jog up the street this morning with some slight soreness. The decision to do today's Blaydon Race will be made as late as possible this afternoon.

Anyway, enough of that trivia. The Borat Bikini turned up this morning complete with hair, tash and sun glasses. While taking the photo to the right, Katy, Jack and I were in fits of giggles with proper tears and everything. I think I look like a scouser more then Borat! I'm sure it will be a different look once the bikini is on. There's no way I'm putting it on until the required level of sponsor money is achieved.

I've done my bit. If Paul Jackson gets £300 sponsorship and my leg is fit enough then I face the most embarrassing hour of my life.

If Jacko doesn't come up with the required amount then at least he has a month before my big run starts to do so. Imagine the looks I'd get in that thing running down the A9 in the Scottish Highlands!

90% chance of doing the Blaydon race.

My leg is feeling a lot better today. I haven't ran with it yet but I have now had 2 good sessions in the gym. The signs are encouraging. I refuse to get carried away though. I've got some lovely bruises from the Sports Massage on Wednesday. A little reminder of the pain I went through! Ouch!

Jacko, one of the lads at work, today tried to raise enough sponsorship to get me to run the Blaydon Race dressed in Borat's bikini. I managed to get hold of one and it will arrive tomorrow morning by Special Delivery. The fund for this little stunt stood at £100 at the end of the working day, some £200 short of what it would take to get me to wear such an embarrassing costume. I'm now regretting all of those King Prawn Madras curries consumed over the last few months! The main concern with such a skimpy item is "popping out" while running somewhere like the Scotswood Bridge. Nightmare!

I'll leave it right up until the last moment possible to decide whether to run the Blaydon Race tomorrow. Hopefully (!) Jacko will have raised the required amount by then! At least if I don't wear the costume then Katy is in for a treat! I've just got to keep reminding myself "It's all for a good cause".

Massive sponsorship deals - Bids welcome!

While I've been very very pleased indeed with the level of sponsorship received so far, I think it's time to try and give the fund a bit of a boost.

This is an opportunity, to all companies and well off folk, for a chance to be part of a major sponsorship deal. This isn't any ordinary deal! This is the chance to be part of something massive. Something very spectacular! Did that sound convincing enough?

"What am I getting for my money?" I hear you all ask. Well! I'm willing to sink to new depths (even lower than the 100 yards I ran naked on the C2C route in 2004!) in order to raise funds for St Benedict's Hospice (Charity No 1019410).

For a decent sum of money I'm offering the chance to sponsor and be associated with one of the days of my big run. All days up for grabs. That's not the end of it! I'm prepared to run a particular day in extremely embarrassing fancy dress. Not any old fancy dress mind! Oh no! For example - £100 will get you a superhero costume. I think Batman would be my choice here. £200 will get you a character from Little Britain. I think Andy "I want that one" would be suitably embarrassing. At least I've got the stomach for that part already!

Now it gets really embarrassing! £300 gets you Borat's slingshot bikini thong! Now howay ladies and gents. Get your hands in your pockets! I'll be getting hundreds of hits on this website when those pictures are posted. £300 is an absolute bargain! Imagine it - "Mark Allison's John O'Groats to Lands End run (Day 12) dressed in nought but Borat's thong was proudly presented to you in association with your company name here.". Again, £300! It's the deal of the year.

Now I think that there will be lots of interest in that one , so just to top it off , £400 will get you another Little Britain character. This time, it's Daffyd "The only gay in the village". I'm half hoping that £400 is a little to pricey but on the other hand it's all for a good cause.

And finally, it's the big one! £500 will get you a naked 1.5 mile run across the Forth Road Bridge. This spectacular event needs little introduction or explanation. This event is probably why I have 1 contingency day at the end of the big run. I might need it to explain my antics to the local constabulary. Again, I've priced this one based on risk as well as embarrassment!

So there we have it - 5 very reasonably priced sponsorship deals. If any of these events interest you or your generous company, please drop me a line at fancydress@markallison.com for further information. Remember, these embarrassing tasks are on top of the already daunting 888 miles I'll be running from John O'Groats to Lands End. I'd almost forgotten about that bit for a moment!

Due to the nature of these events, I'd ask that money for these very attractive sponsorship deals should be paid, up front, directly to "St Benedict's Hospice, Monkwearmouth Hospital, Newcastle Road, Sunderland. SR5 1NB.".

And remember, it's all for a good cause!