Meeting the locals

Today was another busy day looking for supplies and talking to a lot of local people about the run across Australia. I was helped again by Helen and Haydn who handed out a lot of leaflets about the run which, in turn, led to a lot of conversations. We visited the start line at Cottesloe Beach and then later Freemantle. Both places were really nice with plenty of character. More importantly the people that I spoke to were very friendly and had a lot of interesting things to say. Pictured below are a few images from Cottesloe Beach.

Another item was ticked off the shopping list as I managed to get 100 energy gels for a knock down price from a bike shop in Freemantle. I also managed to get some discounted chocolate popcorn from Gourmet Popcorn in Freemantle Market. Chocolate Popcorn can be classified as "energy food" surely! Thanks to Paul (pictured below) for his kind wishes and delicious popcorn.

Later in the day, I was lucky enough to be invited to a proper Aussie BBQ where steak, chicken and burgers were cooked to perfection and polished off. This rounded off a busy day very nicely. 

All of these encounters were really made possible by the special Run Geordie Run leaflets. They are  a great ice breaker. I took the opportunity to record some of the conversations with the various folk I'd met and they can be heard by clicking the links below.

• Death, snakes, "Bloody Mad"
• Important instructions for the support team
• Harry on the dangers of Wombats
• Keep Hydrated And Eat Popcorn
• Aussie Nathan on Geordies and the dangers of Bondi
• Geordie Ex-Pat Helen on life in Australia and snakes
• Aussie Haydn on BBQs

So far, I've found the local people very friendly and supportive. So far it's been great preparation for the run across Australia which starts in 4 days time!

Finally, thank you to everyone who made a donation to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation today. The charity fund currently stands at £15,109. If you would like to add to that total then your donation, no matter how large or small, would be greatly appreciated. Every single penny counts. Please, please please donate if you can by clicking the link below. Thanks so much in advance.

4 days to go

There are only 4 days to go before I start running across Australia. I'm currently working my way through the final items on the to do list. Yesterday saw me buy some important supplies in Perth. Items such as mosquito spray, mosquito head netting for use while I'm running, water purification tablets and an Aussie SIM card for my phone were bought. I'm also close to getting a good deal on a satellite phone. I hope to hear more on Monday about that. This has always been considered a luxury item on this trip but will allow me to talk to Gary and Lisa on Real Radio when I'm out of range of a conventional mobile phone signal. 

Yesterday saw the initial test of the Identicom tracking device supplied by my sponsor Connexion2. The device is going to be used by Connexion2 and also Donna back in the UK to track my progress and monitor the status updates and optional voice memos I can leave using the device. The device gives my precise location and I took the decision a while back to keep this information private. It also allows me to raise a "red alert" with the UK call centre. Once that button is pressed the call centre can listen in to my surroundings using the device's microphone. A runner crossing Australia is a most unusual application for Identicom. The kind of people that generally use it are lone workers or those in vulnerable jobs. It's great to have this peace of mind and I'm pleased to report that the test of Identicom was successful here in Perth.

I managed to go for my first run this morning along the banks of the Swan River. There were lots of cyclists using the river side path and I was lucky enough to see some Black Swans.        

 

The run passed without incident and everything seems to still be in full working order. That's just as well as I start the run across Australia in 4 days time!

Finally, thanks for the kind donations today. The charity fund for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation breached the £15,000 mark.

Meet the support team - Donna

Over the last few weeks I have introduced the members of my support team to the readers of this website. I’ve already talked about Graham, Jason, Carlton, Dave and Ian. The final member of the team is my partner Donna (pictured below with me at this year's Great North Run). 

Donna joins the team in Adelaide on the 28th November which, incidentally is Carlton’s last day. To allow enough time for a smooth switchover of team members I’m scheduled to run only 35 miles that day. This will see me reach the 1675 mile point at the fountain in Victoria Square at around 6pm. Given the huge mileage deficit that was ever present in the USA, it seems crazy to state here that I’ll be at such a precise location at such a precise time. Given the required changeover of support team members, I simply must be in Adelaide on time. That’s the beauty of the way that this route is setup. It’s full of incentives. It’s full of deadlines and places that I simply must be to make it logistically possible to support. 

The support team after Adelaide will consist of Donna, Dave and Ian. Just like the previous configuration of team, this will allow some of the team to run with me and I know that Ian and Donna are being sponsored by colleagues and friends to run some unprecedented personal distances. Ian is planning to run 10 half marathon distances with me and Donna wants to run her first ever marathon distance. I don’t intend to make things easy for them and will be running as fast as is physically possible. If I’m in the amount of pain that I think I will be at that point, then I want to share that around the team! In a nice way of course. 

Dave and Ian will leave the team on the 6th December at the 1962 mile point. That will put the huge burden of support responsibility on Donna for the final 638 miles. Donna saw me safely through Death Valley last year and, like the rest of the team, I have every faith that she will help me get to the finish line on time. Each team member has their own role to play and the final stretch of the run across Australia is as important as any other. 

Donna and I have worked tirelessly recently to make the run a success and the non nonsense way that we “just get on with it” will stand us in very good stead in Australia. I expect those final weeks to be incredibly difficult both physically and mentally. 

Donna recently had the following to say about her up and coming time on the support team. “I will be joining Mark on the support team as a driver, cook, cleaner and carer. Just my usual day job then! 

Having spent weeks and months researching so much of the route with Mark for the run across Australia I can’t wait for it to get started. The amount of hours that have been spent staring at maps, emailing people in Australia and generally helping to plan the ‘behind the scenes’ of the route will finally pay off *crosses fingers*. 

I’m only too aware of how important the role of a support team member is having crossed Death Valley with Mark in September last year. When Mark started that particular run, the thermometer was reading 120 degrees Fahrenheit – in the shade! This was an incredibly tough challenge that Mark embraced every step of the way (while I peeled my skin off the leather seats in the support car!). 

The mental strength and determination shown by Mark is like nothing I have seen before and for that reason I have absolutely no doubt that this run will be an incredible success. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time chatting to people from the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and I have to say that I’m in absolute awe of what they do. It’s no wonder that Mark has chosen them as one of his two charities. 

For the last 2 years Mark and I have donned the lion and Dorothy costumes for The Great North Run as part of the promo for ‘Oz’. This has been great fun, although I’m sure that there were times when Mark wished that he had been wearing the Dorothy outfit! 

I’m more than happy to do my part to support this incredible journey, so much that I have set my own challenge for Australia. On Monday 2nd December I will be attempting my very first marathon. The reality of this is that 1) I have never run this far before 2) this will be Australia’s summer. While both of these points fall off the scale of sensible, I can only take a look at Mark’s challenge and think that we must all have the strength and determination deep down (really really really deep down) to put every effort into this.” 

So you should now know all about the full support team of Graham, Jason, Carlton, Dave, Ian and Donna. With absolutely no disrespect to previous teams in the UK and USA, these guys collectively are the strongest team that I’ve ever had from start to finish. There isn’t a weak link in the team and I’m looking forward to working with them all when “Run Geordie Run Down Under with Benfield” gets underway on October 16th.

The Geordie has landed....in Perth

Greetings from South Perth Library where I've thankfully found a wifi connection. I'm pleased to report that I landed safely in Perth just after midnight on Thursday. I managed to get to sleep at around 2am and woke up feeling still quite tired at 9am. After a 5 minute snooze, I woke again at 2pm. Whoops! That's not going to to my jet lag any favours. I'm being very well looked after by Helen who is originally from Consett and is my hostess for the next 6 days. Thank you Helen for making sure that there was bacon in the fridge for my breakfast (or late lunch as it turned out to be). 

The next few days are going to be spent doing gentle runs, getting supplies for the RV, getting a satellite phone (if I can get a cheap enough one) and meeting up with former ITV and Real Radio presenter Jonathan Morrell. We are going to be doing some media pieces together for the BBC and Real Radio next week.

There was some nice coverage in The Journal, The Chronicle  and True Faith Fanzine. News has also reached me that Gary and Lisa were reading out my curry related tweets from Dubai on the Real Radio Breakfast Show. Thank you to everyone for the brilliant coverage.

Thank you to those kind folk who have made a donation to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation. The fund is almost at £15,000. That's brilliant but there is still a long way to go with fundraising and the same can be said for the running of course!

Finally, thanks to Austin Lowes for getting in touch and spreading the word while on tour with the TA until 2014 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Austin is a colleague from Virgin Money who has been very supportive over the years. It's really humbling to think that people who are in far dangerous places and situations are thinking of my run across Australia. All the best Austin and please pass my regards on to the rest of the lads.

That's all for now. I'm off for a bit of an explore around the south bank of the river where I'll be running in the morning. If you would like to donate to the 2 charities then please click the image below.

Checking in from Dubai

I'm writing this blog post containing various odds and sods from Dubai Airport where I have a 10 hour wait for my flight to Perth. I have plenty of Australia related tasks with which to fill my waiting time. My first task was to check the donations that came in while I was in the air. Much to my utter delight, the charity fund had crept up to £14,784.76. The "Good Luck Run Geordie Run" event at Benfield's VW dealership raised £412 which was brilliant. Thanks also to everyone who went to my Virgin Money Giving page and pressed donate now.

Of course, this is the first campaign that I have used Virgin Money Giving. The real benefit of switching to that particular site is that more of a sponsor's donation goes to the 2 charities. By my calculations, if I'd used Virgin Money Giving for the run across the USA, an extra £2500 would have been given to the charities. That is a significant sum of money to anyone, let alone a charity.

Back to media coverage and I spotted the front page of the Journal on Twitter just a few minutes ago. "Australia here I come" is the front page headline. I know the Journal have plans for further weekly coverage and their support is very much appreciated. There was also a nice item in the Northern Echo today which can be read here.

There was one particular tweet that I was made aware of from an Australian journalist called Sylvia Jeffreys (@SylviaJeffreys). It reads as follows "Forecasters predicting an extreme Summer of cyclones, thunderstorms, heat waves and bush fires. Above average temps nationwide". Seriously!? It could be just like the run across the USA all over again where there were higher than average temperatures from start to finish.

I'll close this blog post with this picture of Liz Luff from The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. I handed over this 4ft (possibly) crocodile to her on Monday night with the strict instructions that it was her job to blow it up in readiness for a photo at Newcastle Airport.

I don't know how long it took her and her husband to "get it up" as it were, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that it had a slow puncture. Sorry Liz. :)

Goodbye Newcastle

I'm sitting in Newcastle Airport typing this after a busy 24 hours of getting my media duties done as well as packing my suitcases! Thank you to ITV North East Tonight (Derek Proud, Ian Payne and Pam Royle) and BBC Look North (Julie Smith) for some excellent coverage yesterday.  Thanks also to Charlie Charlton for a really fun interview for BBC Newcastle.

I thoroughly enjoyed speaking at last night's "Good Luck Run Geordie Run" event at my sponsor Benfield's VW dealership on Scotswood Road. It was a very well attended event and I'm hoping that at least £350 was raised for the 2 charities. When The Children's Foundation staff let me know how much was in the collection buckets I'll let you know. It was an emotional event and Gary from Real Radio did a superb job putting questions to me. Many of which had come from the audience and were quite a challenge to answer. Out of all of the things associated with the run that I've done recently, last night's event was definitely my favorite. To be amongst so many friends and well wishers was a real treat for me. I hope the audience enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you to Benfield for allowing us to use the dealership and to Les for supplying an unexpected and plentiful buffet.

Today started with a trip to Real Radio for a 1/2 hour prime time slot with Gary and Lisa on their Breakfast Show. All of my emotions came out on air and I almost went all "Bob Geldolf" while pleading for donations. The special audio that they've put together for promos and to play in the background is absolutely spectacular. It's a rousing 3 minute poem that you will hear parts of in the next 3 months. I'm told that it will be played in full on the final day. Imagine the motivational, awe inspiring qualities of the Superman and Rocky themes with a Australian take on Rudyard Kipling's "If" and you're almost there with it. I'm lucky enough to have the entire piece on my iPod and will, no doubt, be listening to it when the need arises.

If you missed me on Gary and Lisa's show then you can listen again here.

I've just finished a fun session with photographers from The Chronicle and Benfield's own in house photographer. Sky Tyne & Wear were also in attendance and I gave them an interview. Watch out for that on their Twitter page later today.

Thank you to my support man Graham, George Caulkin, Liz Luff, Libby Nolan (all pictured above) for a fitting send off from Newcastle Airport. Their support on top of all of the Tweets and Facebook message are really appreciated. The donations have been coming in nicely today also. Thank you to everyone who has visited my Virgin Money Giving page. The generosity of the general public, as ever, never ceases to amaze me. Rest assured, that I will be giving my best efforts in Australia to warrant such amazing kindness and generosity. 

I managed to speak to George Caulkin about the run while I was at the airport. You can listen to that here.

I feel very confident about giving the 2600 mile run a really, really good go. The danger, difficulty and absolute enormity of the task ahead means that success is by no means a done deal. Some have even said that "It's a road that couldn't be run". That said, with my efforts, a huge amount of good luck and your virtual roadside support via Twitter etc I stand a more than realistic chance of making it from Perth to Sydney. Please keep the support coming. It will be invaluable. We are all in this together.

I'll close this final blog post from Newcastle Airport by asking for your hard earned money. If you would like to make a donation then please use the link below. 

Good Luck Run Geordie Run

** UPDATE ** Less than 20 tickets remain for this event. Please order yours ASAP using the form below to avoid huge dissapointment!

On the 7th of October at 7pm a very special one off event will be taking place at my headline sponsor Benfield's VW dealership on Scotswood Road, Newcastle. Real Radio's Gary Philipson will be hosting "Good Luck Run Geordie Run!". This will all be happening just a matter of hours before I set off for Australia. You're probably going to leave the evening knowing exactly how the 18th century convicts felt before being shipped down under!

This is my chance to deliver an up close and personal account about by doubts and fears and how preparations have gone for Run Geordie Run Down Under ... with Benfield. I'll also be giving my honest and final thoughts on my chances of success in the very imminent 2600 mile run from Perth to Sydney through some of the most inhospitable and remote terrain on the planet.

Real Radio's Gary will be putting me under the spotlight with his usual hilarious style.  Finally, the mike will be thrown out to the audience where any burning questions they have can be asked about what is Run Geordie Run's most grueling and dangerous adventure to date.

Tickets for the Good Luck Run Geordie Run! are only £5, with every single penny of it going to The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and the Children's Foundation. There will also be a raffle on the night with some very special prizes.

If you would like a ticket then please fill in your details in the form below. Payment is made via Virgin Money Giving. Your ticket(s) will be emailed within 24 hours.

Please get your ticket order in early as this event is sure to sell out fast. 

To accommodate final preparation time for Run Geordie Run to depart for Australia, the anticipated finish time of this event is 9.30 pm. Any queries can be emailed to sponsorship@rungeordierun.com.

Good Luck from the cast of Hebburn

I'll see you at the start line

The start of Run Geordie Run Down Under ... with Benfield on October 16th 2013 will be very much like the start of the run across the USA was in 2011. The setting is a very beautiful beach with an iconic building close by. Of course, regular readers will remember that I started the 3100 mile run across the USA in 2011 at Ruby's Cafe on Huntington Beach.

The start of the run across Australia will be in the sea next to the Pavilion on Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Western Australia (pictured below) at 7 am local time on on Wednesday 16th October 2013. That means I'll be starting the run at midnight UK time on the 16th October.

It will be brilliant to see as many locals, ex-pats and exiled Geordies at the start line as possible. I've received numerous emails and tweets over the last 12 months and it sounds like there will be quite a good turnout. 

It will be nice to have a good send off and start the run in good company. Everyone is welcome at the start and I'm really looking forward to getting the run underway in just 20 days time!

Incidentally, the water at Cottesloe Beach was off limits for a short time last weekend due to "shark activity"! What can go wrong when I get there?!

Run Geordie Run Down Under with ... Benfield

North East family owned motor group Benfield Motor Group were recently announced as the headline sponsors for the up and coming run across Australia. The announcement was greeted with great personal relief and ensures that the run can now go ahead in a much safer manner than was previously possible. i.e. I now have the finances in place to pay for the RV motor home that will house and support myself and the team for 70 days.

I've been a social media ambassador for the company for 18 months and I'm so pleased that we have been able to take that particular relationship much further. With immediate effect Benfield will headline the current main sponsorship group of Brooks, Cherry Active, Chapman Ventilation, Identicom, Sport Newcastle and Virgin Money. 

As part of the headline sponsorship arrangement, my 2600 mile effort down under will now be known as Run Geordie Run Down Under with ... Benfield. The very snazzy logo for the run (below) will be seen on my blog, Facebook page, Twitter etc.

There was a short and informal ceremony on the Beach on the Quayside this afternoon. Benfield, most fittingly, asked Liz Luff from the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Libby Nolan from The Children's Foundation (both pictured below) to present me with the shirt that I'll be wearing during the Benfield Australia Run. 

It might seem like just a running shirt but I've got to say that, as soon as I put it on, I really started to feel like that athlete who finished the run across the USA in 2011. I started to feel like Run Geordie Run again. It must have been how Clark Kent felt in Superman II when he regained his powers and became Superman again. I'm waffling there, but you get the general idea I'm sure!

That running shirt is going to make a quite incredible journey over the next few months. More than anyone will ever know, I'm looking forward to it coming full circle and presenting the shirt back to Benfield once the run is over. The Benfield motto is "Enjoy the journey". If this shirt isn't something that isn't going to do exactly that then I don't know what is.

As an aside, I should point out that Benfield's Facebook and Twitter pages run a free weekly online competition called Enjoy Rewards. They are well worth checking out and only take seconds to enter. I've noticed that some of my own social media followers have been lucky enough to win such things as annual passes to Alnwick Gardens, full car valets, tickets for Newcastle Falcons matches and I myself won tickets to the recent Athletics at Gateshead Stadium whose lineup including Mo Farah!

Thank you once again to Benfield and all of my other main sponsors for giving me the best possible chance of success in Australia. It's now down to me to do them, The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children's Foundation proud. Running 2600 miles in 70 days with a fundraising target of £50,000 is going to be incredibly difficult. As ever, I will leave absolutely no ounce of energy in my body before I achieve success for the 2 charities as "Run Geordie Run Down Under ... with Benfield"