25 years of fundraising - 2006 to 2010

I didn't do any fundraising in 2006 and, instead, decided to spend the year doing the planning for an attempt to run John O'Groats to Land's End in 2007. I mapped the entire 874 mile route using Microsoft Autoroute. It took many months to check the mileage then double check. I also assembled a small support team of volunteers to drive a support car. Accommodation was mainly in the form of £15 Travel Lodge rooms. 

I planned to do the entire run from John O'Groats to Land's End on a shoestring of a budget. Fuel, accommodation, trainers, nutrition products and travel expenses for the support team cost a total of £1500. With that in mind I decided to set a fundraising target for St Benedict's Hospice at £5,000. 

Having had some success with keeping sponsors updated via a basic website for 5 or so years I decided to move to blogger.com. My website was still markallison.com but it was now far easier to add a new block of text with photos. 

I published a weekly diary of my training on markallison.com together with details of the route and news of how the charity fund was getting on. I managed to get coverage of the run in the Evening Chronicle. I also tried (and failed) to attract the interest of local BBC and ITV. 

The run to Land's End was the first time that I wore Brooks running shoes. They were quite expensive but it was like running in a comfy pair of slippers. 

On the eve of the run from John O'Groats to Land's End on July 6th 2007, I was having a pub meal in the town of Wick and heard that nufc.com had publicised my run. While I had been driving up to Scotland the charity fund had hit £5,000 thanks to readers of nufc.com. I also heard that the Northern Rock Foundation had agreed to match all pledges made by my colleagues. In total, the fund stood at £9000 before I set off. I immediately set a new target of £10,000 for the Hospice.

On day 7 of the run I was challenged to a marathon race by by colleague Steven Moore. He'd only started running earlier that year and it was a tough challenge for both of us.

When I reached Edinburgh on day 11 my shins were in excruciating pain. This pain lasted until day 23 and reduced me to tears on many an occasion. The way the money was coming in to St. Benedict's Hospice, there was no way that I was stopping. 

On day 16, a load of my colleagues from Northern Rock joined me at the 400 mile point for a 22 mile stretch from Castleside to Middleton. Some cycled but most ran.

Keen eyed readers will notice the late, great Jimmy Bell in the pictures above. Jimmy was one of the most humble people that I've ever met. He achieved many great things in club running and I count myself fortunate to have been able to run with him on the odd occasion. Jimmy lost his battle against cancer in 2010 but he served as a huge inspiration to me during the time that I knew him.

By day 35 the charity fund reached £19,000. I was inundated with messages of support via email which made the final few days more bearable. 

I reached the finish line in Land's End after 37 days and 874 miles of running. £23,080 had been raised as I stood next to the famous sign. 

The final total for the run from John O'Groats ended up as £34,108. I estimated that £17,000 of this came via readers of nufc.com. The coverage that I had on nufc.com which had links to my Just Giving page as well as markallison.com had proved instrumental in the success of what eventually was to become part of a much bigger series of runs (tune in on Friday to hear more about that).

At the end of 2007, I decided to make my next major sponsored event a 3100 mile run across the USA. I would take 2008, 2009 and 2010 to plan, prepare and save up for it. I estimated that it would cost approximately £15,000 to do and I set a very ambitious fundraising target of £50,000 for St Benedict's Hospice. I subsequently added The Children's Foundation as a beneficiary too. I had a young son and it felt appropriate to raise funds for a local children's charity.

 

By the end of 2008, the total since I began fundraising in 1993 broke through the £50,000 barrier. The total for the USA run was £1300 at this time. 

I knew that I'd need to create more of a "brand" if I was to appeal to a wider audience. As a result, "Run Geordie Run" was born.

It was around this time that I first used social media and setup a Facebook page to compliment content on rungeordierun.com. I went on to use Twitter for the first time in February 2009.

Peter McCowie and Co, a local accountancy firm, paid for several runs of a Run Geordie Run t-shirt. This helped the USA charity fund grow throughout 2009 and 2010. The Newcastle United first team even warmed up in the t-shirts. A blue edition of the design paid for by nufc.com raised further funds.

Throughout 2009 and 2010 I looked for commercial sponsors to make donations to the 2 charities. Peter's Pies, Sport Newcastle and Peter McCowie became shirt sponsors and Digital Spark were the main sponsor.

Brooks agreed to supply me with trainers and Northern Runner were sponsors of rungeordierun.com.

During late 2008, 2009 and up to May 2010, I trained one week at David Fairlamb Fitness with Mark Fleming and the other week was more focussed on running. I ran up to 110 miles per week during the running weeks. I also did Dave's Beach Bootcamp on Saturday mornings followed by a load of steps in King Edward's Bay.

When I first met Dave in August 2008, he thought that the run across the USA would be "massive" in terms of interest. He brought a lot of positivity to my training. Little did I know at the time that he would go on to play such a huge part in the success of the run across the USA in 2011.

I was in brilliant physical condition in May 2010 when disaster struck. I told the 600 followers that I had on Twitter "Doh! Flat tyre! Crashed on a corner! Think my ankle is broken. Not good! At least the sun is out.".

When I went to A&E after my cycling accident I was told to "Forget all about the run across the USA" by the male nurse. I was operated on the following day and I managed to get bookmaker's Paddy Power to sponsor the pins in my ankle.

I recovered just in time to do the Great North Run in September 2010. This was the first time that I tried to get other people to raise funds for St. Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation as part of "Team Run Geordie Run". George Caulkin and Mick Butler were part of the team and along with another runner we raised £1502.

Sales of a specially written CD by a group called The Exiles added a few hundred pounds to the charity total.

Local artist Gary Hogg agreed to draw a cartoon which appeared in the Journal newspaper as well as NUFC fanzine The Mag.

By the end of 2010, £20,325.34 had been raised during the USA 2011 campaign for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation. There was still a long way to go before the £50,000 target was reached but it was becoming obvious to me that my fundraising had been taken to the next level. nufc.com had played a huge part in this. Also, the contacts I made via Dave Fairlamb had been very important too.

Tune in tomorrow to read about years 2011 to 2014.

25 years of fundraising - 1999 to 2005

As I entered my seventh year of fundraising, something about my fundraising became very obvious to me. I realised that what started out as a venture to repay the debt of gratitude to St Benedict's Hospice had other benefits. The first was the feeling of fulfilment. With every step ran and subsequent pound donated the enormous sense of feeling fulfilled was overwhelming. 

I'm convinced that, over the years, my fundraising has played a huge part in the grieving process. Doing sponsored events has always helped me focus on the positive and keep me from dwelling too long on the negative thoughts associated with the loss of my parents.

My fundraising ambition in 1999 and beyond was to try and raise over £1000 each year for the Hospice. In order to do this I did another bike ride from Washington to Ripon and back. I had another go at the London Marathon as well as the Great North Run. I didn't take the Great North run seriously 

The final event that year was the New York Marathon. I was very pleased to hand over a cheque at the end of the year for £1650 to the Hospice.

These were the days before social media and online donation websites. The people who donated were colleagues, friends and family. My audience was limited and I knew that this had to change if I wanted to continue my plan of raising £1000 a year. 

I didn't do any fundraising in the year 2000. My full time job away from the North East keep me busy. I did make sure to make a personal donation to the Hospice that year though in memory of my Mam.

In 2001, I did the Great North Run again. Popular Newcastle United supporter's website nufc.com were kind enough to feature me on their site. I also created my first blog (long before they were called blogs) which had an address of www.markallison.com. Despite my own online presence I decided not to to use a fund-raising platform such as Just Giving. I didn't like the idea of anyone taking a % out of donations to the hospice.

I had another go at the New York Marathon in 2001. This was the year of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. There were a few weeks where it wasn't known whether or not the marathon would go ahead. I was very pleased and relieved that it did go ahead and felt very proud to hand over a cheque for £2,470 to the Hospice at the end of the year. I had not only hit my £1000 target but also more than made up for the lack of fundraising in 2000.

As the St. Benedict's Hospice newsletter below states "Already the next event is at the planning stage". I knew that I would have to do something far more difficult if I was to continue raising £1000 a year for the Hospice.

In 2002 I decided to leave the organised events such as the Great North Run and the marathons behind. The next logical step for me was to try and run the width of the country. I chose the 140 mile C2C route and planned to do it in October of that year. I set a very ambitious fundraising target of £4,000.

The 140 mile run through the Lake District and North Pennines was incredibly tough but I managed to get to St. Benedict's Hospice within 7 days. I fell way short of my fundraising target but £1,560 was raised which is difficult to be disappointed about.

In an attempt to hit my fundraising target of £2000 in 2003 I begrudgingly decided to use Just Giving as well as my traditional approach to fundraising. I chose to run the the newly opened 84 mile Hardian's Wall path dressed as a Roman soldier. It wasn't the full ancient military outfit but more the kind of thing that you'd wear on a stag do! I was joined by my colleague and fellow runner John Mallon. I'll leave it up to you to figure out who looked the most ridiculous!  

By the time we reached Segedunum 3 days after leaving Bowness-on-Solway a massive £4,140 had been raised. The combination of documenting the journey on a daily basis via markallison.com and accepting online donations as well as in person paid off big time. 

It was one of the most fun events that I'd ever ran in. It was such a good laugh and John was great company. 

    

In 2004 and 2005 I had another go at running the 140 mile C2C route in 5 and 3 days respectively. £1,228 and £1,477 were raised for the Hospice in those years. 

I remember getting to the finish line in 2005 thinking "There's no way that I'll be able to run from John O'Groats to Lands End". To run that 900 mile route was my long term fundraising ambition. 

Speaking of finish lines and there was one ever present person whenever I completed a run across the country. The fundraising coordinator from St. Benedict's Hospice, Anne Oliver, was always there with a flask of tea and some biscuits.

The first 13 years of fundraising had seen £14,925 raised. £250 of that total was for North of England Children's Cancer Research and the remaining £14,675 was for St. Benedict's Hospice. 

During this period, I began to keep people informed of my fundraising using markallison.com. I'd also started using Just Giving to accept online donations. My plan to raise £1000 a year was working. 

It would have been unimaginable back then to think that over the following 12 years an extra £300,000 would be raised for the Hospice and other local good causes. As I told the Sunderland Echo "This isn't just something I intend to do for a short time. I'd like to think that I'll always try and raise funds for St. Benedict's Hospice".

That's all for today. Tomorrow I'll talk about the fundraising years from 2006 - 2010.

25 years of fundraising - 1993 to 1998

This is the first in the series of five blog posts taking a look back at the first 25 years of my fundraising. I'm sure long term followers, friends and family are well aware of the history of my fundraising and the reasons for it. For those of you who don't I do hope you enjoy reading my story over the coming five days.

"What am I supposed to do now?" is exactly what I said when I returned home for the final time from St. Benedict's Hospice during the early hours of March 9th 1995. Sadly my Mam, passed away during that night following two weeks of palliative care on one of the Hospice's wards. 

My mam's name was Marjorie. Her friends called her "Madge". She lost her battle with lung cancer 7 years after my Dad, Terry, lost his. I was 17 years old when my Dad died. To be now without both of my parents at the age of 23 was a very daunting prospect. 

Losing a loved one is something that you never get over. The grieving process that began in 1988 and was now added to in 1995 would continue on for many years to come. In fact, it wasn't until 2016 that I believe I finally came to terms with the death of my parents.

We lived in Washington at the time which is why we lived in the catchment area of St. Benedict's Hospice in the City of Sunderland.

When my Mam attended the day ward at St Benedict's Hospice from 1994 I decided almost immediately to raise funds. She would be taken there and back by ambulance. She had her medication regulated, talked to the doctors about her treatment and she had access to a whole host of complimentary therapy services that were on offer. Even from those early days, I felt compelled to raise funds to repay the Hospice for everything that they were doing for my Mam. We knew that there was no cure for her cancer. The Hospice were doing everything that they could to help make my Mam's final days, weeks and months as comfortable, pain free and as dignified as possible. 

So that's the background very briefly to give you an idea of why I do what I do to fundraise. I'm sure it's not a unique story. In fact, I know it isn't because of all of the people that I've talked to over the years who also raise funds for similar reasons to me.

The only thing that I was able to do to raise funds was running. Fortunately we have the biggest half marathon in the world right here in the north east of England. I signed up to do my first Great North Run in 1993 and managed to get round in 2 hours and 8 minutes. I got sponsored £100 for it with the proceeds going to North of England Children's Cancer Research (NECCR). 

The second attempt at the Great North Run in 1994 took me 1 hour and 58 minutes. I raised £200 for the Hospice. The 1995 Great North Run took me 1 hour 48 minutes and another £200 was raised. It still remains my quickest official half marathon time to date. That year also saw my quickest 10k which was the Kielder Run in 00:43:10. I also ran my quickest 5k ever in training in 1995 in 00:17:00. I also raised £150 for NECCR that year when I joined an organised bike ride to Jimmy's hospital in Leeds.

In 1996, I cycled 120 miles to Ripon and back from Washington in 2 days. That event together with the Great North Run saw £500 raised for St. Benedict's Hospice. I did the Great North Run in 01:55:20.

In 1997, I convinced friends and colleagues to join me on another 120 mile bike ride from Washington to Ripon and back in 2 days. Just like the year before, it was a tough event. This was mainly due to the amount of beer that we drunk in Ripon at the end of the first day. Together we raised £500 for the Hospice. Pictured below with me is my old work mate, Alan Marshall and his wife. Anne Oliver, the fundraising co-ordinator for the Hospice is on the end.

I also ran the London Marathon in 1997. It took me 5 hours and 5 minutes. That event and the Great North Run of that year raised another £500 for the Hospice.

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In 1998, I did the Great North Run again and raised £250 for the Hospice. I don't recall my time. 

So it took five years to raise £2400 of which £2150 was for St Benedict's Hospice. In subsequent blog posts in this series I'll write about how that kind of money was raised in a matter of seconds during future events. 

No matter what the amount raised, it was very obvious to me during those first five years of fundraising that there were a lot of generous and supportive people around me. I always felt quite shy asking people for money. I never took their kind generosity for granted though and always made a point of thanking people as often as I could.

By the end of 1998, I really felt that I'd started to repay the debt of gratitude that I felt towards St. Benedict's Hospice. It was my burning ambition, though, to raise thousands each year in the future. I had an idea of how I'd be able to do that in 1999.

Tune in tomorrow for the second part of this series covering 1999 to 2005.

Team Run Geordie Run

Getting people to donate or raise funds for my chosen charities is always a huge challenge for me. This is especially the case when those people don't have a personal or emotional connection to St. Benedict's Hospice who I have raised funds for since 1994. 

Team Run Geordie Run was setup in 2010 in order to use the Run Geordie Run brand to attract people to raise funds for my chosen charities who otherwise wouldn't have done so. 95% of the funds raised by the team have been on the back of the Great North Run. There have been other events such as the London, Edinburgh and Melbourne Marathons. Last year saw a self supported ultra distance run on the south coast. There has even been fancy dress participation!

Members of the team have come from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. The charities to  benefit from the team's efforts in the past have been The Children's Foundation and St. Benedict's Hospice. Of course, the hospice is this year's chosen charity. 

Now for some figures! In previous years Team Run Geordie Run have raised £44,869.60 for The Children's Foundation and, including this year, £8,518.77 has been raised so far for St Benedict's Hospice. I've got a feeling that the overall total for the Hospice may exceed £10,000 after this year's Great North Run. I'm hoping that the team will raise at least £8000 this year for St. Benedict's Hospice to make that happen. That would be amazing! 

I know from speaking to many of the team recently just how happy they are to run the 13.1 miles at the Great North Run this weekend. Everyone knows that it's all for a good cause and how desperate for financial support the Hospice is. In fact, relatives of some of the team have received care from St. Benedict's Hospice. No matter what the reasons for fundraising or personal connections to the Hospice are, everyone should be especially proud that their efforts are making a real and positive difference to terminally ill people in our region.

I can only speak from my own experiences, but the care and support that my Mam received from the Hospice made a huge difference to her final weeks and months as she battled lung cancer. The specialist palliative care given to my Mam and many other people in the Hospice is truly something special and we must do everything that we can to help in some small way if we can. 

The 50k barrier was smashed recently and the overall Team Run Geordie Run total since 2010 going into this weekend's Great North Run stands at £53,388.36. That's some incredible effort and generosity right there. A huge thank you to everyone involved over the years is something that I never grow tired of writing or saying.

Thanks, once again, go to Run Geordie Run main sponsor SOS Group, who have paid for the production of Team Run Geordie Run t-shirts and vests since 2014. This year's kit is very snazzy. 

SOS Group also pay for the Team Run Geordie Run goodie bags which I'm pleased to report contain a nice bottle of Prosecco this year. These will be handed out in the St. Benedict's Hospice tent near the finish line at the Great North Run.

Andrew Skelton, one of the directors at SOS Group, told me "It's been a huge honour to support Team Run Geordie Run over recent years. As a company, we take great inspiration from the effort that everyone puts into training, fundraising and during the Great North Run itself. 

I visited St. Benedict's Hospice earlier this year and was able to see first hand what an amazing place it is. 

Good luck to everyone running this weekend. Everyone at SOS Group think you are all amazing.".  

Thanks also to Active Edge for sachets of Cherry Active to help Team Run Geordie Run recover from Sunday's 13.1 miles. Incidentally, this is my 7th year of using Cherry Active. It has helped me during runs across the USA, Australia as well as Western and Eastern Europe. It's the product that I drink that helps me run the big miles day after day with the bare minimum of aches and pains in my muscles. It's been brilliant to see use of the product grow in the sports community over the years. I spotted Jamie Vardy and Tom Daley using it on the TV recently. It also seems popular across many other sports too.  

Finally, thanks to the members of Primal Fitness and Performance for their efforts this year. 9 of the 24 strong 2018 Team Run Geordie Run members have signed up from Primal.

11 of the team have com from Virgin Money and with many of them having done the London Marathon it's been a very busy year of running and fundraising.

Chris Checkley from Virgin Money (pictured below left) said "The Great North Run means a massive amount to me and has literally changed my life. 

When I was a nipper I ran the first 2 GNRs. At that time you'd get a certificate and a free photo. Fast forward 28 years I was over 18 stone, unhealthy and unfit. I couldn't accept that I was going to peak athletically aged 12! 4 years later, after a lot of hard training I achieved my target of beating my 12 year old self, achieving a time of 1:41:49, I also got my weight down to 13 stone. 

I'll be running this year for St Benedict's Hospice as part of Team Run Geordie Run, a fantastic cause that I am very pleased to be helping.".

Carl (pictured middle below) wrote the following back in January of this year "On Wednesday 8th March 2017, during my usual commute by bike to work, I was hit by a driver in his car. I suffered multiple breaks in my shoulder blade, collar bone, seven broken ribs, 3 fractured vertebrae and a punctured lung.

After 9 days in hospital (6 in the High Dependency Unit) I returned home, still somewhat shaken. It's been a long journey to get to the point of writing this story. 10 months have passed and whilst the bones have mended, there's still a lot of healing to be done. Thankfully I've have a brilliant set of people around me, who have helped me back up when I've been down and ensure my recovery has been more bearable.

I will be running with Team Run Geordie Run and raising money for St Benedict's Hospice. I've ran with RGR for many years whilst at work and it is an honour to run with his team.".

Thank you also to the other 4 Team Run Geordie Run making up the total of 24 who are taking part. Fundraising, never mind running 13.1 miles, is not an easy thing to do. Your efforts are hugely appreciated by St. Benedict's Hospice and myself.

The team's progress this weekend can be followed on the Team Run Geordie Run Facebook page. Good luck to David, Jeff, Lyn, Andrew, Carl, Carlton, Clare, Em, Faye, Gary, Gregory, Jonathan, Kirstine, Michael, Sarah, Simon, Steve, Jo, Beverley, Chris, Ibrahim, Melonie, Chris and Mark this weekend.

Finally, I'd like to end with a message that I received last year from a member of Team Run Geordie Run. It was very satisfying to me because I knew that every mile that I'd previously ran around the world had helped to inspire someone to fundraise for a cause close to my heart who otherwise would not have done so. That, right there, is the sole purpose of Team Run Geordie Run.

"I'll be honest, I've no affinity with The Children's Foundation and whilst I'm proud of the money I've raised, the kudos for me was running as part of Team Run Geordie Run. Your running has been inspirational to me. Well done for everything bud and I'm prouder of my Team Run Geordie Run  jersey than my Great North Run medal".

Debrief with SJH projects

Yesterday was a year to the day since I travelled to SJH Projects in Nottingham to inspect the finished Chapman Ventilation Around The World Buggy.

On this anniversary, I took the opportunity for a debrief with Steve Holland the project manager at SJH. Incidentally, it was actually Steve’s daughter who came up with the name “Chappie”. She hasn’t asked for any royalties yet for its use!

The overall feedback on Chappie that I gave yesterday was massively positive. Chappie is a craft that has been proven to be hugely fit for purpose. I’ve used it in temperatures from -9 to +36 Celsius. Apart from the expected punctures and a damaged brake caused by me (which was fixed in Chudniv) there have been no mechanical failures. The collapsed wheel 100 metres from the finish line was entirely my fault. The spare wheel that I used wasn’t suitable for a large drop off a kerb. The wheel needs a small modification before the next journey to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

The only other issue was a small amount of water leaking into Chappie in monsoon conditions. This is now silicone sealed.

Chappie was very well illuminated at the back and the amount of traffic that gave me a wide berth was proof of this. I don’t even recall any near misses and the 350 lumen lights that I subsequently added were an extra layer of protection.

Chappie proved to be as comfortable to sleep in as it possibly could. The half door at the back with a mosquito net at the top is ideal in the summer. The little fan down at the foot end proved to be invaluable to help circulate air during the night.

The solar panel worked superbly well and provided more than enough power to keep a laptop, satellite tracker, GPS watch, iPhone and drone batteries charged. The only modification I’d like is to have the USB hub positioned near the hatch. I’ll perhaps use a longer wire next time.

Another modification might be some external storage. However, on the next stage I need to review exactly what I need to take with me. Supplies need to be cut down to the bare minimum.

We also discussed my range with Chappie. Last year Steve hit the nail on the head when he said that it would draw a lot of attention. This hampered my progress but we both agreed that it made for a much richer story.

I’ve got my own thoughts on my daily range and I think 31 miles is doable, as proved to be the case on many days on stage five. The rest days need to be better spread out and refuelling on a daily basis needs a complete rethink. Burning 9000 calories and eating 1500-2000 leads to very poor quality miles and this has to change in future stages. Not having a support team to cook and force feed me was a huge backward step on stage five. I need to find the self discipline to plug that gap.

Back to Chappie and both Steve and I agreed that lessons had been learned. However, there is very little to change with Chappie itself.

As I said earlier, Chappie is a craft that is totally fit for purpose. It kept me safe from Belgrade to Kiev and will definitely be used for the remaining 10,200 miles around the world.

In the short term, I’m looking forward to using Chappie as a fundraising tool locally. I have a motivational talk next week and I’ll be running with Chappie to the venue.

Thanks to my sponsor Chapman Ventilation for paying for Chappie’s production. Without their support, stage five would not have happened. Thanks to them I not only have a craft to help get me round the rest of the world but from here on in my tour costs have been massively reduced by tens of thousands of pounds. No more motorhome hire, fuel costs and motor insurance means that more commercial money can go to the charities that I raise funds for.

It’s Chappie’s official birthday on September 21st. I wonder how we will celebrate?

Team Run Geordie Run 2018

This year's Great North Run will see 24 Team Run Geordie Run runner's taking part and raising funds for St Benedict's Hospice. Last weekend, I wrote the following on the Team Run Geordie Run Facebook Page which I'd like to share on my blog. 

"Here are just some random thoughts of mine to remind us how we got here as a team and what the benefits are. Team Run Geordie Run was born out of a desire to repay a debt of gratitude to charities who make a positive difference to the lives of a lot of people in the north east of England. 

Most people have been affected by cancer and some of the team’s family have even used the services of St. Benedict's Hospice, the chosen charity for 2018. I’m aware that the majority of people on the team have their own story to tell. My own story is a simple one however. It's how St Benedict’s Hospice made a huge difference to my family. 

The care that my Mam received at the Hospice helped to give her a dignified and as comfortable as possible final few weeks of her life. That was in March 1995. She spent 14 days on the palliative care ward at St Benedict’s Hospice. 

St Benedict’s Hospice back then was a much smaller premises than it is now. There were three people in the same room as my Mam. Only a curtain separated them. 

I remember that my Mam, even during her final days and fighting her own battle, tried to help and talk to the other two people on the ward. I remember one lady was just a mere skeleton with little chance of being able to communicate anything other than her state of discomfort. A state which was soon calmed and helped by the Hospice nurses. My Mam never reached the kind of physical condition that this poor lady was in. My Mam’s cancer spread to her brain and that is what brought the earlier than expected end to her life rather than any complications with the initial cancer in her right lung. 

When I used to say goodbye to my Mam at the end of each visit she would wave out of the window in her room at the Hospice. After the ninth day she was no longer able to get out of her bed to do that. Sadly, she lost any ability to communicate during the final three days. When I say that she fought against the cancer, that’s exactly what it looked like she was doing. It seemed like she was battling for every breath until finally she took her last one. 

I wasn’t there when she died and that is something that I struggled to cope with for a few years. It wasn’t until I had a visit from a Macmillan Nurse in 1997 that I was helped to make sense of things. I was aware that the Hospice used to contribute funds to them. 

Of course, the grieving process continues. Like many other people that I talk to, I’ll never fully recover from losing both of my parents. My situation isn’t unique I have come to discover. Specifically though, St Benedict’s Hospice have helped thousands of terminally ill people and supported their families over the years. That’s what makes it all the more important that we continue to do as much as possible to help them. 

The staff and patients at St Benedict’s Hospice are now housed in a wonderful purpose built premises. Every patient has their own room. The grounds contain some amazing green spaces which lend themselves to providing a calm and relaxing backdrop to what, for all families, will be a terribly difficult and sad time. 

If you have ever sponsored Run Geordie Run or have been part of the team, then you should feel unbelievably proud of how your efforts are helping to improve the quality of the end of life care given by the staff at St Benedict’s Hospice. 

There are other fundraisers like us who will feel equally as proud. We are playing our own small part but together as a team we are making a huge difference."

Debrief with SOS Group

It was great to spend time with Andrew and John from my sponsor SOS Group Ltd this week. In keeping with other recent mammoth brainstorming sessions it took us a good 3 hours to talk about the stage five campaign and assess whether or not it had been a success for both parties. The answer to that was a unanimous yes. 

Of course, the current campaign is not over yet with Team Run Geordie Run’s participation at The Great North Run and also the Around The World Ball still to come. Both of these events are heavily supported by SOS Group by the way.

As well as support to the charities I raise funds for, SOS Group support a whole range of other local causes. It's no exaggeration to say that they have been responsible for adding tens of thousands of pounds to the total amount that I’ve been able to raise for The Children’s Foundation, Useful Vision and the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation in previous years. In 2018, they have helped to raise further funds for St. Benedict's Hospice. 

Ultimately, without the support of SOS Group the run Around The World would have ended in 2016. Thankfully they, along with my other sponsors have helped to keep the journey alive as well as raising a huge sum for local good causes. 

We saved a bit of time, at the end of our meeting, to discuss our future plans and the Run Geordie Run / SOS Group partnership. I've got to say that I’m very excited about that. With an unprecedented amount of effort, good luck and a willingness to learn from past experiences the future is looking bright. 

Debrief with Helen

The debrief of stage five of the run Around The World continued this week.

My good friend Helen has provided psychological telephone support for the last two stages in Australia and Europe and was called upon again this year. She has proved to be worth her weight in gold and has an amazing ability to talk me out of some dark times. 

Helen always helps to make me see difficult situations in a certain completely different light. She’s very much like my wife, Donna, in that respect but on a very qualified and professional level. 

Donna, Helen and I talked for 4 hours about what went well on stage five, what can be improved on, the grieving process, relationships with the various stakeholders (sponsors, the public, the charity etc), St. Benedict’s Hospice, plans for the future and Run Geordie Run as a fundraising project in general. It was a very thorough and thought provoking 4 hours. 

The discussion that we had is going to take a few days or even weeks to digest and fully contemplate. As a lay person, I found it fascinating to get a professional view of many aspects of my running and fundraising. 

Thanks to Helen for always being there for me and Donna. She’s an absolute one off. A real character. 

Stage five debrief

This afternoon I had a debrief of stage five of the run Around The World with David Fairlamb. Some excellent points were raised and valuable lessons have been learned. It’s this kind of analysis that will ultimately shape the remaining journey around the planet. 

It was interesting to note how stage five compared to the runs across the UK, USA, Australia and Europe. Every event so far has had its positives and negatives. While each route has had different kinds of challenges there are definitely common themes throughout. For me, the mental battle of these multi month events remains the biggest challenge. I wouldn’t say that I’m better prepared for the mental battle but I’m definitely aware that I expect to have a fight on my hands. Especially, towards the closing stages of an event. Australia still remains the lowest point mentally. 

Behind John O’Groats to Lands End, this last stage probably saw me cope much better mentally. The major contributory factor here was the amount of unplanned local support in various places. Without doubt, the daily interaction with the Serbians, Romanians and Ukrainians had a huge positive impact on my morale.

The amount of comments and feedback on the Facebook page also helped. Support on Twitter was much less than previous years. 

The logistics behind each stage are getting more and more difficult and I think this is my major weakness. Particularly so where customs and visa issues are concerned. Getting Chappie in and out of various countries efficiently and in keeping with customs/border legislation is going to require massive improvement and better solutions next time. I can’t expect to have any reasonable guidance and assistance from a freight company. The buck stops with me on that one. 

There are so many positives to bear in mind. Physically, I stood up to the task from Belgrade to Kiev. My final plan gave me the best chance of getting a decent distance further around the planet and only 200 miles from the half way point. This was the stage where the final outcome differed massively from what I set out to do. No amount of training in the UK could have prepared me for life in a buggy. It was only getting out there and trying it out that showed me what was possible and what wasn’t. 

Progress on stage five was hampered by the amount of time I spent with local people. I don’t necessarily see this as a negative. Being able to talk to community groups, schools, universities and the foreign national media about my journey can only be a good thing. Even though this doesn’t necessarily yield funds for St Benedict’s Hospice, I need to give thought to similar engagement going forward. 

It was, without doubt, a much more difficult journey without a motor home and a support team. More difficult doesn’t necessarily mean better. I personally found it a fascinating challenge to run unsupported. I think those that followed the journey bought into this also. Social media engagement and website hits were massively up on previous years. Despite that, I failed to convert this interest to donations. I don’t know why this was the case. What I will say though is that my gratitude to those who did donate and have done so in previous years is considerable. If you donated in 2018 or 2008 or even 1998, I don’t forget about it and it’s hugely appreciated. Public support is something that I will never take for granted. 

As well as public support, the commercial backing from SOS Group Ltd, FFG Logistics, Chapman Ventilation, Brooks, D-Line, Active Edge, Virgin Money proved to be the difference between the success and failure of stage five. That support got me to the start line and will, hopefully, see the final total raised reach close to £60,000 by the end of the year. 

So, lots of lessons learned. Some issues that I don’t have answers to just yet. Lots of positives. Lots of great memories. The desire to raise funds for St Benedict’s Hospice is as strong as it was back in 1994.

I’ve got a similar de-brief meeting with my main sponsor, SOS, later this week. That’s an opportunity to thank them in person as well as talk about the various aspects of stage five. 

Once the Great North Run and the Around The World Ball have passed, Donna and I will then take time to reflect on this current campaign. We must ensure that we keep on doing what we do well in certain areas and make sure to improve in areas that need improvement.