Day 45 - Another internet appearance.

Concerning the lap of honour, there's a great little article on the official Newcastle United website.

The article, entitled "Mark's a local hero" goes on to explain why I was invited to do the lap around the pitch at half time and how I was presented with a shirt, signed by the squad, by the new Chairman Chris Mort.

You can see the article at www.nufc.co.uk.

Day 45 - A mention in the match day programme and the Journal.

There was a nice paragraph at the end of the Villa match report in today's Journal.

"Mark Allison, the Newcastle supporter who ran from John O’Groats to Lands End to raise funds for a local hospice, was applauded for his efforts during the interval. Unlike the 37-year-old, United still have a long way to go."

Both the programme and the Journal made me a year older than I was but I'll not quibble too much about that!

The plans for this week are a few short runs and a couple of sessions in the gym. By the time I get back to work next I'll start to get back to the usual quick lunchtime runs and more intense gym sessions. The aim now is to get my weight down to below 14 stone before the Christmas break! That will be a challenge in itself now that I'm allowed to drink beer and eat curries again!

Thanks to todays new sponsors. The current total is £25,350! Pledges will be accepted right up until the cheque is presented to St Benedict's Hospice on September 27th. To add your donation to the fund please click on the justgiving link:

Day 44 - Living the dream!

I mentioned to the lads in the pub after the match that I fully expected to wake up this morning at 18 stone again and having had the most amazing whirlwind of a dream.

The dream went something like this. I ran 874 miles down the length of the country, amassed over £25,000 in sponsorship for the Hospice and got to run an unprecedented lap of honour round the pitch at St James' Park. You couldn't make it up!

Anyway, I spent the entire first half yesterday in a very very nervous mood. And believe you me, I don't get nervous easily. I was so nervous that I had my first ever toilet visit during open play. Not bad considering that I've been going to the match for 22 years.

At half time, after getting changed in the media suite, I made my way to the opening of the tunnel. To get rid of the nerves I imagined that I had 2 rows of teams behind me and a captains armband on. The announcer said his piece and it was time to walk out onto the side of the pitch. This time, I imagined that I was the latest new signing being unveiled to the crowd. What an impact this had and I don't think the smile on my face left me for a good few hours. As I walked onto the pitch side, I expected a few polite applause here and there around the ground so the actual reception that I got was amazing. It seemed to me that the whole crowd was applauding. Local hero played over the PA system and I set off towards the Gallowgate end.

I later found out that it was raining heavily as I ran. This was news to me as I didn't feel a drop. I can't remember running either. I just seemed to float around.

The applause and cheers never stopped as I ran (floated!) around the pitch side. Their were real looks of admiration and pride on the faces of my fellow supporters. I seemed to keep my arm aloft all the way around, while waving and cheering every now and again. All the while the smile on my face seemed to grow wider and wider. I shook the hands of a lot of people and there was a load of high fives in there too.

Now the surreal bit. I signed a couple of autographs at the Gallowgate End and some in the East Stand. Then, at the Leazes End, one lad who I'd had a supportive email from while on the run asked if I would sign his programme. Now I'd planted the other autograph hunters in the crowd. This one was genuine! GET IN!!!! I've signed my first autograph. I made my way to the Leazes/Milburn corner and caught sight of my son Jack in the crowd. I gave him a quick hug before arriving back at the tunnel. At this point my grin was at it's maximum span! I later got a text message from an occupant of the East Stand saying that "You looked chuffed!.". That was a bit of an understatement!

At the tunnel entrance, Chairman Chris Mort was waiting to greet me with a Toon shirt. The shirt had the number 874 and name Allison. It was also signed by the first team! I had a few words with Chris who seemed like a smashing bloke by the way. He presented me with the shirt and we posed for photos. I then held the shirt up to the crowd and more applause rained down. Amazing!

Little did I realise but another life long ambition was soon to be realised as I got asked to draw the Geordie Jackpot! As I said before "You couldn't make it up!". To top things off even more, I went "back stage" to get changed and met Supermac. He was full of praise for my efforts.

All in all this was a great day! Later on, I relived the half time lap over a few beers and a curry with the lads. I would never have dared imagine today's events would be possible when I set off from John O'Groats on July 7th amidst severe wind and rain. And I swear that my grin just got wider and wider as the night went on!

At this point I'd like to thank Newcastle United and Gary Oliver in particular for looking after me so well yesterday. Thanks are also due to Rachel Kerr at the BBC for her superb coverage and wonderful photos. Thanks to a certain pair over at NUFC.COM for the part they played in getting the lap organised. Thanks also to today's new sponsors for adding to the fund which currently stands at £25,310.

Pledges will be accepted right up until the cheque is presented to St Benedict's Hospice on September 27th. To add your donation to the fund please click on the justgiving link:

Day 43 - Was it all a dream?

One of the proudest 10 minutes of my life can be seen at:

Day 43 - Like the best dream I ever had.

What a reception on the lap of honour! And to be presented with a signed shirt by the new chairman topped it off superbly! Full report to follow tomorrow.

Day 43 - What a result!

I now go into today's lap of honour round the pitch at half time with the fund for St Benedict's Hospice currently at:

£25,120!!!

This makes the shin pain, hamstring pain, exhaustion, blister pain, the mental pain, not seeing my family, running on my birthday, running in the wind, running in the rain, running in 29 degree heat, not drinking for 8 months, all the training, missing 2 home friendlies, missing the Bolton game, dressing up as Borat, dressing up as Batman all worthwhile.

Don't forget that I got to beat a mackem work colleague who challenged me to running a marathon distance in the Cairngorms on day 7 of the big run. Despite him being 10 years younger, 5 stone lighter and me having run 160 miles already I still managed to destroy him and win the challenge. I hear on the grapevine that his confidence has been shattered and he hasn't ran since. He did manage to raise £1500 sponsor money in his own right though! This is separate to my total and will also be going to St Benedict's Hospice.

The Pennine Challenge, undertaken by Northern Rock staff who joined me on day 16, also raised sponsor money in it's own right. At present, this is estimated to be in the region of £3000. This is also separate to my total and will also be going to St Benedict's Hospice. There were some pretty nasty injuries to some of the Northern Rock staff as a result of that run on what was a very very difficult course. One lad is due to have an MRI scan on his knee soon and Ian "The Coach" Glasgow hasn't managed a decent run since. Also due to a knee injury.

The above total, standing at a very proud £25,120, would not have been possible without the publicity given to me by Niall and Biffa at NUFC.COM. Oh and by the way, as a little bonus from the tax man, the Gift Aid that the £25120 fund attracts is in the region of £5000.

When I asked the 2 lads to publicise the run I expected a short piece on their site for a few days. Much to my amazement and utter gratitude, they stuck with me day after day on the run and kept you, the readers, up to date with my shenanigans. The run finished 5 days ago and I'm still on the site! Brilliant! Crikey, I hope, they remove me after the Villa game! I've been on there more times than Marcelino had injuries.

I'd like to think I've been a good ambassador for the Geordie Nation. It's very fitting that the vast majority of pledges have been made by fellow Geordies, both at home and abroad. What a superb message this must send out about the wonderful people in our region and those who have moved away from it.

I'll be accepting pledges, right up until the cheque is handed over to the Hospice on 27th September. News on this evening of gratitude, congratulation and cheque presentation will start filtering though on this site starting next week. We still need a venue, Geordie band, PA system and all sorts but we should manage to put on a do that is fitting for cheques of this magnitude.

To say that this event has been a success is an absolute understatement. I set about achieving a certain result and boy did I deliver (with a lot of help from a lot of people). Not bad for putting one foot in front of the other a million and a half times in 37 days!

As the sign post read at Lands End, Geordie Pride indeed!

Day 42 - £25,000 barrier smashed!

Thanks ever so much to today's new sponsors. The current total stands at:

£25,080.22

Thanks to a £200 pledge from Anthony Chapman, the fund is now over an incredible and most amazing £25,000. Over £16,200 has now been pledged from NUFC.COM readers. If you would like to add to this total please click on the justgiving link:

I've enjoyed reading the comments on the justgiving website over the last 6 weeks. The following are a selection of my favourites:

Ben Biggs - "Unbelievable. You've run further in 37 days than Kieron Dyer did in 8 years. Fantastic - well done." [Harsh but fair - MA]

Ian Mearns - "Just like the lads Top of the League. Well done mate!".

Jon L - "Forget those overpaid primadonnas, there'll only be one star at St James' on Saturday.".

Gordon - "Fantastic effort Mark, a real hero in black and white stripes for a change.".

Brian J - "I have really enjoyed logging onto your Blog site. A tremendous effort, a true inspiration."

Adrian S - "What a champion - I'll be cheering you even more than the 'lads' next Saturday.".

T Bramble - "Go on son (can I come back?) "

M Purdy - "You've already done more miles in a Toon shirt than certain players ever will!!! Well done mate...".

Steve R - "Well done mate I just hope the Toon show half as much spirit as this in the new season.".

Paul R - "Sorry I'm away today when you run past my house. I wanted to see the legend myself!".

Kev (Crook Mags) - "In the land of the Prince Bishops,we pray for giveness in your shins. Just do it, for all of us.".

Brigga Broggs - "Absolutely amazing! Makes me even more proud to be a Geordie.".

Horsey - "Good luck kidda, well done on stuffing the Mackem!!! "

Dave Nelson - "Howay, Mark! Pledging an extra £10 for the first of 3 Toon wins over the Mackems this year!"

Tom Bowlby - "Finest performance in a black & white shirt for a long time!".

LJB - "Ultimate respect mark, all the best! NUFC players to join you as part of pre-season?"

The Officers Club - "Good luck fat lad - if you drop some weight we can give you a new pair of jeans!". [Not so fat now! None of my jeans fit me anymore. Is the offer of a pair still valid? - MA]

Day 42 - So close to a major sponsorship landmark!

It's still hard to believe that the sponsorship amount for my efforts is just short of £25,000. That is an incredible amount and one that I did not dream was possible when I started planning the big run. I always thought that my initial target of £10,000 was possible so you can imagine how pleased I am with more than double that amount. Not to mention how pleased St Benedict's Hospice are!

It would be brilliant if the fund reached £25,000 before I did the lap of honour around St James' Park tomorrow.

Speaking of the lap of honour, I'm very excited about running around the pitch at half time. I'll be wearing the full home kit of course. My shinpads are in the wash so I'll be leaving them at home! Katy and Jack will be there to see the whole thing. It'll be Jack's first match. I found it daunting as a 15 year old going to the match for the first time (a 0-2 loss to QPR). Goodness knows how 4 year old Jack will cope with the noise.

I've asked the club to play some music from the Rocky soundtrack during the lap. I think the adrenalin will be pumping so fast, I doubt I'll even hear the music. I think Local Hero might get an airing too.

Hopefully, chants of "Who are ya, who are ya" and "You fat b*&^*d" will be kept to a bare minimum!

I've been promised a few beers afterwards in The Bridge by friends and colleagues. Due to my lack of drinking lately, my mate Dan Tweedy has reminded me that drinking is "a marathon not a sprint!". Sound advice indeed from the man who has missed more matches due to hangovers than I care to remember!

Day 41 - Getting back to normal 4 days after the run.

I've found it very difficult to adjust back to normality since finishing on Sunday. My mind and body are still expecting me to run 20 odd miles a day. I have no aches or pains to speak of other than those acquired as a result of beating my press up PB on Tuesday!

I managed to fit in a light gym session over lunchtime today and was introduced to a few new weight machines by Ian "The Coach". I've lost a lot of weight from my arms and these need building up again over the coming months.

Now that I'm at 14 stone 11 pounds, the aim is to get down to 14 stone before the end of the year. The majority of this weight should come off while running around after Jack for the next couple of weeks. We've got a lot of playtime in the park to catch up on!

Thank you to today's new sponsors. I still can't believe that £25,000 is within touching distance.

Someone told me today that I had a mention on Vernon Kay's show on Radio 1 last Sunday. Fame at last! I wonder who was responsible for that?

Day 41 - Random acts of kindess (Part 1).

There have been a number of random acts of kindness during the course of the big run. I think it is worth highlighting them in the blog over the coming days.

The first one I wish to speak of was by Bill Tweedy (pictured). I reckon his wife Linda had a big part to play in this too. Bill and Linda are the parents of my mates James and Dan Tweedy.

It was Bill's 60th birthday bash on day 30 of the big run. I was running through Bristol around this time so, unfortunately, I couldn't attend.

At the party, Bill and Linda had placed envelopes on the guest's tables and asked everybody if they would like to contribute the price of a pint to the run fund. It seems some of the contributions were very generous and Linda later commented that "some of them must have thought you only drank Cristal Champagne!".

A lot of Bill and Linda's old neighbours were there and they remembered my Mam from her days as a dinner lady at Holley Park school in Washington. Bill and Linda used to live near the school you see.

The first I knew of this whipround was when a donation was made via the justgiving website. It was for £180 and made by "Party Animals". The comment with the donation read " Missed you on Sunday. Here's what we saved buying you drinks!!". I racked my brains but I couldn't think who the Party Animals were. Then the penny dropped!

I must say a special thank you to Bill and Linda for taking time out and remembering my run on Bill's special day. Thanks to the very generous party guests are also due.

Pictured to the right is Bill in his Sunday morning "reading the paper" outfit.