The plan (and I do love a good plan) is to run an average of 31 miles a day for 100 days. You might want to read that bit again! I'll be running an average of 31 (THIRTY ONE) miles a day for 100 (ONE HUNDRED) days! Yes, that's right I'll be running it. Not walking. Not cycling. Not driving. RUNNING (and possibly crawling on my hands and knees at times!) I feel faint all of a sudden! Pass me another stottie!
All funds raised, both on justgiving and offline, will go to St Benedict's Hospice(See justgiving.com/rungeordierun1) and The Children's Foundation (See justgiving.com/rungeordierun2). The aim, albeit a very ambitious one, is to raise at least £50,000 for those 2 great North East Charities. This is £16,000 more than I raised by running 874 miles from John O'Groats to Lands End in 37 days during the Summer of 2007. It's a massive, massive target and I hope you'll agree that this challenge is deserving of your sponsorship!
The 3100 mile run, the huge fundraising target and everything else that goes with this event is ambitious to say the least. But to try and do this, while being an ambassador for the North East of England, is a massive honour! It's not something I take for granted and I want to show the world that us Geordies are made of stern stuff.
At the time of writing, I know of only 14 people from the UK who have crossed the USA since the first one in 1928. Not one of them came from Geordieland. It's time to draw a black and white line across that map!
I must stress that I'm saving furiously to fund this event myself. All overheads will be coming out of my own pocket (and the bairn's money box again! Oh and the wife's housekeeping!). Every single penny pledged will be passed on to the 2 charities I'm running for. And that's the great thing about justgiving.com. It allows you the sponsor to donate with the confidence of knowing that your pledge is being passed on to the charity directly. Brilliant!
Now the serious bit. Why are you raising funds for the Hospice, I hear you ask. Well, in 1995, my Mam spent her final days battling cancer in St Benedict's Hospice. The very caring and professional Hospice staff ensured she was as comfortable as she could be and gave her a dignified end to her life. I'm indebted to them for this act of care and kindness and this is a debt of gratitude I hope to be able to repay for as long as I can. I'll also be running in memory of my Dad who died from cancer in 1988 and my brother who died from a brain hemorrhage in 1990.
It would be an honour to run in the memory of another 97 names. One for each day of the run. I'll announce details of that list nearer the time of the run. In the meantime, I recently received the following email from Anne Oliver, the fund raising co-ordinator, at St Benedict's Hospice.
"We have just launched an appeal for £400,000 to extend our Hospice at Home Service. At present our service is from 9pm - 8am when the palliative care team are on call and can visit patients at home. It will be change to 5pm - 8am and this will avoid an influx of calls at 9pm and will spread the visits over a longer time. This means that the patient has a choice of where they want to be cared for - in the hospice or at home and it means that they are covered 24 hours per day."
I cared for my Mam for 2 years when she had cancer so I can really imagine how important a service such as the Hospice at Home will be.
To finish on a lighter note, I'd like to thank you for taking time out to read all about the next big run across the USA. Please consider sponsoring me. Any amount, no matter how large or small would be greatly appreciated.
Details of my training, the actual run itself and all the tomfoolery that goes with it can be found on www.runGEORDIErun.com.
Thanks in anticipation of your support.
All the best!
Mark Allison (just a civil servant's son from Jesmond!).
PS. If you're a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
Raised so far: £50,633.91
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Fantastic achievement Mark. We Have been following you on Twitter since Day 0ne. Well done! Donation by John Broughton on 13/08/11 |
£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid |
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Been following your magnificent achievement on twitter. Well done! Donation by Alistair Warke on 13/08/11 |
£10.00 + £2.50 Gift Aid |
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After seeing your unbelievable effort it was hard not to donate. Donation by Sean Storey on 13/08/11 |
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Donation by Anonymous on 13/08/11 |
£100.00 + £25.00 Gift Aid |
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so much admiration,have done charity bike rides etc myself but this was incredible,really....respect to you geordie ... Donation by wayne Moores on 12/08/11 |
£10.00 + £2.50 Gift Aid |
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Donation by graeme riccalton on 12/08/11 |
£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Christopher Phelps on 12/08/11 |
£5.00 + £1.25 Gift Aid |
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What will I check on Twitter now!Amazing determination, I'm in awe!Howay the Toon on Saturday Donation by Richard Henderson on 12/08/11 |
£10.00 |
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Well done Mark. Amazing! Donation by Ian Cowey on 12/08/11 |
£25.00 + £6.25 Gift Aid |
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You've brought a lot of people together and help some worthy causes. Amazing! Donation by Matthew Pearce on 12/08/11 |
£31.00 + £7.75 Gift Aid |
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Thank's so much. Moany of us know someone who has benefitted from, or will do from the charities you you are supporting. Magnificent! Joan and Colin Donation by Joan Driver-Brewis on 12/08/11 |
£10.00 + £2.50 Gift Aid |
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So proud of you - you are what makes the Geordie nation the best in the world! Donation by Susan Harrison on 12/08/11 |
£5.00 + £1.25 Gift Aid |
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Nice one bonny lad! Donation by Tony Fiddes on 12/08/11 |
£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Paul Haynes on 12/08/11 |
£25.00 + £6.25 Gift Aid |
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Fantastic. I look forward to applauding you on Saturday at the Newcastle match Donation by natalie hodgson on 12/08/11 |
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Congratulations - an amazing achievement! Donation by Andrew Holliday on 12/08/11 |
£10.00 + £2.50 Gift Aid |
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Well done Mark. Great to see you in Columbus. Hope to see you at an away game soon. Best Wishes for the future. Alan Donation by Alan Birbeck on 12/08/11 |
£25.00 + £6.25 Gift Aid |
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Excellent Achievement and all for a good cause, see you at St James Park on Saturday from the stands Donation by Gurdip Kambo Sharan Kambo on 12/08/11 |
£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid |
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Good work! Well done! Donation by Nicholas Lewis on 12/08/11 |
£10.00 + £2.50 Gift Aid |
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Well done mark from lou Brooke (Twitter ) Donation by Lou Brooke on 12/08/11 |
£25.00 + £6.25 Gift Aid |
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Inspiring! Donation by David Gough on 12/08/11 |
£30.00 + £7.50 Gift Aid |
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Inspirational stuff! Well done! Donation by Timothy Lumsdon on 12/08/11 |
£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid |
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Congratulations your efforts have been amazing. Well done Donation by Barbara Vest on 12/08/11 |
£20.00 + £5.00 Gift Aid |
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A tremendous achievement. You have kept me entertained all summer. Can't wait to read about your future adventures!! Well done Donation by Iain and Nicola Richardson on 12/08/11 |
£10.00 + £2.50 Gift Aid |
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Well done. I look forward to cheering your achievements atthe match! Donation by john kirby on 11/08/11 |
£5.00 + £1.25 Gift Aid |
| * Total raised online: | £43,932.14 |
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| Offline donations: | £6,421.77 |
| Mobile donations: | £280.00 |
| Total Raised: | £50,633.91 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £9,140.31 |
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