run geordie run around the world
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Event informationTRANSCRIPT
“AROUND THE WORLD” - EVENT INFORMATION
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INTRODUCTION
This document contains all of the background information, facts and figures associated with the ongoing “RUN GEORDIE RUN AROUND THE WORLD” running event (“the event”) being undertaken by Mark Allison (“Run Geordie Run”) in aid of The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation (Charity No. 1057213) and The Children’s Foundation (Charity No. 1000013). The event has a fundraising target of £500,000.
FUNDRAISING BACKGROUND
Mark Allison used running to start fundraising in 1994 to repay the “debt of gratitude” felt towards St Benedict’s Hospice for the care given to his Mother during her final days battling cancer and in memory of his Father who died of the same disease in 1988.
Initially starting with The Great North Run and progressing to Marathon Majors in London and New York, Mark then organised his own small fundraising running events from 2002.
Mark has a young son and he felt that it was appropriate to raise funds for a local children’s charity. In 2008, fundraising for The Children’s Foundation began.
In 2012, fundraising efforts were switched from palliative care for terminally ill patients offered by St Benedict’s Hospice to the research and treatment of cancer projects funded by The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
In 2012 Mark sought commercial sponsorship to fund his future events, having previously used his own money to fund the events himself.
To attract potential sponsors from the general public worldwide, Mark is a great believer in “taking people on the journey” with him and regularly updates popular social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Soundcloud and Instagram) as well as an award winning blog[ ]. 1
To date £212,478.40 has been raised.
Chartered institute of Public Relations Communicator of the Year 20111
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� � �RUN GEORDIE RUN AROUND THE WORLD
The “Run Geordie Run Around The World” event is a circumnavigation of the planet on foot at a running pace. Whilst not pursuing a world record, the event is following 2 aspects of the Guinness World Record criteria used in cycling for “fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle”[ ]. The 2
purpose of this is to give credibility to the claim that Run Geordie Run will “run around the world”. The distance of the event is 20,000 miles (32,189 km) and will take approximately 608 days (1 year and 243 days) to complete. The chosen antipodal points are La Coruña in Spain and Christchurch in New Zealand.
The event will be split into 8 segments, some of which have been completed already. The event started in 2007 and is scheduled to finish in 2024. Each segment will be treated as a separate fundraising campaign and will be carried out as follows:
To travel a minimum of 18,000 miles (28,968 km). To travel through two approximate antipodal points (i.e. opposite points on the planet).2
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Segment Distance (miles)
Distance (km)
Days to complete
Year Continent Countries ran through
USA 3,100 4,989 100 2011 North America 1
UK 874 1,407 37 2007 Europe 2
Europe 3,580 5,762 100 2016 Europe 14
Central Eurasia 3,700 5,955 110 2018 Asia 3
China 3,000 4,828 84 2020 Asia 1
Japan 1,800 2,897 50 2022 Asia 1
Australia 2,384 3,837 82 2013 Australia 1
New Zealand 1,562 2,514 45 2024 Australia 1
TOTAL 20,000 32,189 608 4 24
� � �COMPLETED SEGMENTS (2007 - 2013)
The USA, UK and Australia segments have already been completed. Although it was only decided that they would form part of the “Around the world” run in January 2014 after the idea came to Mark in a dream.
The USA segment, was a 3,100 mile coast to coast run from Huntington Beach, California to Coney Island, New York. It took 100 days to complete from May 1st 2011 to August 8th. This event saw record temperatures in various parts of the USA. The route passed through the Mojave Desert, the Rocky Mountains and 1000 of the miles in the USA were spent on 1 particular road; Route 36 from Denver to Indianapolis. The highlight of the route was the climb up Berthoud Pass, summiting at 11,300 ft.
The UK segment, was an 874 mile coast to coast run from John O’Groats in Scotland. It took 37 days to complete from July 7th 2007 to 12th August 2007. It was another event that saw extreme weather with major flooding occurring in the South West of England.
The Australia segment was an 2,384 mile coast to coast run from Perth, Western Australia to Shellharbour, New South Wales. It took 82 days to complete from October 16th 2013 to 5th January 2014. The route was the most difficult to date pushing Mark physically and mentally, in his own words, “to the brink”.
It was this particular segment where the extreme feelings of grief for the loss of his parents surfaced and threatened to end the journey unexpectedly. Mark was able to overcome those bad times and reached the finish line near Sydney with yet another fundraising target smashed.
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EUROPE (2016)
The European segment will start on May 1st 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal and finish 100 days and 3580 miles later in Istanbul, Turkey on August 9th 2016. That’s 500 miles more than the segment in the USA in just as many days.
The chosen route passes through 14 countries; Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Solvenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. The route passes through both the Pyrenees and the Alps and will take in many huge climbs including Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps (pictured below right).
This segment will see a huge step up from the previous ones in terms of distance, elevation, physical and mental as well as logistical difficulty. There will be several language and cultural barriers to overcome. Detailed research has already began on the route.
Training for this segment started in September 2013. Due to the unprecedented amount of elevation gain on this route, Mark’s intention is to be as light and lean as possible going into this segment. An excellent start has been made with 9 kg of body fat dropped during the first 6 weeks of training.
Recruitment of support team members has started with 4 of the team from previous segments signing up for another “tour of
duty”.
As with previous segments, the fundraising target is £50,000. If this is successfully met then the quarter of a million pound barrier for the “Around the World” event will be smashed.
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� � �CENTRAL EURASIA (2018)
The Central Eurasian segment from Istanbul, Turkey to the Khazak/Chinese border near Urzhar, Kazakhstan will start and finish on dates yet to be decided in 2018.
This segment, the largest of them all at 3700 miles, will take 110 days to complete and will pass through 4 countries; Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Kazakstan.
The route will pass though the Europe/Asia border over the Caucasus mountain range between the Black Sea and Caspian sea.
There will again be many cultural and language barriers during this segment.
Detailed planning for this segment will begin after successful completion of the European segment in 2016.
At this present time, the logistics for this segment seem unfathomable. That, however, was once said of all 3 of the previously completed segments; UK, USA and Australia.
There is a possibility that this segment may be the first unsupported during the “Around the World” event.
There is a risk that the segment may finish successfully in 2018 but the border crossing may subsequently close by the time the Chinese segment starts in 2020.
This segment promises to be a fascinating adventure into the unknown.
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� � �CHINA (2020)
The Chinese segment from the Khazak/Chinese border near Urzhar, Kazakhstan to Shanghai, China will start and finish on dates yet to be decided in 2020.
This segment, similar in distance to the USA segment at 3000 miles, will take 84 days to complete and spans from the western border of China to the Pacific Ocean in Shanghai.
There will again be many cultural and language barriers during this segment.
Detailed planning for this segment will begin after successful completion of the Asian segment in 2018.
There is a possibility that, again, this segment may be unsupported.
Again, the issues surrounding the logistical side of this run are unfathomable at this point in time.
This segment again promises to be another fascinating adventure into the unknown.
If Mark successfully reaches Shanghai, then this will be the 4th manor land mass on the planet that he will have travelled from coast to coast having left Lisbon some 10280 miles and 294 miles earlier.
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� � �JAPAN (2022)
The Japanese segment will start and finish on dates yet to be decided in 2022.
This segment is 1800 miles in distance, stretches from Cape Sata (pictured below) in the south to Wakkanai in the North and will take 50 days to complete.
There will again be many cultural and language barriers during this segment.
It is hoped that the North East links with Japan can be put to good use.
Detailed planning for this segment will begin after successful completion of the Chinese segment in 2020.
This segment again promises to be another fascinating adventure into the unknown.
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NEW ZEALAND (2024)
The segment in New Zealand will start and finish on dates yet to be decided in 2024.
This segment is 1562 miles in distance, stretches from the northern most point of the North island to the Southern most tip of the southern island and will take 45 days to complete.
The actual mileage may fluctuate as this segment will be used to achieve an exact distance “around the world” of 20,000 miles.
Significantly to follow the Guinness World Record criteria for cycling around the world, the route will pass through Christchurch which is the antipodal point of La Coruña, Spain (which will have been ran through in May 2016).
Detailed planning for this segment will begin after successful completion of the Japanese segment in 2022.
Upon successful completion of this segment, a total of 20,000 miles will have been ran on 4 continents passing through exact opposite points of the planet.
Run Geordie Run, at the ripe old age of 53 will become the man that ran around the world.
It is hoped, at this point, that half a million pounds will have been raised for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and The Children’s Foundation as a result of the event.
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CONTACT DETAILS
Mark Allison (Run Geordie Run) - [email protected] Allison (Run Geordie Run HQ) - [email protected] Luff (The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation) - [email protected] Nolan (The Children’s Foundation) - [email protected]
USEFUL LINKS
Website - www.rungeordierun.com Twitter - @rungeordierunFacebook - Search for “Run Geordie Run”YouTube - Search for “Run Geordie Run”Instagram - http://instagram.com/rungeordierunDonate - http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rungeordierun
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