When Mark Allison, otherwise known as Run Geordie Run, travelled to Saudi Arabia to watch his beloved Newcastle United this week, he could never have anticipated what lay in store for him ahead of the friendly against Al-Hilal in Riyadh.
Expecting to watch the Diriyah Cup clash in the stands with the rest of the travelling Magpies support, Allison received an unexpected phone call off Newcastle 's media team as they searched for a replacement commentator just hours before the club's official stream went live on the website.
Despite zero previous experience behind a microphone or in this particular field, Allison took little convincing and went on to provide a composed running commentary of the 5-0 win, earning a plethora of praise on social media in the process.
Asked whether the occasion had fully resonated the morning after, the 51-year-old Newcastle fan admitted he was still in dreamland. "Of course it doesn't feel real. My brain can't quite process what has gone on!" Allison told Chronicle Live.
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"It was a strange one how it all came about. When I ran across America I was followed by Real Radio. The programme controller back then is now out here in Saudi and the club contacted him asking for commentators.
"He couldn't recommend anyone so for some strange reason he said I'd give it a go. Newcastle got in touch with me and it only took me about 10 seconds to convince myself that despite not doing anything remotely like this I should give it a go.
"Fundamentally, I never like letting anyone down. I like to step up if there is a gap and it was just one of those occasions. I can string a sentence together, I'm quite coherent, I've seen thousands of football matches, so surely I can't do that bad of a job!
"I thought as long as I wore my heart on the sleeve and looked at it from a fan point of view, people would appreciate that. Looking at the comments on social media there's been such a positive reaction. I'm just glad at the end of the day that I didn't let the club down."
Allison sprinkled humour into his commentary performance, offered regular shoutouts to his friends in the away section of the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium stadium and also confessed his love for 'Mad Dog' Jason Tindall stood below him on the touchline. He was lucky enough to meet both Tindall and Eddie Howe after the game, as well as interacting with first-team players following their Riyadh run out.
"Let me tell you commentary is a very, very difficult thing to do!" Allison added. "They tried to get me a co-commentator at one point but nobody would step up. Dan Burn was even in the frame at one point but he ended up being in the squad!
"There's a YouTube channel I like that refers to Jason Tindall as 'Mad Dog'. I met Jason last night, told him as such and he recorded a nice video message for my wife actually. It went something along the lines of 'Hi Donna, it's Mad Dog here. Looking forward to seeing you at the next game at St James' Park.' She was over the moon with that! It's just so surreal.
"I saw Eddie Howe after the match too. He is my absolute hero, like he will be with many other people. The way he talks to people, the respect he commands, how he talks about his staff and his players. He is my absolute hero.
"He is up there with Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson. I think he is now the third great manager of our era, so to meet him was quite something. He even said to me 'Next time, bring your boots and we'll get you on for the second-half!'
"I might be 51-years-old but I'm still that 15-year-old who went into St James' Park for the first time back in 1986 and fell in love with the club. I'm still that young supporter at heart. I bleed black and white so it is just the most amazing dream I've ever had."
Allison has amassed a significant following on social media over the years thanks to his incredible charity achievements. Taking on daunting and gruelling runs in virtually every corner of the world, he has raised a vast amount of money for St Benedict's Hospice, which is a charity incredibly close to his heart.
And while Thursday's experience was incredible on a personal level, it has also helped him raise vital funds for the charity too. A signed shirt he received from the first-team is already being auctioned on social media, with all funds going to St Benedict's again.
Allison continued: "The media team could not do enough for me yesterday in terms of letting me meet the players, Eddie and Jason. They gave me a shirt signed by all the players which I put it on Twitter last night and I know a guy has just bid £500 for it this morning.
"So with that shirt auction and the fee, it's a good chunk of money raised for St Benedict's Hospice which is what I'm all about - raising money for that charity. So it's a win from all angles for me.
"I got a lot out of it personally but I got more out of it from a charitable aspect. That's what I'm all about. I live eat and breath football but I also live, eat and breath raising money for that charity."
The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine has slightly scuppered his future running plans but Allison is still hopeful of reaching the start line of another mammoth venture in 2024 should he receive the financial backing. However, there may be another stint in the commentary box for the Newcastle supporter before then...
"I was speaking to the club this morning and said 'if you're stuck for a commentator next pre-season, let me know' - so we'll see what happens there!"
To find out more about Mark's incredible running challenges you can find them at Run Geordie Run here
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