We were delighted to hear from former Head of School Jon Strong OD (S, 1977–84), photographed below with one of his sporting heroes, Dame Kelly Holmes, at the Newcastle Pride 5K. Jon confesses that he preferred rugby to cross-country at School but has found his running shoes in later life. Since 2014, he has been working his way through an A–Z of marathons, a challenge he will complete at the Jersey Marathon on 4 October this year. This story has even been picked up by the BBC Jon's A–Z marathon challenge on BBC News. Retirement from his role as a teacher at Dame Allan's means that, at last, the school term no longer dictates his race calendar and has also led to him taking up another new hobby. In his newfound spare time, he has become Newcastle Castle's Town Crier and is helping to deliver the "Great Geordie Greeting", welcoming passengers aboard northbound Lumo services as they pass through the city. The Great Geordie Greeting in The Northern Echo Congratulations to Jon on his retirement and we wish him the best of luck with his new role and his final A-Z marathon.