Boy's nine marathon charity challenge nears end

A nine-year-old boy has raised more than £11,000 by running the equivalent of nine marathons in four months after his father was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Oliver, from Wombwell in Barnsley, will have run 380km (236 miles), an average of 3.3km (2 miles) a day, in aid of The Brain Tumour Charity by the conclusion of his challenge on Saturday.

Tom, 40, was diagnosed with a 4cm meningioma tumour, discovered after he lost nearly all of his vision in one eye. He recently underwent surgery to have the tumour removed.

Oliver said he was "feeling excited" for his final run but would be "sad when it's over because it's been a nice opportunity to meet lots of people".

Speaking about when his father was first diagnosed, Oliver explained that it was "a scary time" for the family.

"Me and my sister were really upset," he said.

"He went to hospital and I thought, this is a good time to turn a negative into a positive.

"That's when I came up with the idea of doing nine marathons because I'm nine."

Oliver started his challenge on 1 January, a month after his father's 12-hour operation at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

His final run will be 2.6km (1.6 miles) at the TCS Mini London Marathon.

The winter months were a difficult time to start running, according to Oliver.

"The hardest run has been in the dark with a little torch on my chest and I'm running up and down, up and down," he said.

Initially setting a fundraising target of £2,000, he said he was amazed to have reached his current total.

"I'm really pleased with the amount I've raised to help people dealing with the same condition," he said.

"I just wanted to help all the families who are going through that."

Tom has recovered well following surgery and is waiting for his latest scan results.

In recent weeks he has been able to join his son on some of his runs and expressed his pride at Oliver's determination to succeed.

"I can't put into words how proud I am of him," he said.

"We were in a pretty dark place as a family. The focus for me, my wife and him has flipped on its head and turned it into a wonderful experience for us all."

As well as raising "an incredible amount of money", Oliver had also raised awareness, Tom added.

"I have had people reach out to me about their suffering but haven't talked to other people about it," he said.

"All of this is a byproduct of what was a pretty sad situation."

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