Loving Solihull son to run London marathon in honour of Dad - The Solihull Observer

Loving Solihull son to run London marathon in honour of Dad

Solihull Editorial 9th Jan, 2018   0

SIBLING rivalry to be put aside as a brother and sister join forces to raise much-needed funds in honour of their father who is living with an aggressive brain tumour.

Olly and Beth George will be joining thousands of others at the start line of the London marathon in April and hope to raise £7,000 the Brain Tumour Research.

So far the duo have raised more than £5,000 for the charity which funds a network of research centres where scientists are focused on improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

Their dad, Mark George was diagnosed with an incurable grade four Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) brain tumour in 2016.




The 58-year-old has had two operations plus radiotherapy and chemotherapy to try to prevent the mass from growing.

Fitness fanatic Olly, who is area sales manager at Gardner Denver, has spent many hours getting ready for the challenge training around Solihull.


The 27-year-old said running is one of his coping strategies to help to come terms with is dad’s illness.

He said: “I have found that running has become an essential way of coping with dad’s diagnosis and want to use this to make some good out of a truly horrific situation.

“When I run, I get that sense of freedom dad speaks about when he rides his bike and I now run as part of my method of coping with his cancer.

“I’ve had some amazing runs where I’ve beaten my personal best and felt on top of the world.

“I’ve had runs where I’m angry, furious at the unfair cards we’ve been dealt and runs that end in a complete meltdown, overcome with emotion.

“I don’t think I could have broken down so many barriers to reach any kind of emotional acceptance or the ability to adapt to the changes to my life without running.

“From such a simple exercise, I’ve already gained so much.”

Olly’s sister Beth who works for West End Producer Sonia Friedman, as a production assistant has also been in training.

She said: “While Olly is buzzing, I’m terrified but we both hope that we will be able to cross the finish line together.

“If dad can endure two rounds of brain surgery, all the treatment and darkness that cancer brings with it, then the least we can endure is to run 26.2 miles.”

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via the family’s JustGiving page go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/marksmatter

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