Spurs loving fundraising star on emotional family reason for London Marathon 2023 challenge

There's been no shortage of drama at Tottenham Hotspur to keep Spurs fan Oliver's mum Marie occupied this year as she fought ovarian cancer.

Oliver learned to follow the club from his mum, who took up a love for the North London side when moving to the capital from Ireland in the 80s.

It's been a tough few years for Marie who has battled ovarian cancer through three courses of chemotherapy and will be at the forefront of Oliver's mind when he runs the London Marathon this weekend for charity Ovacome.

Oliver said: "My mum recently finished her treatment for this course and it's looking quite positive, so we're happy about that.

"Ovacome focuses on the support of the patients as opposed to research like a lot of other charities, which I think is really important.

"I've seen first-hand that it's so important to have a network of people to advise you and keep you going during the hard times and Ovacome provides that to these women."

Oliver adds that his mum has 'coped really well' and was excited to return to work as a teacher after the Easter break this week.

The family has stayed positive throughout the treatment to help Marie, even if their beloved Spurs hasn't helped stress levels.

Oliver said: "I guess with all the time off work she's had time to direct all of her emotion towards Spurs... at least all the frustration with Spurs at the moment is something to keep her occupied!"

Taking on the London Marathon has an extra importance for the student too, who lost his aunt Anne to ovarian cancer three years ago. Oliver has already raised nearly £7,500 for the cause.

He said: "I thought £2,500, which was the goal from the charity, was quite ambitious at first. Because of my story and what the family has been through with ovarian cancer, I thought I'd have a good chance of getting it but now to have crossed over £5,000 is a big surprise but I'm so happy and proud of what we've done.

"Training has been tough. After 16 weeks the last three weeks of the taper have been nice to let the legs recover a bit.

"I'm excited for it. I'm sorting out now where my friends and family are going to see me along the course so it's nice to be thinking about that and where I'm going to get a boost."

Sadly, Oliver's hopefulness for the marathon isn't shared with Spurs' chance of securing European football this year.

He said: "In the last few years at this point in the year it seemed unlikely and we've managed to pull it out the bag.

"Last year it was helped with the boost of Conte joining. This year I'm not so optimistic, Newcastle lost the other day and we failed to jump on the opportunity there. I'm not as positive as the last few years."

You can support Oliver via his fundraising page for the London Marathon.