Newcastle United fan’s emotional reason for taking on London Marathon after mum’s 15-month cancer journey

Scott is a member of the Newcastle United London Supporters Club and is running the London Marathon after a tricky 15 months for his mum.
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There's an air of optimism around at the moment for Hampshire-based Newcastle United fan Scott Geere with The Magpies flying high in the Premier League and his legs fighting fit for taking on the London Marathon this weekend.

The 29-year-old is running the 26.2 miles for Myeloma UK, a cause that's close to his heart and is enjoying the taper in training before the big day on Sunday.

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Scott said: "I don't want to say it out loud, but I've not really had any injuries at the moment. You shouldn't say that the week before!

"I'm used to running and playing football and the odd 5km or 10km, but never more than that.

"The start of last year my mum got diagnosed with blood cancer. She was suffering with back pain and went to the doctors and got diagnosed with cancer.

"That was the start of last year and I wanted to run for that. I've always wanted to run the marathon and with what Mum has been going through, it's given me something to run for."

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Scott's mum Lynda has had treatment over the last 15 months which included a stem cell transplant that hopes to kick the Myeloma into remission for a significant period of time.

Looking forward to the weekend, a small army of 20 family members will take the trip to London to cheer Scott on which he hopes will also be a chance to celebrate his mum "getting her life a bit more back to what it was".

Scott and his family pictured after recent good news of mum Lynda’s remission.Scott and his family pictured after recent good news of mum Lynda’s remission.
Scott and his family pictured after recent good news of mum Lynda’s remission.

A member of the Newcastle United London Supporters Club, following Newcastle was a non-negotiable for Scott and his siblings from day dot.

He said: "My dad is a Newcastle fan and has supported them all his life. He's not from Newcastle but watched the FA Cup final when he was five or six years old and just started to know what was going on, said to his dad he wanted to support Newcastle and stuck to it.

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"He drummed it into me and my brothers ever since we knew what football was.

"We've been through the rubbish over the last 10 years but it's starting to look up now."

The family make frequent trips to away matches, recently enjoying the 5-1 drubbing over West Ham United, and a couple of annual trips up to St James' Park too.

Even being so many miles away from the North East, Scott says it's a brilliant time to be a Newcastle United fan.

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He said: "With what the club is going through at the moment everyone seems to be in a good mood.

Scott (centre), his dad and brother follow Newcastle United from Hampshire.Scott (centre), his dad and brother follow Newcastle United from Hampshire.
Scott (centre), his dad and brother follow Newcastle United from Hampshire.

"For the cup final, we're not season ticket holders so couldn't get tickets, but we went to The Dome and it was mad, the feeling of finally getting the club back after all these years.

"Will we make Champions League? I'm going to say yeah.

"Looking at the fixtures we've got Tottenham and Brighton to come. I don't really want to say it, but I can't see Tottenham beating us at St James' Park. The form we're on, if we keep everyone fit, we can get in the top four."

You can sponsor Scott’s London Marathon efforts on his fundraising page.