THE brother of an Oxted teenager killed in a boating accident two years ago is embarking on a unique challenge to raise money for charity.
Fourteen-year-old Charlie Hutton died after falling off a boat being driven by his father while they were travelling from Dorset to the Needles coastline off the Isle of Wight in July 2012.
Now, Charlie's brother Sam, 23, is running every day for 97 days in order to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), as a way of thanking them for their efforts in trying to save his brother's life.
During the campaign, Challenge Charlie, Sam runs a fixed distance every day – starting on Mondays with 2km, Tuesdays 4km, Wednesdays 6km all the way up until a 14km run each Sunday.
"We wanted to create something that everyone can take part in and to inspire others to take up the challenge by running and getting fit," Sam said.
"Charlie stood for sport, he stood for health and he stood for fitness. Ever the competitive little brother and being a cheeky teenager, if Charlie was running with us, he would have sprinted past us shouting 'Speed up bros, call this running?'
"So, what better way to honour his memory than to push ourselves through various sport and fitness challenges?
"As the little brother, he was always trying to keep up with us, but he was far more talented than either [older brother Tom] or I ever were."
Sam randomly picked 97 days for the challenge, and wants to finish on Charlie's birthday – September 20.
Coincidentally, when he worked backwards 97 days to decide on his start date he landed on June 16 – his and Charlie's mother's birthday.
And a more extraordinary twist sees Sam cover exactly 772km – 772 also being the number of weeks Charlie had been alive before he died.
Sam insists both are down to chance. He has already had support from people running the distances with him – most are done around Battersea Park near to where Sam now lives.
And he is encouraging anyone who wants to get involved to come down – most of the arrangements are done via the Challenge's Facebook page.
Charlie was an avid and talented hockey player, and harboured ambitions of representing Britain at the 2020 Olympics.
This is not the first time Sam has raised money for the RNLI in his brother's memory.
He and older brother Tom, 25, have completed the Great South Run, the London Marathon and Half Ironman challenge. Sam also swam 14km from Henley to Marlow in a separate solo challenge. Altogether, their efforts have raised nearly £20,000 for the RNLI.
To join Sam on one of his runs, visit challenge-charlie.co.uk
