ASSISTANCE dogs charity Canine Partners, based near Midhurst, will benefit from a marathon run by its fundraising director in memory of her son.

Aspiring firefighter Olly Gellett and his mum Anne Yendell, a keen runner, decided four years ago they would one day fly the 3,441 miles to the United States to take part in the New York Marathon and raise cash to help others. But in March Olly tragically died suddenly of swine flu.

The 22-year-old lifeguard and keen amateur sports player fell ill on Mother’s Day with what he thought was a heavy cold. The cause of his death was discovered only later in a post-mortem.

Anne has vowed to keep his memory alive and completed their dream marathon on her own at the weekend, as she marked what would have been his 23rd birthday.

She hopes her feat will raise £20,000, which is enough money to provide a disabled person with a special life-changing assistance dog named after Olly.

The puppy will be trained by Canine Partners to carry out a range of everyday tasks including opening doors, unloading washing machines and dressing and undressing a person. It will then go on to transform the life of a disabled person who it will be paired with.

“Olly, my daughter Alice and I had always dreamed of running the marathon together,” she said.

“Now, as a way of focusing on my grieving, I have been running a lot so I decided I would do the marathon we had always talked about doing as it’s around his birthday.

“It’ll also be poignant as Olly worked at Camp America in New York for three seasons and he spent a lot of time in the city. He always helped others and I think he would absolutely love that there is going to be an assistance dog named after him.

“Doing the marathon was about making the most of life and that’s what we do at Canine Partners. In some way, by doing the marathon I can do something for Olly and help other people.

“The best bit was celebrating Olly, his life and his achievements of which I’m extremely proud, but the worst bit was that he was not there by my side.”

• To support Anne with her fundraising challenge visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/Anne-Yendell3