Oscar's marathon effort raises £1,300 in memory of teen heart attack victim

A 10-year-old boy has been running a marathon – a mile a day – in memory of a 15-year-old family friend.
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Oscar Drysdale raised more than £1,300 for the CRY Charity (Cardiac Risk in the Young) after running a mile a day in one month in memory of Luke Rutter, who died of underlying heart problems.

Steph, Oscar’s mum, said: “Luke’s parents Jill and Al Rutter are friends of our family and they tragically lost their 15-year-old son Luke in August 2010 to an undiagnosed heart condition.

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“He went for a nap after playing tennis one Saturday and died in his sleep.

Oscar Drysdale (centre) with his football team Lytham Windmill Juniors and Team4Luke cyclistsOscar Drysdale (centre) with his football team Lytham Windmill Juniors and Team4Luke cyclists
Oscar Drysdale (centre) with his football team Lytham Windmill Juniors and Team4Luke cyclists

“Last year due to Covid they weren’t able to raise as much money through their normal fundraisers and asked for help – Oscar did a mile a day for 10 days last summer.

“This year he said he wanted to do something again, but bigger because he’s a better runner now.

“He said he wanted to do a marathon and I said ‘You can’t do a marathon in one go, it takes months of hard training!’ So it was his idea to do a mile a day for 26 days, with 1.2 miles on the last one to make it a proper marathon.

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“He started on August 1 and finished with all of his football team joining him on August 26, watched by Jill and Al and some of the Team4Luke cycling team.”

Luke Rutter died aged 15 in 2010Luke Rutter died aged 15 in 2010
Luke Rutter died aged 15 in 2010

Luke, from St Annes, was a pupil at Lytham St Annes High School and was a great Blackpool FC fan. Despite paramedics desperately battling to save his life, he died hours after saying he felt ill after playing a game of tennis.

In 2011, his parents Jill and Al formed the Team4Luke team, which fundraises for CRY. CRY’s aim is to raise awareness of cardiac issues in young people and campaign for standardised testing.

Steph, from Wrea Green, added: “Ryan Riley who plays for Squires Gate FC ran with Oscar twice and helped him get a personal best of six minutes 46 on day 24.

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“The aim has been awareness of a charity that many people won’t know about.

“Oscar has just gone into year 6 at Lytham C of E School as their head boy and I know they will be very proud to hear how he spent his summer!”

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