Going the extra mile in memory of brother

The new memorial fund, which raises money for charities close to Tristan’s heart, has been set up by his sister Kate Hewins, their parents and his girlfriend, Mary Batchelor.

Around a dozen friends and relatives are now hoping to raise thousands of pounds for a back pain charity by running the London Marathon - which Tristan had been planning to complete before he died.

The popular and athletic 25-year-old, who was a championship rower with Great Britain, was plagued with back injury problems in the last years of his life and was forced to take on coaching roles instead.

Ms Hewins, 23, a reproductive biology student at Edinburgh University, today said she had decided to run the marathon in his memory - and she will be joined by Ms Batchelor and around ten friends and relatives in the gruelling 26-mile race.

She said: "Tristan was the perfect big brother in so many ways - good at leading away stray men and good at giving cuddles, but above all he was someone I could admire for his achievements.

"Tristan was a superb athlete and no matter what he dabbled with he seemed to be good at it. Rowing was his chosen sport, the sport in which he would represent his country several times.

"Sadly, in the last years of his life Tristan was dogged by back injury problems which led him to take on a coaching role rather than a competing one, but he still had an aim of running the London Marathon and applied on several occasions.

"Tristan cannot be here to run this one, so I and some of his friends have decided that we will run it in his honour. I’m not really in shape for the marathon, and I’ve never run one before, so I hope I can cross the finish line - no matter how long it takes."

Ms Hewins, from Oxford Street in Newington, said she hopes to raise 2000 for BackCare by running the marathon, while her fellow runners are also aiming to raise thousands for the charity.

Schula Byrne, publication manager of BackCare, today said the group was "extremely grateful" to Ms Hewins for raising funds for the charity.

She said: "Due to our sedentary lifestyles, back pain is very much on the increase.

"As a charity we strive to educate through the form of publications and products while offering support to people who are experiencing back pain or simply want to avoid becoming a back pain sufferer. Back pain can often have such a huge impact on young people’s lives."

Hundreds of Tristan’s friends, who are kept in touch by e-mails from his sister, are expected to sponsor the marathon runners.

Messages of support have been flooding in from friends at Durham University, where Tristan studied as an undergraduate, as well as from people in the United States, London and Edinburgh.

The keen cyclist, who was staying in student accommodation at Morrison Circus, Haymarket, had been travelling home from Napier’s Craighouse campus on February 5, when he crashed into the back of a Rover 200 car, which was turning left off Craighouse Road into Meadowspot.

The driver of the car reportedly stopped and tended to the student just yards from the campus entrance for 20 minutes, before leaving after being assured he was fine.

However, there were no witnesses to the accident and the family is still looking for more information.

Tristan, originally from London, was taken to the ERI. He died nine days later from internal injuries.

At the graduation of his class in November last year, Tristan was awarded a posthumous diploma, and a Tristan Hewins Memorial Award was presented to a classmate for academic achievement. The university has also planted a tree in the campus grounds in his memory.

Donations to the Tristan Hewins Memorial Fund can be made via www.justgiving.com/katehewins or through the BackCare charity at www.backcare.org.uk