When Otis Robinson ran last year’s May 24 half-marathon it was a painful struggle - just two days before his mother’s body had been accidentally washed ashore after a sea burial following her sudden death.

This year it’s a different story. The father-of-five will take part in the Bermuda Day race in her memory, proudly wearing a picture of his mom on his vest, fitter than ever and determined to achieve a personal best.

“Last year was very difficult,” Mr. Robinson told The Royal Gazette. “This time there’s no stress; I’ve got my mom with me. She was such a lovely person. I guess I’m just trying to keep her legacy alive through me and my running.”

Mother-of-four Deborah Elizabeth Santucci Smith died aged 48 on May 12 last year due to a burst stomach ulcer. A keen fisherwoman and swimmer, she was buried at sea on May 21 but her body was found washed up on a private beach at The Reefs resort in Southampton the next day.

Mr. Robinson - who was brought up from the age of ten by foster father Dr. John Cann, the Government’s chief medical officer - was hit hard by her death and the aftermath but was determined to run the May 24 race, despite a groin injury, to help raise funds for young road accident victim Wolde Bartley.

“I wasn’t really into the race,” he said. “I did it in one hour 48 minutes. It was a personal best even so but basically I had walked most of it. Because of the emotion of my mom I decided at the last minute as I took off from the race that I’ll try to win it for her. I went out at a blistering pace and it didn’t help the injury at all.”

The 33-year-old stopped training after the half-marathon and his weight rose from 153 to 170lbs. “What happened was that with the combination of my injury and my mom, for nearly seven months I didn’t really want to be bothered by anyone. I had basically given up on the running. I was so depressed and upset.”

But Mr. Robinson’s fellow runners - including well-known names in athletics such as Kevin Smith, Anthony Raynor and Dawn Richardson - were not prepared to let him give up so easily. His friends encouraged him to begin training again and when he did he saw dramatic results.

“It was a huge struggle trying to get back into it all but I know my fitness level is now probably the best it’s ever been,” he said. “I have trained very hard. It’s definitely helped me. What I find is it keeps the focus off of the bad things.”

Mr. Robinson and his family have had a lot to cope with in the past four years: Deborah’s sister Gladys Saunders was one of the Police officers killed in Hurricane Fabian and her husband Carlton Smith died in 2005. Mr. Robinson has also recently lost grandmother Grace Bean Santucci and aunt Lavinia Santucci, another sister of his mom.

He said his girlfriend and her family, his own children aged four to 13, Dr. Cann and his mom’s remaining siblings have helped him stay strong.

This month the self-employed Southampton electrician, who only took up running aged 29 and is now president of Swans running club, has competed in four contests and achieved his best times in all, including a five-mile race around Warwick Camp on Mother’s Day.

His training takes in about 110 miles a week, including a route past the place where his mom was reburied at St. Anne’s Church in Southampton. The cause of her body drifting back to shore was never discovered but Mr. Robinson says the grave on land gives him some comfort.

“As I’m going across I say ‘hi mom, how are you doing?’. Sometimes I take flowers. It gives me an opportunity to say at least I know she’s here. Ideally, I would have wished her still really here, of course.”