A teenager from Burnley is taking part in a three month running challenge and will be raising money for charity.

13-year-old Jay Barnes is planning to run two kilometres a day for 92 days, around 114 miles in total,  as part of his Duke of Edinburgh challenge but will also be raising money for Burnley Community Grocery on Valley Street.

Duke of Edinburgh participants must complete a fitness challenge which will take them three months to complete.

Lancashire Telegraph: Jay Barnes after completing a 2km runJay Barnes after completing a 2km run (Image: Katy Barnes)

While participants can choose from a range of physical activities, such as walking and yoga, in order to complete the award Jay wanted to challenge himself.

His mum, Katy Barnes, said he is not a natural runner and will need to run every day during Christmas, including New Year’s Day and Christmas Day, in order to complete it.

He started on November 1 and is set to complete it on January 31.

Katy said: “He’s not a natural runner so this is a big challenge for him.

“He’s finding it harder than expected. He’s like any other 13-year-old boy. His mates will be going out but he knows he has a commitment that he has to fit in every day.

“The run only takes 10 or 15 minutes but there is also the preparation before and the showering after.

“The weather has also been really unpredictable, with torrential rain.

“It’s also more the mental aspect he is struggling with, as he is going to have to go out for a run every day in the Christmas holidays when everyone else will be celebrating.”

Jay, who attends Shuttleworth College in Padiham, spent a long time deciding which charity to donate money towards before settling on Burnley Community Grocery, which is a new type of food bank that is set out like a supermarket.

All you need to do bring £5 for your annual membership fee and a couple of shopping bags to put your £4 shop in and then start shopping.

Katy said: “We drove up there one day and we met the manager and learned about how it worked and watched people queuing up for their food parcels.

“Jay was upset at seeing how many people are reliant on the food bank.

“He got quite emotional and decided he definitely wanted to raise money for them.

“But now there is some emotion behind his fundraiser which will encourage him to keep going.”

Jay initially planned to raise £300 but has already smashed that target.

Katy said: “He set a target of £300 but he smashed that target in eight days.

“He’s was little bit overwhelmed after hitting the target and the comments he has received have been really nice.

“We are so proud of him.”

You can donate to Jay’s fundraiser by visiting his JustGiving page.