Bicester firefighter remembers friends at London Marathon

Jamie Gough, 34, has served with at Bicester Fire Station for more than nine years, with three of those years being whole time.

In a time of three hours and 22 minutes, the Bicester born and bred firefighter crossed the line on The Mall, directly in front of Buckingham Palace, amongst almost 60,000 people who took part in the 26.2-mile race.

So far, he has raised more than £3,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity in memory of his fallen colleagues Jennie Logan and Martyn Sadler, who died in the Bicester Motion fire in May 2025.

Jamie Gough, Bicester firefighter, raise more than £3,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity by running the 2026 London Marathon (Image: Sportgraf)

He said: “Near the start it hit me the most, just thinking how I’d got to this point. It made me emotional, but gave me an energy boost and confidence.

“But, at certain points, when I wanted to give up, I had to remind myself that I was doing it for them.

“I knew they would be looking down at me laughing, thinking what an idiot I am doing this – that was just the kind of people they were.”

While wearing his orange, firefighter charity-branded bib, with images of Jennie and Martyn, he was supported by the crowd and other runners who were intrigued to find out more about why he was running.

“The atmosphere was really good,” he said. “The crowds were so fun and supportive, shouting your name and giving you that confidence boost, especially when you’re trying to dig deep to keep going.

“I wanted to stand out a bit and get their images out there and show people why I was doing it – to honour their memory and the legacy they left behind.

“There was a big scream thanking God when I did it because I never thought I would be able to.”

Jamie Gough, Bicester firefighter, raise more than £3,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity by running the 2026 London Marathon (Image: Sportgraf)

Despite it being his first marathon, after usually sticking to half‑marathons, Mr Gough admits he “winged” his training to cater to sleepless nights due to his newborn son in December.

He said: “A lot of people follow a plan but I just went a bit further every time I ran because I had to fit them in where I could.

“I got up to about 20 miles in training and hoped the atmosphere on the day would get me to the finish line, which it did.”

Having ticked off his first marathon, he is already eyeing up another. This time, in sub three hours.

He added: “I want to keep on doing it, maybe running a marathon yearly – I think it would be a good thing to do for them.”