TWO Bicester firefighters who have slogged though ice, snow and rain to train for the London Marathon are hoping to clock their best times yet.

This will be the sixth time John Nelson, 53, has competed in the 26 mile race – last year he finished 775th out of about 37,000 runners, clocking up his best-ever time of two hours, 56.01 seconds.

Mr Nelson, who works for the Defence Fire and Rescue Service at Bicester Garrison, only took up running about six years ago and in that time has knocked a staggering 96 minutes off his time in marathons.

Beating the three-hour barrier last time means the former station manager at Bicester Fire Station will this year be given an ‘elite start’ slot, starting ahead of the main field.

He said: “Every year I shave a few more minutes off my time. Obviously I’m at the top end, so if a do any faster than last year, I’ll be really pleased.

“I can remember running three hours 45 and thinking I’ll never run faster than that, and now I’m nearly an hour ahead of that.

“The London Marathon is the hardest to train for, because you’re training when it’s cold, raining or snowing, but you really have to get out there and condition yourself.

“But it’s a great day because the crowd is so good and it’s so well organised.”

Fellow MoD firefighter Gary Clarke, 29, who has just become a father will run his second London Marathon, as part of the Firefighters Charity’s team.

He hopes to beat last year’s time of in three hours 31.37 seconds, making him finisher number 4,661.

Earlier this year he braved ice, fire and freezing temperatures to complete the Tough Guy race in Wolverhampton and ran a 50-mile ultra-marathon between Oxford and Henley.

He said: “I remember seeing John doing the London Marathon the year before last and thought it was a good thing to do.

“I started doing various runs and then got a place in the marathon.

“The last four or five miles is the hardest, but the people carry you along. All the way along people are lining the streets.”

To sponsor him, see uk.virginmoney giving.com/GarySunbeamClarke A COUNCIL worker who battled breast cancer and won now plans to take the London Marathon in her stride.

Michelle Iddon, 46, was at the peak of fitness when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2009, after taking up running almost a year earlier.

She had to give up the sport to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy last year but was soon running again after getting the all-clear.

Miss Iddon, who works in IT for Cherwell District Council, won a place in the marathon through her running club, Daventry Road Runners, and hopes to raise £1,000 for Breast Cancer Care.

She said: “I believe my fitness got me through chemotherapy. I was told to expect stays in hospital and sickness and I didn’t get any of that.”

Her council colleagues, environment and community support officer Rebecca Dyson, 48, and environmental health officer Ricky Cherry, 48, will also be running the marathon.

Ms Dyson will raise cash for Katharine House Hospice in Adderbury. Mr Cherry, a member of Headington Road Runners, will be raising money for the Oxsrad sports centre for the disabled in Oxford.

To sponsor them, see justgiving.com/Michelle-Iddon, justgiving.com/rebeccadyson and justgiving.com/Ricky-Cherry AN AIRMAN is aiming to reach new heights in the London Marathon — dressed as a Spitfire.

Squadron Leader Dean Holder, 41, will tackle the 26-mile race while dressed as the iconic Second World War fighter plane. His costume was designed and built by two of his colleagues at RAF Brize Norton, Sq Ldr Andy Fell and graphic designer Glenn Johnson Sq Ldr Holder is running in aid of Leonard Cheshire Disability, which supports more than 21,000 disabled people in the UK. He recently visited the charity’s John Masefield House care home in Burcot, near Abingdon, to show off his unusual costume, right.

He said: “I knew I was never going to win this race, so I thought – what could I do that’s a bit different? And that’s when I thought of dressing up as an aircraft.”

To sponsor him, see uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Deano4 AS part of his London Marathon training Alex Baker, 35, ran 20 miles from his home in Wantage to the Helen & Douglas House Hospice’s charity shop in Summertown, Oxford, last Saturday.

Mr Baker, right, who will be running to raise money for the hospice, called in at five Helen & Douglas House shops and the hospice in East Oxford during the run.

Mr Baker, of Trinder Road, Wantage, a product manager for Oxford holiday homes company Holiday Lettings, has raised about £1,000 so far and hopes to collect about £5,000 before the race.

It will be the second time he has run the London Marathon.

He chose to support the charity as many people close to him were having children.

He said: “I’m getting married this year and many of my friends and family are having children.

“Raising money for a charity which cares for children and young adults with life-shortening conditions seems more relevant to me now more than ever before.

“I think Helen & Douglas House is a fantastic charity and I’m doing my best to raise some serious cash for them.”

Fiona Evans, the hospice’s events fundraising manager, said: “It’s fantastic that Alex is getting his local community and work colleagues involved with his fundraising and training efforts.

“He has set himself a very high target and has come up with some wonderfully original fundraising ideas.

“We rely on support from people like Alex to be able to provide specialist care to the families who use Helen & Douglas House and we cannot thank him enough.”

To sponsor Mr Baker see his web page at justgiving.com/bikeybaker or follow his training online at bikeybaker.org A MOTHER and son team are running the marathon to raise money for a cause close to their hearts.

Vanessa Hearn, 49, from Benson, will be running in memory of her father, Brian Markham, with her son Luke, 25, from Wallingford.

Luke, who works for his parents at Loddon Brewery in Dunsden, lost his grandfather in 2008. Mr Markham, who was 71, endured a 15-year battle with rheum-atoid arthritis.

Luke said: “I can’t begin to image the type of pain my grandfather went through. He had to take a cocktail of drugs to cope with the pain.

“When the marathon training gets really tough, we just think of the pain he suffered, as our training aches are nothing compared to what he went through.

Luke added: “Mum and I are running this marathon in his memory, so we can raise money to help Arthritis Research UK make life easier for people like him.”

This will be Luke’s second run in the London Marathon but a first for his mother.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the joints and damages cartilage, bone and ligaments.

To help the Hearns to reach their fund raising goal see justgiving.com/ lukeandvanessalondon marathon WHEN baby Noah Wheatley was born with club feet, he needed plaster casts on both legs when he was just 10 days old.

Eighteen months later, his father Matthew Wheatley is running in the marathon in aid of Steps, a charity which supports people affected by lower-limb conditions.

The electrician from Watlington, pictured left with Noah, said: “I’ve wanted to do it for a while but it’s always been put back and I didn’t know if I could do it.

“Then when Noah was born we found out about Steps and, along with the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, they have been really helpful in offering support and advice.

“I thought I wanted to give something back to the charity who helped us out so I decided to do the run.”

Noah, who was born with twin sister Rosie in October 2009, has responded well to his treatment and is now able to walk.

The 39-year-old father-of-three, who turns 40 a week after the marathon, recently completed the Reading Half Marathon in two hours, 10 minutes. To sponsor him, see justgiving.com/matthew-wheatley