Tens of thousands will be lacing up their shoes to cross the 2026 London Marathon start line on Sunday. Among them are two members of the Blue Light Card community: Pete, an advanced paramedic practitioner from Kent, and Dave, an emergency response police officer of 20 years.
Pete and Dave are running to raise money for Blue Light Card Foundation, our partner charity that provides frontline services with wellbeing support. They've trained differently, prepared differently and have different visions for the day – but both of them have juggled long shifts, unpredictable schedules and family life alongside their training.
Read on to hear how they’ve managed it, and to get their tips for staying mentally and physically fit alongside frontline work.
Pete’s wanted to run the London Marathon since he was a kid watching it on TV. "It’s something that has always been a dream, and this year, I was like, right, 2026 is going to be my year," he says. "I put in for the ballot, applied for some charities, and Blue Light Card Foundation came in and offered me a spot. They're such a relevant charity to my work, so I couldn't have been happier."
At work, Pete splits his time between ambulance response and working in a hub providing support for crews on the road. Outside of work? He’s been racking up the miles in preparation for Sunday’s race.
Pete started his training in August with some gentle 5Ks. Since then, he's been committed to a three-runs-a-week plan, where his shifts allow. He's logged miles along the River Medway, by the seafront, and on trails near his home in Kent, an area that’s "thankfully quite flat".
"I’ve done half marathons, but I've never got anywhere near going beyond that," he tells us. "I was terrified of doing it. But it's been surprising to see how I've coped with endurance, and how much I've enjoyed it."
He's going into race day supported by his wife Eve and their four children. His advanced practitioner colleagues will be rooting for him too, having helped him fundraise with a quiz and curry night.
Dave works as a local policing team officer, meaning he’s out on the road for most of his day, attending emergencies that come through from 999 calls. This will be his second London marathon – but the first time, he was so focused on keeping one foot in front of the other that he missed some of the sights. "This time, I want to keep my head up and look around," he tells us.
The training hasn't gone exactly as planned, thanks to an injury early on – but it’s not from running as you might expect. Dave’s job involves a lot of driving, and thanks to a patrol car with a stiff clutch pedal, that has led to a leg injury. As a result, Dave’s had to start his ‘taper’ phase early, pulling back his mileage significantly. Combined with a house move ("I will never move again"), 12-hour shifts, acting as a governor at his children’s school and planning a charity apple-picking day for friends and family, Dave’s training has had a lot to contend with.
He'll be crossing the start line on Sunday with a straightforward goal: to finish. "I would rather it take 10 hours and crawl across the line than not finish," he says. "Regardless of time, the fact that I've managed to finish it, that will be enough."
Pete and Dave’s jobs ask a lot of them mentally. Pete talks about seeing things in the ambulance service that you don’t want to bring home from your shift. Dave has also attended traumatic incidents that take their toll over time. "There’s so much demand, so much stress in the job,” he says. “The amount of calls and demand is going up, and there’s pressure to finish one job and go on to the next, so we don’t get to speak to our colleagues and support each other much."
Dave has lost two police officer colleagues at his station to suicide, so he feels passionately about providing mental health support for frontline workers.
"I wanted to run for a charity I had a connection to," he says. "One that I'd be able to link into actual fundraising. Blue Light Card Foundation is one of the charities plugging the gap in support for my colleagues."
Aside from raising money for Blue Light Card Foundation to support frontline workers, both runners have found that the training itself has had a positive effect on their wellbeing.
"Running really helps with my mental health," says Pete. "You start feeling good about yourself, you feel fitter, and that helps everything else."
Dave agrees. "Long-distance running works wonders for the mind. You're out there for two or three hours. There's a lot of stuff to think about, and you do clear your mind of things you probably wouldn't have resolved otherwise."
We think it’s pretty impressive that Pete and Dave have balanced such intense training alongside their jobs as frontline workers – so we asked them for their tips on making it work.
Pete is emphatic about this tip for marathon training around shift work. "With our line of work, you can never guarantee being off on time. The moment you start putting plans in place to run after your shift, something happens and you're going to be late off." Getting up earlier and running before your shift removes the uncertainty.
Pete also plans runs that mean he can’t stop and come back easily – "I’d pick routes that made me do it, so I had no choice. I told myself I had to get to a specific place, shop or road before I could turn around and come back."
Dave's advice is to lay your kit out, plan your route and remove as many decisions as possible from the morning. "If you're prepped to do that run, you'll go out and do it. It doesn't creep up on you if you prepare the day before."
Both Pete and Dave recommend running with others. Dave says "I’ve gone out with colleagues for a whole shift, and then gone for a run afterwards to get some training in."
Meanwhile, one of Pete’s favourite moments from training was a long run with colleague Jay. "We did a 29k run, and it was the best run out of the whole training block. We just chatted the whole way around, and we were running at quite a good pace. It was a beautiful day, too, just brilliant."
Pete has also found that running has brought him an unexpected new community. Conversations about fitness have opened up connections with colleagues he didn’t know as well previously. "You've actually got quite a fit and healthy community working with you."
Pete says he’s got a playlist he’ll continually add to. "Every time I increase my distance, the playlist doesn’t last quite as long as the run. So I’ll spend a few days adding songs. It’s quite nice to just listen to nature, too." As for the day, Pete’s still undecided – "I’m not sure whether I’ll put music on to keep going or whether I’ll just take in the atmosphere and all the shouting."
Dave knows he’ll be keeping his headphones on. "There’s only so many times you can hear your name chanted before you need to blot it out a bit," he says, drawing his experience from last year’s run. "I’ll be listening to music. Some good old stuff."
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Pete is heading to the start line with two pairs of trainers – blue ASICS for the race itself, and comfy white Nike trainers for his feet afterwards, both bought discounted with his Blue Light Card. "I’ve also got my gels, protein shakes, bars and electrolyte drinks from MyProtein.”
”The Blue Light Card has saved me a fortune throughout training."
On the day itself, Pete says, "We’ll go out to Bella Italia for a meal after the race. I’ve done my family’s head in going on about running, so I’ll treat them to a meal out and use Blue Light Card for that."
As for Dave, he’s been too focused on the run to think about post-race celebrations just yet. "I’ve literally not thought about what I will do after the event. I would like to go back to Disney World, though. I took the family there with a Blue Light Card discount a couple of years ago, so maybe I’ll do that again!"
From everyone at Blue Light Card – good luck, Pete and Dave!
Want to get into running? Download the Blue Light Card app to shop discounts on activewear, nutrition, gym memberships and more.
Pete and Dave are running the 2026 London Marathon for the Blue Light Card Foundation. If you'd like to support the Blue Light Card Foundation and the runners, you can donate to Dave and Pete’s fundraisers.
