A Nottingham Forest fan is running a marathon in memory of a lifelong supporter who died last week.
Jamie Gibson, 34, died on Wednesday, March 1, after losing a mental health battle.
And friend Des Oldham will run the Manchester Marathon on April 2 to raise money for the Mind mental health charity.
A minute’s applause paid tribute to Jamie in the 34th minute of the Reds’ 3-2 defeat to Brentford at the City Ground on Tuesday night – marking Jamie’s age.
Des will run in a Forest shirt with ‘Jamie 34’ printed on the back.
Des got to know Jamie through the Southbank Running Club, set up in February, and says ‘Gibbo’, as he was affectionately known, “left a mark” on him and was a popular member of the group.
“He was always stood at the bar with a drink talking to people,” said Des.
“He was really approachable. Someone who I can relate to. He put himself out there and that’s something I want to emulate.
“He was popular with girls, a good-looking guy who was always smiling.”
Des didn’t originally plan to run the marathon but, after a member of the group who was supposed to be running dropped out, he took up the offer to run and honour the passing of Jamie.
He said: “It was something I was thinking about anyway, and when this came up it made perfect sense do it.
“I wanted to do something personally, and for the group, just to remember him.”
Des, who runs every day, raised £1,253.03 for Prostate Cancer UK by running, with a group of Forest and Derby County fans, 20 miles from the City Ground to Pride Park Stadium last December.
He now hopes to raise £250 and, 24 hours since setting up a Just Giving page, has raised £161. Des is encouraging people to donate £1 to achieve the target.
Des, who attends most Forest games, shared a mutual passion with Jamie for the Reds and says the pair used to chat about Forest games.
He added: “We spoke about football quite a bit, we’d talk about Forest matches – I remember speaking to him about the Aston Villa game. I go to every game and we’d chat about the games.”
Adam Hayes, a close friend of Jamie, told Notts TV News yesterday: “Jamie had a relentless love for his friends and family.
“All his friends have come together and I believe this is the start of something special.”
There will also be a tribute in the club’s match day programme in a fortnight’s time against Derby County – ‘a fixture that shares a lot of memories with Jamie’.
