A SALISBURY teenager received high praise from the Duke of Edinburgh after he officially became the youngest person to run the London Marathon barefoot.

18-year-old Cameron Jacobs, who has autism, ADHD and tourette’s syndrome, ran last month’s London Marathon barefoot and achieved the Guinness World Record for the Youngest Barefoot Marathon, crossing the line with his mum in four hours and 31 minutes.

As a result of his marathon efforts, Cameron, who ran for his Gold Physical Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award achievement, raised more than £8,000 for charity and was invited to Buckingham Palace by His Royal Highness (HRH) The Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward for a celebration event.

Cameron was one of just a handful of young people to personally speak to the Duke at the Gold Award celebration, with HRH calling Cameron “absolutely mad”.

During the exchange, Cameron spoke to the Duke about his passion for long-distance running and music.

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Cameron said: “I did the London Marathon this year. I did it barefoot so I got the Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to have ever completed a marathon barefoot and actually for my DofE Physical section for Bronze, Silver and Gold, I’ve chosen running for all of it.”

To which the Duke asked: “But not always barefoot?”

Cameron said: “No not always barefoot, but one of the things I did when I was training for Gold was I did a 70km ultramarathon and fundraised over £2,000 and then the London Marathon this year was my barefoot challenge, and I raised over £8,000 for Orchestras for All.

The Duke said: “Oh, so you’re a musician as well?”

Cameron confirmed that music is his “other passion” and he chose music as his skill for his Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.

Cameron Jacobs meeting The Duke of Edinburgh at Gold Award celebration Picture: DofE/Ian Smithers

“I play the trumpet and sing, and in fact, with Gold, I passed my Grade Eight with trumpet,” Cameron said.

The Duke said: “What do you like playing; are we talking classical music? Jazz?”

Cameron said: “Probably jazz more for the trumpet and classical for the singing.”

Just as the Duke was about to congratulate Cameron and say goodbye, he asked him which was the most difficult surface to run on during the marathon.

Cameron said: “For the London Marathon I couldn’t have asked for better surfaces because in Salisbury, which is where I live and where I was training, some of the roads were a bit more like rough and actually it was really smooth and I genuinely couldn’t have asked for better surfaces.

“Although the Lucozade section was quite sticky.”

With everyone laughing, the Duke said: “Oh of course. The drink stations. That’s not so bad; it’s the next bit where you start picking up all the grit off the road.

“Oh, I can’t believe you did it. You’re absolutely mad!”

For his Gold DofE, Cameron volunteered at a primary school, often providing one-to-one support to other children with special needs.

For his skill section he progressed his trumpet playing and obtained his grade eight trumpet during this time.

Running was his physical activity chosen with the achieved goal of running a trail ultramarathon of 70km with his mum and raising £2,500 for charity.

Bill Bailey speaking at DofE Gold Awards Picture: Ed Crispin/DofE

Cameron is now at a mainstream sixth form college and has an unconditional offer at university to study musical performance.

Cameron’s mum, Polly, says it has been a huge journey.

Polly, who Cameron says is his inspiration and number one supporter, said: “Cameron has overcome so many challenges in his life with various medical conditions and additional needs, and as a family we are so proud of him!”

As part of the celebrations, Buckingham Palace Garden was transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting and garden games and activities.

The celebration saw the Duke of Edinburgh – who received his own Gold Award from his father, Prince Philip, at nearby St James’s Palace in 1986 – congratulate attendees in a speech from the Palace’s West Terrace.

Attendees also had the chance to hear from famous DofE Award holders and other inspiring speakers, with comedian Bill Bailey, space scientist Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, content creator Big Manny, entrepreneur Simon Squibb, singer Calum Scott and The Traitors star Livi Deane, speaking at stages throughout the garden.

Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “It’s a real honour and a privilege to be celebrating our amazing Gold Award holders in the Buckingham Palace Garden.

“I’ve seen thousands of smiling faces and proud family members looking on – and rightfully so, as these young people have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and self-belief to be here.

“A Gold DofE Award will equip them with lifelong skills – and it’s wonderful to see our Award holders sharing their experiences, having fun, and discussing their plans for the future.

“Last year, over 342,000 young people started their DofE across the UK – the highest in our nearly 70 years of history.

“This shows just how much appetite there is amongst young people for enrichment opportunities beyond formal education.

“Together with our volunteers, partners and supporters, we want to reach 1.6 million young people by next spring – so that even more young people can take part in a life-changing DofE Award.”

The charity recently announced record-breaking participation numbers, with 572,802 young people actively taking part in 2024/25, 342,412 young people starting their DofE – and participants contributing 5.2 million hours of volunteering as part of their DofE activities, equivalent to over £33 million in paid working hours.