Runner Returns After Seizure

Jess Warner-Judd is set to make her London Marathon debut on Sunday, April 26, less than two years after a mid-race seizure left her fearing she might never race again. (bbc.com) Warner-Judd, 31, told BBC Sport she sees London as a “second chance” after the epilepsy-related collapse that derailed her 2024 season and ruled out the Paris Olympics. (bbc.com) The seizure that changed her career came in the European Championships 10,000 meters in Rome in June 2024, after an earlier similar episode in a low-key 10,000-meter race in California had gone unexplained. (bbc.com) Epilepsy can be difficult to diagnose because seizures are often the main visible symptom, and Warner-Judd said the uncertainty after those races left her wondering whether she would be cleared to compete again. (bbc.com) She has since worked back into elite racing and is now listed among the leading British women for the 2026 TCS London Marathon, alongside Eilish McColgan and Charlotte Purdue. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) London Marathon organizers say the race will be held on Sunday, April 26, with elite coverage starting at 08:30 on BBC One before moving to BBC Two at 14:00. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk ) Warner-Judd reached this start line by moving up in distance after a track career that included eighth place in the 10,000 meters at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. (sports.yahoo.com) Her World Athletics profile lists a half-marathon best of 1:07:07 from February 11, 2024, and a marathon best of 2:24:45 from 2025, the mark that put her into London’s elite field for her first appearance there. (worldathletics.org) She also raced the GetPRO Bath Half in March 2026, finishing second in 1:11:21 as Alex Bell won in 1:09:15 to secure a place on Britain’s team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) Warner-Judd told BBC Sport that simply reaching the London start has changed what the race means to her, because the return itself once looked unlikely. (bbc.com)