Mid-race seizure to marathon tilt – Warner Judd’s second chance

Back from mid-race seizure – Warner Judd on second chanceImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jess Warner Judd began her career as an 800m runner before progressing up through the distancesByHarry PooleBBC Sport journalistPublished13 minutes agoJess Warner Judd does not remember much about that night in Rome.It has been a long and difficult journey since, but the 31-year-old speaks with admirable ease about the traumatic events which have led her to a London Marathon debut in 2026.”I’m very lucky to have had sort of a second chance at running. It’s a second chance I just didn’t think I’d probably have,” Warner Judd tells BBC Sport.”I remember having really horrible discussions after trying to restart my track season and it quickly not happening. The doctors, who were brilliant, saying that I would probably have to retire if I kept trying before I had therapy, because my body wasn’t going to cope.”The distressing details of what unfolded at Stadio Olimpico are recalled vividly by her husband Rob, who witnessed it all from the stands alongside Warner Judd’s father and coach, Mike, in June 2024.Less than 10 months had passed since Warner Judd celebrated one of her proudest achievements, placing eighth in the world over 10,000m, but it became evident early in the European Championship final that something was amiss. The noticeable lack of co-ordination. The veering out into lanes two and three. The distress increasingly visible across her face. “It got to the point around five or six kilometres in when Mike and I had got as close as we could to the track and were shouting at her to stop,” says Rob.Warner Judd struggled on until, with 600m to go, she collapsed.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jess Warner Judd could not be cleared medically to compete at the 2024 Olympic GamesIt was not until late into the night that Rob and Mike were finally able to visit Warner Judd. In hospital but unaware of the seriousness of what had occurred, she apologised for not being able to finish the race.She had suffered a seizure, caused by undiagnosed epilepsy. Another had followed once she had been taken off the track on a stretcher, this time so severe that she had to be sedated.”That really hit home that it was a very, very serious scenario,” says Rob.”It also hit home that there are more important things to life than running. At that point, I was like, I don’t care if she never races ever again, as long as she’s OK.”The first indication had arrived a few months earlier when, at a low-key 10,000m race in California, Warner Judd failed to cross a finish line for the first in her career.She had suffered a similar mid-race seizure there but, because epilepsy is difficult to diagnose and seizures are often the only symptom, subsequent medical tests were unable to identify the cause.This time, Warner Judd got an answer when she was diagnosed with focal epilepsy, meaning her seizures typically start in one side of the brain and cause unusual feelings, sensations or movements.Unsure then what the future might hold, her journey back has proven far from straightforward.Trapped nerve and wee stops – running a marathon 22 weeks pregnant