Jess Warner-Judd and her husband, Rob, are collectors. Everywhere they go, they bring back a mug, a postcard, a badge, and a fridge magnet. Their home is filled with these mementos, reminders of their travels and races. On the living room wall, a badge from Rome joins others pinned around a world map. A Rome magnet and postcard add to separate collections. Only the Rome Starbucks mug is missing a casualty of the dramatic events of last June.
During the European 10,000m final, Jess struggled visibly as she faded down the field. Her expression switched between vacant and pained before she began weaving across lanes and ultimately collapsed about 600m from the finish. Taken away on a stretcher, she was soon diagnosed with epilepsy. “I’m not sure what the future holds,” she shared at the time. “But I’m eager not to let this stop me.”
Discussing that night comes easily for Jess, largely because she remembers little of it. She recalls feeling disconnected from her body and struggling to focus, but her memory blanks out from that point. Only flashes remain trying to calculate laps left and later attempting to remove a medical tube from her nose. The rest, she knows through Rob.
From the stands, Rob and Jess’s father, Mike, realized something was wrong early on. “Less than halfway in, we were already shouting for Jess to stop,” Rob says. “She was still with the lead group, but it didn’t look right.” When she collapsed and suffered a seizure, Mike had already bypassed security to reach her. Rob followed, and they did not see her again until hours later in the hospital.
After experiencing another, more severe seizure, Jess was sedated. The diagnosis brought clarity to earlier concerns three months prior, she had suffered a similar seizure in California. Medical tests at the time had been inconclusive, and she continued training, hopeful for a medal in Rome.
A week after the European championships, she attempted a run but barely managed two miles in 20 minutes. “My body just wasn’t working, and my brain would shut down to protect itself,” she explains. Any hopes of making the Paris Olympics quickly disappeared. Instead, she and Rob booked a rare summer holiday to Mexico. Watching the Games was minimal; regaining strength was the priority.
Through daily medication, dietary adjustments, and the support of her younger sister, Jodie who also has epilepsy Jess slowly regained her ability to train. Her return to competition came in a low-key cross-country race last October. “It was a nice one to start,” she says. “But I cried in the car. It felt like I was back at the beginning, like when I was 11.”
Despite taking it easy, she won comfortably. With each race since, she has built confidence, including a strong performance at the Barcelona Half-Marathon despite a bout of Covid. “I feel like I’m back to normal,” she says. “Before, my goal was just to get through races without anything happening. Now, I want to perform.”
For Rob, adjusting has been a challenge. “It’s hard to separate being a husband from wanting the best for Jess as a runner,” he admits. “I’ve had to stop constantly checking if she’s too tired.” But with each race, his confidence in her resilience grows.
Originally planning to move up to the marathon this year, Jess will now have one last season on the track, aiming for the world championships in September. “I want to finish my track career on my terms, not epilepsy’s.”
Their house in Loughborough is now up for sale as they prepare to move closer to Rob’s family in Lancashire. With her PhD in regenerative medicine recently completed, Jess is ready for a new chapter. “After everything, we need a fresh start. You start looking at things differently. I love running, but the world doesn’t revolve around it. I learned that last summer.”
Still, there’s one small piece of unfinished business: finding a way back to Rome. That missing mug is still waiting for her.
