Buxton woman takes on carnival road race in memory of husband

Helen Homer’s husband Jason went out to take pictures at Buxton’s Lightwood Reservoir on July 16, 2020. But while there, he fell and suffered a brain injury and sadly died at the scene.

To mark the first anniversary of his death Helen started selling prints of Jason’s photography to try and raise funds for the mountain rescue team which went out to search for him.

As the second anniversary of his death approaches she will be putting on her trainers and running the four mile road race which takes place before the carnival in a bid to raise much needed funds for Buxton Mountain Rescue Team.

Helen, 46, said: “It’s been two years without Jay and it doesn’t get any easier.

"But I wanted to do something which supported the volunteers over at the mountain rescue because the work they do is amazing.”

While out taking pictures Jason, a dad of two from a previous relationship, fell and suffered a Diffuse Axonal Injury, a form of traumatic brain injury.

Helen said: “The day he died was horrendous for me but it was the mountain rescue team who were out there and found him and that can’t have been easy for them.

"I am forever grateful for the work they do day in day out helping injured and lost people and I want to do something to support them so they can support other families in their time of need.”

Helen, from Nunsfield Road, started running back in August and after a year of running she says she feels better mentally and physically.

She said: “I started doing it as I wanted to take my mind off things.

"And after I come in from a run you do feel better in your head.”

Helen is running the road race with her friend who she has trained with.

She added: "I got told it costs around £30,000 to kit out a Land Rover Defender which they use out on the hills and I have in my head I’d like to spend my days raising money and making Jay proud although he’d probably be laughing his head off if he thought I was going out running!”

To donate to Helen’s cause visit https://www.facebook.com/donate/514354070179904/

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