Helen is on the run for year of significant dates
23 March 2026
Helen Jackson.
This year is full of significant dates for Wolverhampton based Inspector Helen Jackson.
It’s 10 years since Helen lost her Dad, who was also a West Midlands Police officer, she retires in August and, in December, she turns 50.
So, to add another significant date to the list, on Sunday 19 April she will be running the Manchester Marathon, the first time she will have tackled the distance, and, as an added incentive, she is raising money for Cancer Research.
Perfect timing
“Dad was born in Manchester in April, so it all seemed to be perfect timing,” said Helen, the partnerships inspector at Wolverhampton.
“The furthest I have run before this is 10k, so I know it will be tough, but considering what friends and loved ones go through to battle cancer, I have to remind myself it’s only running but it is 26.2 miles.
“I’ve just started my fundraising and I’m aiming to raise £500 but if I can raise more, that would be amazing.
“My Dad was 70, a retired Royal Navy submariner and a retired WMP Constable. He died just a month after being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2016.
“One in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer, but research is helping early diagnosis and treatments. We will all be affected by cancer, directly or indirectly so I hope people will support my fundraising.”
Road running
Helen started running when her children were young, just to feel more fit and healthy.
She enjoyed the flat surfaces of road running, but not the hills and ran her first 10k race in 2019, a distance she also covered in 2022.
As a family, Helen and her children run the Pretty Muddy 5k Race for Life event at Weston Park near Shifnall.
Before signing up for the Manchester Marathon, Helen was running once or twice a week but she has now upped this to three to four times.
“I am averaging 10k on a ‘normal’ run and 20k on a longer run. This is still not as much distance as I should be hitting, but I am now more consistent and I am feeling stronger,” she explained.
“I am training on my own, as I can’t run and talk at the same time, so there is no point having a running partner.
“On the day, I think the biggest challenge is going to be getting through ‘hitting the wall’ and going that full distance.
“I’m hoping to complete the distance in under five and a half hours, which I think is do-able, but just getting back in one piece would be good.”
Fundraising
She will be spurred on knowing that she is raising funds for a cause close to her heart.
Helen’s Dad, Peter Jackson, was a late joiner after serving in the Royal Navy he joined the Force aged 39 in 1986 and was based at Birmingham Road, Wolverhampton.
He then transferred to West Mercia, working as a beat officer in Bridgnorth, and then at the ID suite at Malinsgate, Telford. He retired and returned to West Midlands Police as a member of police staff, working as a witness care officer at the Glidewell Unit in Wolverhampton up until his retirement in 2011.
Helen started her policing career in Wolverhampton in 1996, and was promoted to sergeant at Walsall in 2007. She went onto child protection in 2009 and was promoted to inspector at Wolverhampton in 2018.
