Employee Spotlight: Meet Miriam Homer.

This month, we're shining the spotlight on Miriam Homer, a solicitor in our Personal Injury Department.

Miriam is also taking on the Chester Triple, which involves running a 10K, half marathon and a full marathon all within the same year. She is doing this in support of The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH).

Miriam qualified as a solicitor in 2023 and divides her time between our Shrewsbury and Oswestry offices. She manages her own caseload of fast-track personal injury claims while also assisting associate solicitor, Jane Miles in Oswestry, with a multi-track caseload involving complex brain and spinal injury cases.

Alongside her busy legal career, Miriam is taking on the Chester Triple to raise money for RJAH. She has already successfully completed the 10K and the half marathon, and now has the marathon left to conquer as she works towards completing the Triple. Through her fundraising, Miriam is supporting a cause that is closely connected to the work she does every day, helping people who have suffered life-changing injuries.

We caught up with Miriam to find out more about her challenge.

1. What inspired you to take on the Chester Triple, and why did you choose to support RJAH?

Since joining a local running club a couple of years ago, I have taken part in a number of races including several half marathons. This year I decided that I wanted to challenge myself by running a marathon. A few of my friends told me they were taking part in the Chester Triple and I felt it was too good of an opportunity to miss. I was then contacted by RJAH asking if I would consider completing the Chester Triple to raise money for their charities. I knew then that I definitely wanted to take part!

I have chosen to support RJAH because I have been involved with the hospital and one of their charities, League of Friends, since I qualified as a Solicitor three years ago. RJAH is one of the leading Specialist Orthopaedic Hospitals with an outstanding reputation for high quality patient care. Lanyon Bowdler has very strong links with RJAH and are one of the corporate sponsors of Horatio’s Garden in the spinal unit at the hospital. I have visited the garden on several occasions to see clients and for tours and have seen first-hand how beneficial the garden is for patients in the spinal ward. I have also volunteered with League of Friends in one of the hospital coffee shops a number of times as well as doing the trolley ward rounds. It has been so rewarding to be able to assist patients and their families at the hospital.

I would love to continue to support the hospital and the amazing work carried out by the various charities.

2. Congratulations on already completing the 10K and half marathon! How did those events go, and how are you feeling ahead of the marathon?

The 10K race went very well and I achieved my personal best for a 10K.

The half marathon was much harder than I expected. For some reason I got a stich at the beginning and had to walk for a while and then felt like I was trying to catch up the whole time. There was a long hill right at the end which was really tough. We also had a mixture of sun, rain and hail during the race! I am very pleased to have completed it.

3. Training for the Chester Triple while balancing a busy caseload must be a challenge. How have you been preparing?

I have generally been doing longer races at weekends starting quite early in the morning so I have time to do other things and recover. If I have been struggling to do a longer run at the weekends. I have tried running to and from my running club sessions during the week to get my miles up. I have been prioritising doing a lot more weight training than I did previously.

Whilst clearly appreciating that running my first marathon is a big undertaking and that preparation is key, I have been trying not to overly stress about it too much and to enjoy the training process! When you are training for a big race whilst working and just doing general life you have to make sure that your training schedule is manageable.

We're incredibly proud of Miriam for taking on this fantastic challenge and wish her the very best of luck as she prepares to complete her first marathon and the final stage of the Chester Triple. Everyone at the firm will be cheering her on, and if you'd like to support her fundraising for RJAH, every donation is greatly appreciated.

You can find our more about RJAH and how to support the charity on Miriam's fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/miriam-homer-3