Francesca tries something new
Francesca talks about how she took up running for the first time following her losses, to help her feel empowered as well as to raise money for the M.A..
If our story has motivated people to give to the Miscarriage Association then our losses, whilst incredibly painful, haven’t been for nothing... Our babies aren’t with us but fundraising for an excellent charity makes me feel like I’m being the best parent I can be to them right now.
I have never, ever, by any measure, been a fitness fanatic, or even a fan. At school, sporting success for me was being the second last to be picked for a team. After leaving school and compulsory P.E. lessons, I never understood how people chose to run for fun and not because they were running (in their best leather brogues) to catch a train.
Yet now I find myself in a pair of pink trainers, training to run a 10K riverside run to raise money for the Miscarriage Association. Dare I say it, I’m even enjoying myself.
How did I get here? In 2021 I experienced three miscarriages over seven months, the last being a missed miscarriage over Christmas. I had been lucky that I had gone through life without experiencing any body confidence issues but after three pregnancies, three losses and one surgical management I hated my body. I couldn’t (and still can’t) understand how it wouldn’t let me have a baby, something that seemed to be so easy for many other women around me.
When you experience a miscarriage, you feel so helpless. As a parent, it’s your deep instinct to protect your child. But there was nothing I could do to save my babies
After my surgery, I had three months until my appointment at the recurrent miscarriage clinic. I decided that I had to make that time mean something positive otherwise I would spend everyday scanning internet forums to see if there was a silver bullet that could stop me from miscarrying. I wanted to reclaim my body, to learn how to trust it again and feel empowered. That’s why I committed myself to a 10K riverside run with my husband.
It hasn’t been easy – as I mentioned I’m not sporty and to begin with I could barely make it down my road without collapsing into a heap. But soon I could run one mile without stopping, which then became two miles, three miles and so on until I managed to do a practice 10K. When I run, all the anger I feel about my losses rises to the surface and pushes me to run the extra metre and mile. Knowing that I’ve come so far makes me feel like a superhero of sorts. Albeit a sweaty one.
A key motivator to run well is that we are raising money for the wonderful team at the Miscarriage Association. They have been a source of support during each miscarriage and from attending a couple of the online support sessions, I know how important their work is for many other parents experiencing loss.
People have been so generous in their donations to us – we set a fundraising target of £1,000 and have already raised just over £2,000. If our story has motivated people to give to the Miscarriage Association then our losses, whilst incredibly painful, haven’t been for nothing. Our babies aren’t with us but fundraising for an excellent charity makes me feel like I’m being the best parent I can be to them right now. Like all parents, I would run a marathon (however slowly and however long it took) to save my baby.
