Your friends are fundraising. Don't miss out, opt in.

I'm running in the London Marathon for the Miscarriage Association in April 2026

Riva Francis is raising money for The Miscarriage Association

London Marathon 2026 · 26 April 2026 · Start fundraising for this event

Please support our 2026 TCS London Marathon team and help us to raise funds to ensure that everyone affected by pregnancy loss receives the care, support and information that they need.

Story

I appreciate each and every penny you can donate. Even £1 or whatever you can afford! It all adds up!

My story:

Having run the London Marathon in 2024 via a ballot place i decided to use the platform to raise money for the amazing Miscarriage Association. By some miracle I was lucky enough to get a highly coverted charity place to run for the Miscarriage Association again at London Marathon 2025 but due to an injury sustained during training I had to sadly defer my place to 2026. Please rest assured all money donated last year has been rolled over to this year and still goes towards my fundraising total for 2026!!

For this who don't know my story, in 2018, two years after having our beautoful daughter, I went for my 12 week scan to be told there was no heartbeat. In that moment my whole world came crashing down and i remember sobbing hysterically and thinking that this couldn't be real. It felt like I was in the worst nightmare imaginable. I needed to return for another scan 2 weeks later to confirm that I had lost my precious second baby. The intervening 2 weeks were agonising, just waiting in limbo for the inevitable to happen. I subsequently required medication to manage the Miscarriage with a resultant infection of my womb that then required surgery.

in 2019 I fell pregnant again and the anxiety I felt throughout made it impossible to feel excited about being pregnant. My worst fears came true again when I had a scan at 10 weeks to be told again that there was no heartbeat. To make matters worse I was told it was highly likely that I had a Molar pregnancy that may require more intensive treatment. I needed surgery again and after several weeks of waiting I was told that it was thankfully not a Molar pregnancy but an equally devastating second miscarriage.

Miscarriage affected me profoundly. Both physically but more significantly mentally. I felt isolated in my grief as miscarriage was still a somewhat taboo subject and having not known anyone else who had gone through it I felt like no-one could understand how I was feeling.

My job as a GP was all the more difficult as i had to continue caring for patients who were pregnant or look after Newborn babies whilst going through my own silent loss.

Since then, I have been lucky enough to have my beautiful son who has completed out family. However several friends and family members have now also experienced Miscarriage and it has bought home just how common this is and how many women and families have to navigate these devastatingly complex emotions.

I've chosen to raise money for the miscarriage association so that hopefully people who have been in the same position as me can access information and emotional support to lessen their anguish.

The Miscarriage Association is a national charity that offers support and information to anyone who is affected by miscarriage or ectopic or molar pregnancy. They work with health professionals to encourage good care; with workplaces to promote compassionate policies and with the media to raise public awareness of the facts and feelings of pregnancy loss.

Our team of marathon runners help with all of this and more. Our fundraising helps pay for a staffed helpline and the production of high-quality information online and in print. And every time we mention the M.A. we hopefully raise awareness of how they can help.

Thank you for your support.

Donation summary

Total
£1,152.04
+ £54.75 Gift Aid
Online
£502.04
Offline
£650.00

Charities pay a small fee for our service. Learn more about fees