Lydia Bridges

The Reasons why - Raw and Real

@livingbylydia

My Story and why I’m running 50k in May for families facing baby loss As chapter four closes and chapter five begins, I made myself a promise, that in 2026, I would do something meaningful for charity. Somehow, May became the month that I picked and this came at the right time to show why. So this May, I’m running 50km for every loved baby who is sadly not here today. I’m running in support of Sands, a charity that ensures anyone affected by the loss of a baby receives the compassion, care, and support they deserve during the hardest moments of their lives. Sands campaigns for change, trains midwives and healthcare professionals, and funds vital research so that fewer families never have to experience this heartbreak. Any donation, no matter the size, truly means the world. The 30th May 2023 is a date permanently imprinted on my heart, the day I lost a pregnancy through a miscarriage. I remember feeling like my body had failed me. At the time, I wasn’t even sure the pregnancy was right for my life, but that didn’t make the loss any easier. It wasn’t pleasant, it wasn’t simple, and the guilt that followed stayed with me far longer than I ever expected. Being this vulnerable is difficult, but it’s the truth of what went through my mind and if I help one person be open, honest and show the rawness, I have done some good. I felt enormous pressure too, as if losing a pregnancy meant I wasn’t a woman anymore, as if the most natural thing I should be able to do was slipping away from me. And yet, I am so incredibly lucky, already as I have a beautiful, amazing son who is my entire world, and without him I wouldn’t have the greatest title I’ve ever held: Mummy. But some things are not meant to be and 2023 didn’t bring just one loss it brought two. I lost another pregnancy in August of the same year. Both losses were different, both painful in their own ways, and only those closest to me will ever truly understand the circumstances. But loss is still loss, no matter the how or the why. I want to support a charity that helps families navigate this kind of grief, the grief that comes from living in a world where babies are lost far too soon, in far too many ways. Running, for me, is not easy. I have a small benign tumour beneath my right kneecap, which naturally causes strain and pain. But my body has been through childbirth. My body has been through trauma. So what’s a little running compared to everything it has already survived? I will push through it, I will make it happen, and I hope to raise £200 for a charity I truly believe I was meant to support. This 50km is for the two babies I lost, the ones I didn’t get to carry into this world. It’s for my best friend, who fought through hell and back to become a mum, and who is now the real‑life Miss Honey to her two beautiful children. It’s for the parents in my inner circle who have experienced loss. It’s for the parents who are grieving right now, and for those who will face this pain in the future. It’s for the children who never came. The ones who couldn’t stay. The ones who live in the skies. And the ones who will come, thanks to research, care, compassion, and the courage to keep hoping. Always lead with Courage and Kindness. Where love sits, hope never fades. This is for you little ones. https://fundraising.sands.org.uk/fundraisers/lydiabridges Lydia @Sands #childloss #charity #running #rawandreal #bekind

♬ Yeshua Hamashiach - Josué Novais Piano Worship

1st May 2026