Lodge grew up in Liverpool and was a good club athlete at Liverpool Harriers. Her first marathon was with the uncategorised masses at the 1995 London Marathon where she finished with a respectable time of 3 hrs 9mins. A win at the 1999 Fleet Half Marathon was a precursor to representing Great Britain at the 1999 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where she finished 48th behind compatriots Marian Sutton(22nd) and Birhan Dagne(29th).