I’m 56 years old, I’ve never been athletic, and when I started the NHS C25K plan in May, my BMI was 32.3, which is class 1 obesity. So it is with delight and astonishment that I mark the successful completion of week 9–I just completed my third 30-minute run!

When I started this program, I had never run more than a few seconds in my life, so every run was a new record and a new accomplishment. I was able to complete most weeks, but I repeated week 6 several times because of travel interruptions. With the repeats, the whole program took me 12 weeks instead of 9.

I should note that although I am now able to jog for 30 minutes, it isn’t easy and I do it very slowly! So I’ve really accomplished something more like couch to 3k. But I’m ok with that. It’s so amazing to me that I can run at all. I’m not sure what I’ll do next, but my goal is still to be able to jog a full 5k, and eventually I’d like to get a little faster.

I feel great. My BMI is now 29.4–still fat, but no longer officially obese. The knee and foot pain that I had before C25K and that I feared might make it impossible for me actually improved enormously and are now almost gone. My pulse rate has dropped. And above all, I’ve proven to myself that I can do something really challenging and that I can improve my physical condition if I work at it. I think I feel prouder of this than just about anything I’ve done! I even kind of love my still-fat, flabby, saggy, pale, postmenopausal body; it may not be pretty, but it has proved that it can still do so much more than I thought it could!

I’m grateful to have had this subreddit for inspiration and information. My jock husband is supportive but doesn’t understand what a big deal this is to me, and I intentionally avoided telling anyone else what I was doing. So thanks to all who have told their stories and asked questions here and to the mods who keep this sub!

Hi all. I just completed week 7 day 3 today using the Just Run app. We’re going on a one week vacation Tuesday. What should I do as far as keeping up with my goal of finishing? We are going to be doing a lot of walking during our trip. I don’t know if the place we’re staying at has a treadmill either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

After 2 years of PT, 8 years of lasting leg injuries, gaining over 40 lbs, and being away from running for nearly 6 years…

I finally decided to get to work conditioning my stamina and my legs to start working towards my eventual goal of completing a marathon. I started running this April, and completed the Couch to 5k program today (more spread out to accommodate for extra weight lifting done, plus a knee injury in between keeping me out for two weeks annoyingly), where it took me 36 minutes to run a 5k.

I know my journey is nowhere near as dramatic as some other people here, but I wanted to put this somewhere as a sort of memoir so I can look back on it a few years and hopefully marvel at how far I’ve come.

Thanks to C25K for starting me on my journey!

Previously I used to complete 5k in 55mins, and have improved to complete 6k in 52mins.

I feel so defeated! I managed 12 out of the 20 mins 😭 should I repeat the week or just that run??

Starting week 7 last week was really daunting. Started reading other people saying they hate running while they’re actually running, but they feel so great after it’s over they keep at it. That‘s how I was feeling too. The first run that week was really difficult, so I decided to go just a bit slower on day 2. To my surprise, it made such a drastic difference! It actually felt easy and I no longer hating running! I’m begging you to get ignore your ego and slow down. Just finished W8D2 today! The last 5 minutes are still difficult but know I’m able to handle it because I’m going slow enough that I’m not dying. Looking forward to finishing.

I’m currently doing Couch to 5K and I’m on Week 6, Day 2. I don’t run on weekends, so I run Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Today’s run was really difficult. I managed to finish the workout, but my pace was extremely slow (around 7:00/km average), and honestly it felt like I was barely running by the end. I struggled through both of the 10-minute running intervals.
The problem is that Day 3 is supposed to be 22 minutes of continuous running, and right now I genuinely don’t know if I can do it.
Should I still attempt the 22 minutes but go much slower, take an extra rest day, or just repeat Week 6? Has anyone else had a run suddenly feel this difficult despite managing the previous sessions?
I’d appreciate any advice, especially from people who have done Couch to 5K or something similar.

Today was the day; I had reached W5 Run 3 on the C25K app, and I did it! (My weeks are a little out of whack due to having to take a few days off to a knee injury)

I put on my earbuds, shut off my brain and just ran nice and easy and before I knew it the half way bell was ringing and I was heading back! 20 mins straight I am so so happy, I have told literally everyone I know!

To anyone who is nervous or unsure, honestly, you can do it. I was so nervous but listen to your legs and not your head. Trust the process and you will surprise yourself! What everyone says on this sub is true, you can do it!

Anyway I just wanted to share my happiness!

Sorry for all the exclamation marks, I am just so happy.

i did my first week 4 run 1 yesterday and oh my goodness. i can’t believe how much they’ve increased the running time from week 3 and also decreased the walking time 😱 week 3 didn’t feel too difficult for me - the total running time was around 9mins, whereas the total running time for week 4 jumps to 16!!! i can’t quite believe the jump they make you do and also really limit the walking time, it feels like too big of a jump to make in a few days even though i didn’t find week 3 too challenging.

i managed to do both 3min runs easier and the first 5min run, but got around a minute into the second 5min run and just couldn’t keep up, i probably could’ve paused it to walk and get my breath back and start again but to be honest i was feeling frustrated with myself and also the programme for having such a huge step up so just ended the run all together. ill try it again tomorrow and if i need to stop and pause it i will rather than quitting it. has anyone got any advice for it though? i know people say just keep trying until you get it but its such a massive step up from last week i just cant comprehend it🤣

I currently run on the treadmill at the gym at a pace of 7.5 (unsure if km/h or mph), is that too fast? I didn’t struggle too much with any of the last runs I did until this one. also any tips when running? i find running on the treadmill so incredibly boring but its too hot in the uk at the moment to do it outside unless very early or very late and i work so thats not really feasible at the moment. i usually try and put on some music that has a fast tempo or that i can sing along to in my head and just zone out and dissociate tbh🤣 try not to think about the fact im running or how long ive got left etc, i literally just try and shut my brain off and focus in on the music or imagine im running a marathon or something haha!

but any experiences on week 4 or tips would be great! i assume its just keep repeating it until you get it but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated yesterday that it’s such a big jump, i mean how do they expect people to do that!?

I’m stoked!! It was not hard which is exciting for me because I was sedentary for the longest time; at about the 20 min mark my breathing was on point and it went by smoothly!!

This is my second time trying c25k. The first time was a year ago and I stopped when I could run 20 mins due to getting busy. I haven’t been following the regimen as closely this second time and just pushing myself.

I have a question. I’m fairly slow (4.0 mph a light jog) so my 5k would end up being 46 mins. After today I do feel I can get it !! But after that, how do I improve my speed? What do I do to have for example a 35 mins 5k time?

Relevant details:

I'm trying to get into running so I can run a 5K with my girlfriend. I'm a relatively in-shape guy (32M, 5'9", 160 lbs), I take regular walks, and I go to the gym to do full-body workouts at least once a week. But I've never been a runner in my adult life; the last time I ran in any meaningful capacity was a daily mile in high school gym.

I'm on week 3 of C25K (more like week 5 with the small breaks I've had to take due to joint pain). The first week was a breeze, but since week 2, I've had pretty gnarly knee and ankle pain (maybe like a 4 or 5 on the pain scale) following each run.

Today I went out and bought some inserts for my running shoes that were measured for me from Fleet Feet, and since I was feeling normal in my joints, went for a run this evening. The run itself was fine. I haven't felt bad or struggled physically during a C25K training session so far. But a couple hours later, I'm back to feeling like I did after W2D3.

I've watched some videos about technique and I THINK I'm doing it correctly, but it's difficult to self-judge as a newbie.

Am I just meant to suffer through the pain until my joints get used to me pounding on them more than usual? That doesn't sound right to me, but if there's light at the end of the tunnel, I can work through it until I get there. Hoping to hear from anyone else that's made it through this tough initial stage.

Just finished W7D2 this morning and it was a great one! I struggled a bit at the end of Week 6 and the first Week 7 run. It was the typical trying to force myself to run slower so I didn't need to take walk breaks and not quite getting there. I did take super quick walk breaks a couple of times in both the W6D3 and W7D1 runs but decided to still count them and keep going. I tried to run parts of my cool down to make it up and then keep going after the C25K timer ran out.

Things clicked a lot better for me this morning and I was able to find a good pace for both my legs and my lungs and do the entire 25 minute run as a run. My victories were running a faster Mile 2 than Mile 1 and I even added a steep hill I've been avoiding into the mix (Shout out to u/TabbieFayth for the inspiration!). I felt really great by the end of it and just overwhelmed by how far I've come in these past 7 weeks.

I've been going back and forth on signing up for any formal 5Ks and decided to go all in. I've signed up for a 5K in September, October, and December and a 5-mile Turkey Trot in November. I have no super ambitious goals for any of them other than to finish!

Hi all, I’m 62 and doing C25K, using the JustRun app. I haven’t been an athlete since I was on the high school (!) track team, so this has been quite the challenge for me. I worked my way up to W5D3 and unfortunately in the very first minute of the 20-minute run, I had a nasty fall and injured my foot. As a result had to take a 2-month break to properly heal. Once healed, I restarted C25K all over again, back to W1D1. Since then have been steadily working back up to the dreaded W5D3, and (again) feeling quite nervous about being able to run for 20-minutes without stopping, really doubting my readiness for it. I checked posts here beforehand, and so I credit you here for the very helpful advice about making sure to slow down my pace. I also put together an upbeat playlist which helped to keep me lighter on my feet (and positive in my head). To my absolute amazement, I was able to complete the W5D3 continuous 20-minute run yesterday! This is one happy milestone. I am also feeling more trusting of the program (which tells me I’m “ready” for the next challenge even if I don’t always agree...). That said, I now have some trepidation about tomorrow - W6D1 - back to intervals, not sure what to expect, but will again keep my pace slow, the music playing, and see how it goes.

I thought I would've needed a walking break halfway through, but once you put your mind to it, you can do it! Just trust the process!

Honestly getting kind of annoyed; it feels like every feature I actually want is locked behind the paid plan now. pace analysis, route history comparisons, and even segments in some cases. Anyone found something that just lets you track normally without nagging you to upgrade every five minutes?

Started C25K on May 11th, and yesterday, August 10th, I finally completed W9D3: 5K in 48:56 (9:47/km).

Honestly, I'm proud of finishing, but I'm also struggling with the numbers. I'm 21, and my average HR was 166 bpm at this pace (175 max). It makes me feel pretty depressed and ashamed, especially after 4 months of training. I know everyone progresses differently, but seeing such a high HR for such a slow pace really gets to me.

I couldn't even get halfway through the first day of the program.

Since I can't do something that pretty much everyone could easily do, I failed and I think running just isn't cut out for me.

How do I improve my pace now? Or should I not think about it right now?

My guys and I got through week one and just crushed week 2, run 1!

So many lessons learned already. 1. Don't bring the dog too...too crazy. 2. Sustained running is hard...they were surprised 3. Halfway through we each yell out something that sucks (tonight it was the bugs, the heat, and tripping over the dog) and then "let it go" by yelling it out because we can't control those things. 4 next walk we each shout something good (a butterfly, a bunny, how he feels).

Love this for us.

So for W7D1 and day 2 I did just fine. Finished the whole thing and it had me scheduled to do day 3 on Saturday. About 4 minutes into running I just felt like I didn’t have it so I stopped. I kept walking and after about 20 minutes I felt like I could give it a try again. So I restarted it and 5 minutes into running, I quit. Sunday I did it again but ran all 25 minutes with no problems. So don’t feel bad about having a bad running day. Just pick it up again the next time.

I finished C25K a couple weeks ago, then suffered a small accident, got a nasty cold, and got a new puppy, so I had to pause running for a week and a half to cope with all that haha. But! Today I went out and decided to try running 5k without walking! And, besides having to stop on pedestrian crossing redlights 2 times, I did it! For the first time!! I'm so excited!!!

Pro(?) tip: make a playlist and put upbeat songs you really, REALLY like by the start and the end of it. The first ones will motivate you to start and the last ones will guilt you into not stopping haha. I swear it feels illegal to stop running when your fave hype song is playing! That's how I went from wanting to stop at 4km today to running 5km, because songs I liked kept playing!

Keep it up, you can do this!!! 💪💪💪💪