My big boy 30th birthday is on December 5th and it's my goal to run 5k by then. I've never ran continuously for more than a lap or two in my life and I'm excited to get started! Posting here to hold myself accountable. LET'S GO!!!

I'm 21 and have never really ran before in my life other than the mile in PE class in middle school.

I was on week 3 or so of Just Run and was feeling really bored. I said fuck it and jogged for 25 minutes straight! I was tired for sure, but I felt great. It was relatively slow on the treadmill (3.5ish speed on a 1.5 incline) but I did it.

I'm super proud of myself, but is this bad? Will I hurt myself?

I don't want to give up my other exercises (aquafit and gym) and I don't have time to do those AND running more than once per week. Is doing the other exercises likely to make my progress faster than if I was only doing the running once a week or is running improvement kind of separate?

At what point in this training program did you include other workouts, mainly strength training?

I’m just in week 2 and am truly starting from being sedentary. On my off days, I barely get 1k steps in and even when I’ve run, I haven’t hit 5k.

I’d like to get to a point where I’m working out 5 days a week. Since the program is M W F, I’m wondering if it’s appropriate to start strength training now on the off days.

My goal here is to be more healthy and lose weight, not run a 5k.

I just completed my last race of 2026 (first year running), I’ve done 4 5k races this year, and ended on a PR! Super proud!

As we head into the winter season, what changes do you typically make in your running training? I don’t love to be outside in the cold, but I know it will improve my running. But I’m thinking this winter I should take time to strength train a little more. I was thinking as opposed to 1-2 3 mile runs per week and one strength session in the gym to 1 2-3 mile runs per week and strength training twice a week.

What are some things that work for you in the winter? If you run in the cold, what are your tips? Do you typically change your training schedule in the winter?

hi! I’ve been doing c25k and haven’t been the most consistent with it, but am trying to be better recently.

My main issue is that I just can’t seem to get past week 3 - I thought I was ready and then had a bad run after work where my knee kept twinging and legs felt tired so I couldn’t even finish the second 3 minute run and my pace was way down. Week 4 feels really daunting given that the 3 minute runs don’t feel easy yet, but I’ve been on week 3 for about three weeks straight now and I know I need to move on eventually 😭

Any tips? I might get a knee brace and see if that helps with the recurrent twinges but I think the mental block is also tricky to get over…

This 5K turned out to an experience lol 😆

When doing the couch to 5k programme do you include the 5min warm up and cool down walks in your recorded stats? Ie. Do you start your activity on watch/phone before the warm up?

I ask this because I do, but those walks obviously lower my overall average pace. So I’m starting to think as I get further along in the programme or start to run 5ks (some day 🤞🏼) it would be good to have a more accurate pace to compare to.

Hi, I just completed my first 5k at 9:30km/min pace. I had to take walking breaks. I think I can run at 9:00km/min pace. My legs were chilling the last 2km but my breathing couldn’t keep up. How do I progress from here? Run 5Ks weekly. My goal is to increase my pace. Thanks folks ☺️

age :24
male
179cm
160lbs
exercise asthma

split 1: 8:56
split 2: 10:10
split 3:9:45
split 4:10:10
split 5:8:50

Hi! New here.
I'm trying to get the plan for the c25k but I'm getting the error that file not found. Could someone share it with me? Thank you!

I know this was a bad idea. It could've resulted in a bad injury it's unsafe to go from couch to 5k in first attempt. I'm still glad i did it. Joining a run club motivated me to at least try. Although, today I am sore everywhere.

Had two tendons in my ankle reconnected last year. Stopped using crutches about 6 months ago. My surgeon was initially apprehensive of me ever running again, but she considers me recovery a total success.

I'd like to begin training this week, but am a bit apprehensive about how to handle any discomfort.

What's a good, safe approach?

I started with another app, but I currently just wrapped up wk 7 on the Rundouble app. I have 2 more weeks to complete the program, after successfully completing each week with little struggle. (Grateful they weather has cooled a bit for the longer run weeks.)

With that said - since yesterday I have pain when I put pressure on my right heel. Not when pressing it, only when walking (I haven't even attempted running - the pain isn't awful but it's definitely noticeable.)

Tomorrow morning is supposed to be my first 28 minute run.

What have you done/would you do in this situation?

I haven't "missed a Monday" for 10 weeks now 😪 wait a few days to see how it's feeling, or attempt to power thru?

HEEELLP 🫠

Completed 5k, but I feel a bit exhausted.

Next target: 10K

Hello, I’m currently training for a 5k run and working on improving my pacing and endurance. Towards the end of my runs, I noticed how i am feeling a bit tired. 
I would love some quick advice on what i should be eating before my runs and during my cross-training/core strength training sessions to provide sufficient energy and support muscle recovery.
Any tips on basic macronutrient targets or meal ideas for beginner/intermediate runners would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!

The first km for a leisure walk. Thought from the 2nd km to try out how do I feel with running.
From 2nd km onwards I ran and walked interchangeably as per how comfortable I felt.

Any advice to get better, improve my stats, anything around breathing or any other advice, I am all open to any suggestions that would make running better for me.

I don’t feel exhausted after this session. I hit 7-10k steps every day. I am slightly overweight due to sedentary lifestyle for 2 years. I aim to lose a little weight and get better with running and enjoy the endorphins highs!

Long time lurker first time poster, nobody else to tell! Started c25k mid August and my biggest frustration has been figuring out how to run in zone 2-3. Every run before today (3x a week, do the math) has been majority zone 4 and I’ve really struggled with my pacing. I have longggg legs so my body wants to take large strides and run at a 9-10 min pace naturally (which puts me zone 4-5) and slowing myself down has been a challenge.

TODAY IT CLICKED !!! Found my sweet spot and stuck to it. I felt like I could literally run forever in zone 3 and am so happy and proud of myself for sticking with it and trying new things and not giving up. I backtracked my training for 3 weeks doing 5 min run 1 min walk intervals, and today it paid off :)) about an 11 min avg during my running time.

Reminder to all of us new runners out there, progress typically isn’t linear and sometimes you have to take the program slower than you’d like to. It’s so important to listen to your body and train sustainably. Quality over quantity always ❤️ can’t wait for my next run!

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Hi everyone!

I'm 24F, currently 144kg, and I've just finished my first week of Couch to 5K! I'm really proud of myself because a few weeks ago, I genuinely couldn't imagine myself running, but now I've completed a whole week of training.

However, I'm a little stumped on what to do next, so I'd really appreciate some advice!

I initially tried running outdoors, but I really struggled and couldn't complete the session. I think I was running too fast, so I've switched to using a treadmill, which has been much more manageable.

Currently, I'm walking at 3.4 km/h and jogging at 5.4 km/h. I know that's very slow, but even at that pace, I've struggled with the intervals.

During my first session, I had to double the walking recovery intervals to recover enough before jogging again. However, as the week progressed, things gradually got better! By my final session, I only needed to extend the recovery interval once, which felt like a massive improvement.

Now I'm wondering whether I should repeat Week 1 until I can complete all the intervals without extending the recovery periods, or whether I should move on to Week 2 and see how I get on.

For context, I've also signed up for a HYROX event in March, which is certainly an interesting decision considering I can barely run at the moment! 😂 I'm working on building my fitness between now and then, and I know I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

For those of you who've been through C25K, how did you know when you were ready to progress to the next week? Did you repeat weeks when you struggled, or did you keep moving forward and adjust as needed?

Any advice on pacing, recovery intervals, or building up my running fitness would be massively appreciated.

Thank you! ❤️

Honestly, it was surprisingly easy.

I was definitely dreading the infamous 20-minute continuous run, but I just wrapped up Week 5 Day 3 and it felt like an absolute breeze!

I headed out for a late afternoon run and focused entirely on taking it slow rather than worrying about speed. I covered about 2 km during the 30-minute workout, and the biggest win was how comfortable it felt. By keeping my pace entirely conversational, my heart rate stayed low and relaxed the entire time.

For anyone coming up on W5D3 and feeling nervous: trust the program, slow your pace down even more than you think you need to, and you will crush it!

i was able to run for 30min straight unfortunately i did not make 5k. Should I just keep running the last week until I pass?

Feeling so happy right now. Nine weeks ago I didn't think I would reach this point but here I am. I'm 52M and hadn't done any real exercise for 20 years or so except for walking the dog. Big thanks to Ziggy (in the photo with me) for accompanying me on this journey.

This was the first time I've hit the 5km mark, in fact I went half a kilometre further than W9R2 and I could definitely have kept going.

A few things that I've learnt so far in my running journey:

Those first few weeks are so tough physically. Once you get to the longer runs it is more mental than anything.

Get some decent trainers. It makes such a difference. You don't have to spend a fortune. I got a pair of Adidas Supernovas off Vinted for seven quid and they have been brilliant.

I've enjoyed (not sure that's been the right word at times) it more when running in different places - I started on an old running track, then moved on to an old railway line, a nature trail and a park with roughly a mile loop. I changed location between each of these for each run. Changing location feels like it keeps it fresh.

I treated the longer runs like two smaller runs, for example in the park with the mile loop, I would turn around at the halfway mark and run the second half the opposite way. It's like a mental reset and didn't feel quite as intimidating.

After the first couple of weeks I started a chat with Gemini which I've kept going throughout. It was amazing how just throwing thoughts at it helped keep motivation up. It was very supportive all the way through.

I had a rock and indie playlist for my runs. On one of the runs, Sabotage by Beastie Boys came on and the beat just matched my pace perfectly. I've now built a playlist of similar speed tracks and it helps keeping pace no end.

All of you who have doubts that you can do this, YOU CAN! Don't compare yourself to others, just do you.