Back in March last year, when parkruns got cancelled and lock down started, I was a year on from starting C25K and my average distance per run was around 8.75k.
Skip forward to today and my average over May, June and July (so far) is now about 12.5k/run. It has, in fact, now been over 6 months since any run has been under 10k.
I don't say the above to brag, simply a recognition of the fact that for someone who just wanted to keep his fitness up between rugby seasons so that I didn't dread August rolling around each year on account of increasing age and it getting harder to pick up again each season, I really am amazed at how far (literally and figuratively) I've come since deciding to give C25K a try back in March 2019.
I have had the good fortune to be active and have a reasonable degree of fitness all my life, but it's fair to say that now, in my 50s, I'm probably in the best physical shape I've been in my entire adult life, and it's all down to me deciding to download an app to my phone and deciding to try.
Of course, the support and encouragement from this forum has also played a huge part.
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sTrongFuse
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It’s an amazing programme isn’t it? we heard about it and started about a month after you, we haven’t increased as much as you have but all the time we can run in our mid sixties we feel good about our fitness
That's really all that matters, isn't it?As a referee, I have to spend 80 minutes keeping up with players who are anything upto 30 years younger than me. I suspect, realistically, I only have a few more seasons in me but the fact I've street he'd my career to this point is largy down to tbis plan.
It's one of those things where I'm not getting any younger, but the turnover of players means the guys I'm trying to keep up with don't get any older. There's only one way that race eventually ends, but the running has kept me in it a bit longer.
It's not only the programme and this wonderful forum - you need to take some credit for persevering and putting in the work. A fantastic incentive though using running as a way to keep involved in rugby! Many more miles in you yet, I think!!
I agree with you sTrongFuse, C25K is a great program, if I can remember correctly both of us ran our first parkrun in July 2019, you ran at Gorgie by Edinburgh, I ran my first parkrun at Dunfermline on the same Saturday morning.
Congratulations on all those +10K runs, I have only ran, apart from 5K runs, a few 8Ks, 17/10K runs and two 10 mile runs.
All that running for you will help you to run once the rugby restarts, perhaps sometime in the Autumn IF there is NOT another lockdown.
Thanks AlMorr . The plan is definitely to start again at all levels in August, so fingers crossed. Hopefully we'll get parkrun back soon too, although since the two clash for me during the season, I can only do one or the other.
You are doing amazing distances, especially if you’ve managed to keep going through the crazy heat. Like you, downloading the app 2years ago has resulted in me being fitter than ever. Happy running 🤗
I don't mind the heat too much. I tend to head out in the evening when it's a bit cooler, stay in the woods for shade and it gives me the perfect excuse to go even slower...
"I have had the good fortune to be active and have a reasonable degree of fitness all my life, but it's fair to say that now, in my 50s, I'm probably in the best physical shape I've been in my entire adult life, and it's all down to me deciding to download an app to my phone and deciding to try."
Fantastic story SF! You’ve come on in leaps and bounds, and running clearly agrees with you. 😀 I’m impressed with your distances. Amazing! 👊
I wholeheartedly agree. I started C25K in June 2018 and graduated in August 2018. All due to jogging really ineptly with my daughter during one of our “sports days” (yoga, weights and a very short jog). I decided to try something new after my decades of riding horses ended after my dear old arthritic horse was put to sleep at age 25.
Three years on, I’ve run HM distance 5 times to date, I’ve run loads of races, real and virtual, I adore Parkrun and I’ve made so many wonderful VRBs on HU, ultimately meeting lots of them at PRs all over the country. Running is epic and so are these forums. We’re so lucky. ❤️
15 year old me, sitting under a tree, bunking off from school cross-country is still scratching his head trying to work out how he becomes me. Maybe they should actually put C25K on the school curriculum and more people might enjoy running rather than be traumatised by it.
I cant agree more, the C25K program is absolutely fantastic.
Less than two years ago I knew I was not that fit when trying to keep up with my two little ones was getting hard. Another seven of the mums I spoke with at the school drop-off and pick-up felt the same (or worse!) and after seeing 4 other mums (human gazelles) glide off for a run each day we decided on the C25K plan. How hard could it be?
At the end of the first minute of the first run of week 1 I remember thinking "What the hell have I signed myself up for". For the next seven one minute runs I stopped thinking to conserve energy!
Although still not up to your distances on a regular basis I am getting there. (5K min every day, 10K min at lease once a week and max so far about 15K).
The C25K program has literally changed my life, my family's life and the other seven in our group have said the same.
A few of our group were trying to lose weight as well as get fitter and so diet regularly came up in conversation. I realise that although I was concerned about my children's diet mine was not so good. I regularly skipped the odd meal if I was busy and I thought that as I was not over or under weight what harm could it be doing?
When I started to see a link between how a run went and what I had eaten in the last 24 hours it made me think. The whole diet thing was then becoming as important to me as the running.
I was lucky when starting the C25K as our group had decided not to let anyone fall behind. We would only move on when the whole group was ready. After repeating week one a number of times with just one of our members still unsure, I turned to advice from this site. The simple advice was to try, and then go back if needed, WOW, simple but proved to be our attitude from then on. Did we ever repeat a week after that, no we didn't. No matter how difficult it looked, the plan had made sure we were ready and we managed it. I still like to pass on that advice when I see someone's post doubting their ability to proceed, you don't know you can't if you don't even try.
We completed the C25K but before we could celebrate, lockdown hit us and we could no longer run as a group. We knew that at some point we would be able to run as a group again (but I don't think any of us thought it was going to take this long) and so none of us wanted to be the one to hold back the group. that helped spur each of us on. We all took different approaches to individual running and as restrictions allowed, ran as pairs or smaller groups. Amazingly we started to learn from each others techniques and experiences and so that is probably one of the positive things to come out of lockdown.
My husband thinks I am on some for of commission for promoting the C25K the way I push it to just about anyone who will listen (I think it should be made compulsory!! ). Running started as a way of getting fitter but is now one of the things that keeps me going each day. I have made 7 very good friends and had some very good laughs in the process. I just cannot imagine what life would be like without running now.
This site gives me inspiration, advice and quite often a laugh. There are some brilliantly written posts. I also feel I can write about my experiences (or complete nonsense) and hope that they may help someone, even if nobody reads them!!
When I read some posts, and the obstacles, injuries and situations some people have to overcome I look back to before my C25K and feel ashamed that in my early 30's I was that unfit with absolutely no excuse.
Oh, and our group member that doubted if she could go to week two, now out runs the rest of us regularly doing over 20K.
Parkrun (before they were paused) aside, I tend to run on my own, but am part of a group that meets on Sunday mornings. During lock down we set a number of relay challenges where each individual's running contributed to a team total, and the teams competed for the prestige of being "best" while sharing our runs via the club WhatsApp group. It meant we could still have "group activities" even running on our own.
It's good that we are able to do our Sunday sessions again, but most of my mileage is solitary as I just enjoy getting out and spending an hour or so (or longer when the mood takes me) just plodding along though the countryside 3 or 4 times a week in all weathers.
I've lost 3st/19kg since I started, but the biggest benefit has been to my mental health. A year ago I was finally able to come off anti depressants after 23 years. For me, that is the biggest win of all.
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). Running started as a way of getting fitter but is now one of the things that keeps me going each day. I have made 7 very good friends and had some very good laughs in the process. I just cannot imagine what life would be like without running now.
Reassurance 
The prodigal runner returns. I've missed you all :)
Hello everyone! 
Tiny 3k run... did I say tiny?
