How much of an impact has being part of this c... - Couch to 5K
How much of an impact has being part of this community had on your running journey? 💥 Please tell us more in the comments ❤️
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Inspiring support. Very much appreciated.
It's been brilliant. I've fallen in love with running
I've learnt a lot from others, and I really appreciate the support that everyone gives, regardless of where they are at in their journey.
Started it during first lockdown when the pools were shut. I was proud to complete it. Don't run now. Gone back to swimming but I do walk fast on an incline on the treadmill at the gym. Wouldn't have done it without this site seeing as I am not a natural runner!
It is so helpful and it helps so much although Laura doesn’t answer me when I talk back to her lol
Running provides all the answers to life’s challenges.🏃♀️🏃♂️🌟🌟💪💪🙏🙏💫💫⚡️⚡️
I wouldn’t have started had I not found the community!
Absolutely 100% this community has kept me going; more than that it has inspired me to get so, so much out of my running and to believe in the impossible!
Love this place. Knowledgeable and supportive. I was a wreck when I first started, nearly ran in flip flops for all I knew, and look at me now, smart suits and a smirk, eh! 😉
I started once before without the support I got here and did it all wrong and stopped within a week. I've found it invaluable
Invaluable support and friendship from the community x
I could have done it without C25K, but then if I say that what has stopped me doing it before? The support and encouragement from other runners and the 'staff' has been exceptional. Thank you all so very much.
I didn't join it till after I'd completed! Don't think I knew it existed before but it would have been very supportive if I'd known earlier. Being able to share the beginning a new journey is important to me. Maybe if I hadn't drawn my sister into doing it virtually with me. I'd have found the forum earlier.
Data can’t be wrong on this! Love this community, technology brings so much uncertainty - but this is something I have to say changes us - as humans connecting to other humans- for the better. Thanks everyone could not have done any of this without ya! I’m so brave now I can actually think I can join a “real-life” social fitness club!
I started C25K during first lockdown when everything was shut and I was at a very low ebb physically, emotionally and mentally. My intention was to use the C25K programme to give the weeks some structure and to help me with my mental health. I found I benefitted from having a reason to get out to my local park, and after a few weeks discovered that I enjoyed the physical activity of running. The (in)famous week 5 was the pivotal week as I was worried about the longer run. The C25K community was great; supportive and a wonderful source of running wisdom which inspired me to keep going. I read all the comments and sound advice on the forum and completed the 20 minute run and I remember thinking "I'm really a runner now". Since completing C25K I have continued to run and importantly to enjoy running.
Thank you for being there, I could not have done it without you.
Excellent support and advice, always someone there when you need help and lots of positive feedback and encouragement. Thank you
I would have still graduated, but would I have kept it up? 7 years on and still enjoying the support of this community, really appreciative of all the time and effort given freely by the admin team giving us a place to enjoy and share our running experiences. Thank you all so much!🌷🌷🌷🌷🏃♀️🏃♂️xxx
After nine years of running since that very first C25K run and still loitering around these parts, I can’t imagine my running life any other way. One goes with the other 😍
Whoop whoop 🎉🥳
Love being part of it….the regulars make me smile and keep sticking at it!
Massive impact. I started running 4 years ago in my 60s and I wouldn't have been able to complete C25K without the expertise, encouragement and uncritical support of this community. Then went on to achieve 10K, again with the help of this forum. Had a few injuries and setbacks but still running 30 minutes 2 to 3 times a week and feeling good for it. Fitter than I've ever been, and extremely grateful for this lovely community. I don't post any more but I read posts and get inspired every day. Thank you 🙏👍
It’s really helped my marriage by stopping me boring my husband to death with all the details of my runs!
It’s great to read about what others are up to and be encouraged by their progress. It’s also lovely to have supportive comments and advice too.
Haha! Yes, I also had people around, partner included, who couldn't care less about my runs. The forum really helped me with that too
Healthunlocked is part of my running community, it has helped me a lot with my running, I have been with Healthunlocked since September 2017, best social media site on the Internet.
A very supportive community, I have learnt alot and love to follow everyone's running journeys. Thank you
Really helpful, this forum is super supportive, encouraging and friendly.. I graduated 2 years ago but still tune in
I could not have completed C25K and continued to run without all the inspiration, help and support that you all provide. Nearly 3.5 years later I’m still running albeit planning to come off the IC after 3 months tomorrow. But even now just knowing you are here keeps me feeling motivated and not alone. Thank you. X🏃🏻♀️
I didn’t find the forum until I’d done the C25K 🙃 but since completion and finding it I ve found so much info and encouragement 🙌🏻🙌🏻
So wonderful, especially after a rubbish run. It was nice to see most have also had bad runs and gave me the enthusiasm to carry on.
I didn’t find the community until the last few weeks of c25k so I cannot give it credit for getting to running 5k. But the support it gave me on the post graduation was immense. I am sure I would not have run beyond 5k to 10k and 10 miles without it
This is the only online ‘community’ I’ve ever been in and it has been, and remains, a source of inspiration, encouragement and a really positive experience.
I wonder if I’d have given up by now if it wasn’t for HU and I’d certainly not have as many connections with others from a running perspective. The first virtual HUHM was massive for me and to this day I love seeing those who took part at the same time as me doing brilliant runs and activities on Strava.
Long live HU!!!!
I found this community as soon as I downloaded the app so the 2 have always been interlinked.I can't imagine one without the other ! And the support has been invaluable to me
I only started C25K in May 2020 and without this forum, I really don't think I would be enjoying running and doing as well as I am. Last week I achieved a 10 mile run, never in my life did I think I would be able to do that. This forum has been invaluable to me. It is such a great place for support, advice and motivation. 😆🏃♀️
Very much encouraged by the support and have learned lots.
Started running two and a half years ago , still running and enjoying several times a week Huge thanks 👍
I don't know if I couldn't have done it without the community, but the fact is that I did do it with the community, from about Week 4 and I am still here 10 years later and still running.
I hardly ever post and didn't start reading the forum till after I'd graduated - but three years on and sort of maintaining my running (very 'sort of'), I find many posts interesting and energising and read the forum every day.
Hugely positive impact for me. The advice and guidance and feedback from others strengthens the c25k programme and podcasts.
Couldn’t stand running. 😂
Took up C25K on 11.05.20 and found this forum shortly after as I refused to be beaten (thought I was going to 🤮) found out where I was going wrong and finished it 2 months later.
Following that received support upto and past. 10k and find I can now run the occasional half marathon. Not got brave enough to try anything further (yet!).
It has had a negative impact due to all the boastful people yammering on about how fantastic and fast they are and making me feel useless, fat and slow. I gave up running as a result a couple of years ago. For some reason, I still get emails from this group.
Thank you for coming back here to provide this feedback! I am sorry you have had such a bad experience though. I will bear this in mind as I try to ensure that we are more sympathetic to the needs of all our runners xx
If you would like to stop getting emails from this community one option is to visit your email notifications settings and untick the relevant boxes healthunlocked.com/email-no....
Alternatively if you would prefer to leave the community altogether, tap on the tick near the top of the screen (to the left of the 'Write' button) and you will be given the option to leave.
...or, maybe Denovo could re-visit us now, 4 years on from Graduation and see how much positivity and support there is here... we do try so hard to make sure no -one feels unsupported... xx
See my reply to roseabi. You support runners. C25K is an exercise program from which some people graduate as "runners" but others, like me, are left as haters. There is endless support for those pressing on to 5K, 5K in 30 min, or longer distances, but no word of encouragement (or commiseration) for those of us who struggle to keep going 3K in 30 minutes.
To say that there is no encouragement for those who struggle is simply not true. The aim of the C25K programme is to run continuously for 30 minutes, and that is what we support. If people want to run further or faster after graduation we support that too. We have two complementary communities for C25K graduates - Bridge to 10K (of which you are a member, I see), and Marathon Running and Race Support - both of which are more suitable for those who would like to explore running 5k and further.
You misrepresent me badly. You are indeed brilliant at supporting those people who are struggling to complete C25K. However you do then, as you say, encourage faster and further, with self-congratulating posts as described by Denovo above. Non-runners like me are totally demoralised by posts which repeatedly document how a few "consolidation" runs establish a running excellence. Can there just be a bit more realism about the non-runners who are not converted by C25K?
BTW - I'm only a member of Bridge to 10K by accident. I wanted to read and reply to some derogatory posts.
I apologise for misrepresenting you. The admin team have discussed asking members to tone down their "self-congratulation", but the flipside of this is that we will be putting an unpleasant damper on a lot of very hard-earned personal achievements.
There is a lot of encouragement here for people who wish to try and improve their fitness wherever they are with their running. Further, I would say that the overarching advice given is to keep to a very slow pace.
If people do not wish to run it is difficult to encourage them within what is after all a running community! You describe yourself as a "hater" - do you feel somehow obliged to enjoy running? The best advice, I think, for people who want to build an exercise habit is to choose a form of exercise they enjoy. If that isn't running then I would usually suggest they try something else.
Talking for myself, my posts are "warts and all". If I've had a rubbish run or I've made a mistake I'm not shy about saying so. It's all part of the learning process. I even get told off for doing too much too soon, which is grudgingly appreciated.
And everyone will find their own level, even if that level is a twenty minute jog around the park a couple of times a week. For some that will be enough, and that's fine.
Others like to see what they're capable of doing, gradually expanding their boundaries. That's fine too. These folk do tend to post more, mainly because they have something new to talk about. However, these folk tend to haunt the Bridge to 10K and Marathon forums, leaving the C25K forum clear for those starting out.
I don't perceive any pressure to go onwards and upwards, "Excelsior!"
I find myself at somewhat of a loss.
If as you say, you finished C25K as a hater, and in your reply to nowster , make reference to, surviving the torture... why did you continue running?
As roseabi has already indicated, we do our best to support and encourage, but always acknowledging that for some, who find that running is not the exercise for them, still supporting them, by suggesting other forms of exercise that may give them more enjoyment.
I joined the C25K programme 7 years ago, as non runner.
My mantra was from the moment I began slow and steady. It still is.
If you have indeed perused any posts other than seeking out 'derogatory' ones ( your words), then you will have to accept that your statements are incorrect.
I have answered at least 20+ posts this morning , and supported and encouraged folk who feel they are not fast enough, that they will never reach 30 minutes let alone 5K in 30 minutes.
All my replies were supportive, reassuring and positive. Encouraging folk to run with enjoyment and never to worry about speed or distance. That they should never compare themselves with others. This is their running at their pace.
Every one of my posts as an Admin' is, as are those of the other Admin team members, supportive and encouraging and non- judgmental.
Have you for example, read all the Catch-Up Corner posts since they began? The whole thrust of them is , YOUR run, Your way, with tips and advice on how to get the most out of the runs and to make it fun and hopefully keep folk injury free.
Of course we encourage, that's how teaching and guidance work... but never encouraging faster and further. If there are posts where folk are pleased and proud of their achievements, well, so they should be... they have run well and enjoyed it and want to share their joy. Many of them too, running against incredible odds , especially in these current times.
I have never read a post here that indicated that a 'few' consolidation runs make for running excellence; quite the opposite. Discouraging, too much too soon, reminding folk that they are new Graduates and that certain things they may be thinking of are best left for a year or so first!
I find your remarks to be, at best untrue with nothing at all to substantiate them and at worst, (speaking as a member on these forums , as one who runs and as an Administrator), hurtful, belittling, and , to use your own word again, derogatory.
I don't really want to enter into a war of words, but some of your assertions cannot be left unchallenged.
I accept and congratulate you for your support for those struggling to complete C25K. Some may indeed become devout runners. However, there does appear to be reluctance to accept that a significant number will never discover "the joy of running". I also accept that there is a gradual shift to accept that non-runners are normal human beings as well.
I have previously attempted to discuss the difference between keen runners and the rest of us, but it is not easy. I started a thread on "exercise non-responders" and was basically told I was lazy. When I posted that I made zero progress after graduation I was told by another administrator that it was impossible to graduate and then not further improve. I was asked to consider returning my graduate "badge" presumably as I was a liar about having completed the program.
The community is not universally all sweetness and light, When I disagreed with a poster that everyone can run, he replied that we were made to run "not to sit on our arses all day" (his words).
You may well be asking why I still bother with the site. I do so mainly because I can be honest with those who post about not finding the program great and reassuring them that they really aren't alone.
I would like to see the message that C25K enables many people get into running, but that it there are lots who don't. We can feel hurt and belittled too.
I think your reply says a lot. You support runners. Many people who attempt C25K aren't. Even those of us who survive the torture know we will never be runners. I return to the forum every so often and note a small shift in this direction, but I think there must be more honesty.
We address everyone as runners no matter what distance or speed they go.
I probably could have done it without the community but I doubt I would have managed to not injure myself without all the wise words, so it has had a hugh impact. Advice is brilliant and I love reading everyone's posts. Thank you.
I definitely had the drive to finish C25K by myself (I started it three times and had got to W3R3 before joining the forum), but probably would have got lost after graduation.
I’ve tried running before on my own, but joining the programme during first lockdown had me falling in love with running. Couldn’t have done it without this site.
Still running nearly 2 years after starting C25K. This would not have happened without the support and inspiration of these 3 wonderful groups, both the members and extremely active and hardworking administrators and mentors.
The support has been amazing. I would still be trying to measure 5ks on a mobile phone (assuming that I hadn’t given up completely).
Lots of really practical advice and encouragement.
Amazing site - the links, positivity and knowledge passed on have all helped me
Late starter joining community after having ran 5km and wish I had found it earlier very supportive from members and lots of encouragement 👍
It's really helpful to hear of others and their issues and progress
I love being part of this community. It was there for me when I started and knew nothing and it’s still there for me now when I need a lift or encouragement. I love reading about people’s achievements too. I think the admins do a super job too 😃😊
Four years I’ve been on this forum and for four years you wonderful people have given me invaluable advice and support 😍
Love this forum, so supportive and always kind, it is really helping me stay motivated.
I started C25K in Jan 2019 and found the HU community after graduating. I don’t often post but love reading other’s comments. It is a truly inspiring site and the encouragement and support on here is amazing. Well done to everyone involved 🥰
Everyone has been so friendly and helpful, I have learnt so much and felt very supported
I’m coming up to 2 years since graduating C25k. I’ve gone from being a total non runner to a runner who runs most days. There’s no way that I would have run so far without this wonderful community. I’ve learnt so much & am so thankful for each and everyone of you❤️🏃♀️🏃🏻♂️
I only found the community after I graduated from C25K using the Zenlabs app and was looking for what to do next. The moderators were very helpful in pointing me to the excellent resources provided by the community. Though well-intentioned, I found some of their early advice to be a bit harsh. While I shared some of my challenges and experiences in the community forum early on, I now mostly lurk in the morning - responding with encouragement if no one else has posted a reply to a struggling newbie or a lapsed graduate (like myself) who is trying to get restarted. More often than not the shared experience prompts me to get my butt out of bed, lace up my shoes and get out the door (after donning additional running gear of course).
Carl
P.S. I wish the community had the clout to get the NHS C25K developers to update the podcasts in which Laura tells us to run with heel-strike first (I forget the week 1 or 2 podcast when she first introduces this, but it is repeated in Week 6 Run 1 as of a week ago).
Thank you for being such a great community member! I'm sorry if you found some of the advice to be harsh - I know it can be a bit firm, but it's only because we care 😊😊😊
I'm just running through the podcast you mention. As far as I am aware the podcasts have not been changed in years! We have actually been able to get the heel strike comment removed from the latest versions of the NHS C25K app - I realise this is of no use to you though, as I understand that the app is unavailable outside the UK xxx
Inspired me to carry on even after injuries taking 27 weeks instead of nine. Joining park run communities, and eventually reaching 10 k then 10miles! Now running regularly three times a week and enjoying it, THAN K YOU
Very inspiring and motivating. Help and guidance especially useful if you do know any runners in real life!
This community has been great. First off, I have learnt a lot and had lots of questions answered - many thanks to all. But, more importantly I have been greatly encouraged reading about everyone else’s journeys and last but not least, the thought of being able to post a small personal ‘run achievement’ message on here has been enough to keeping me going through a difficult run. It’s a great space and I love reading about everyone’s own journeys from non- runner to runner !
I enjoy reading about others experiences. I find them inspiring and encouraging. Their struggles make me realise I’m not on my own and most of us have the same struggles along the way. When I’ve needed help there has always been folks with advice to pick me up and set me on the right road again. Thanks all
Like a lot of us I restarted Cto5K during lockdown, found this forum and it got me through. So lovely to read all the posts, I’m not one for posting but will now I think. Happy running all 🏃♀️🐢🏃♀️🐢
I didn't find the C25K forum until I was most of the way through. Even then I only lurked, didn't dare post until I'd completed!
It's the sister forums that have made a real difference to me. The advice and support I've received on those has enabled me to do way more than I'd ever have thought possible.
I'd like to add a huge thanks to all the volunteer administrators, moderators and ambassadors, and of course roseabi , for all your time and dedication.
I did really well getting through all the pod casts and eventually graduated. I felt well chuffed with that ! I was running 5k every other day until I ruptured my Achilles tendon. And then the rot set in. I was under enormous stress caring for my husband, who was diagnosed with Alzheimers.
So I've got a damaged leg and then began to feel very breathless even just walking. I put it down to the stress of caring for my husband at first however coronorary care consultant did some tests and sent me for a 'treadmill echocardiogram'. The very next day I slipped on wet grass and broke my ankle. Couldn't do the treadmill stuff so they sent me for day case angioplasty. I ended up not being allowed out and having to have triple bypass procedure immediately. That was in July 2020.
So I'm feeling very stuck now. I know that I need to get some good exercise into my day but I struggle with the pain after walking only 3k to town and back.
This is where I'm hoping that people on this page may be able to give me a really good hard shove and help me to get my mojo back! I know that they are very good at doing that!
Hello! Thank you so much for responding, it is lovely to see you posting again!!! And I am so very sorry to see that you have had all this trouble. I can see that you were talking a couple of years ago to Linda on S&F about the Caroline Jordan Hurt Foot Fitness videos - did you find those of any use?
We now have a great Admin over on S&F in CBDB , she is also currently on a journey back to fitness. And we have a few people who are doing a walking version of C25K, I wonder if that would be useful to help you with that mojo? Also check out Oldfloss ' regular Catch-Up Corner posts on Couch for a no-pressure way to participate in the community and get great support.
Everyone is rooting for you!! xxx
Fab support. During a really tough HM it was the thought of everyone on here that literally got me through. All the Admin do a fantastic job and I am proud of this community 😊.
I've learnt a lot from others, received advise and also been inspired by people's running journeys, whether it's hitting milestones, recovering from injury, completing C25K, 5K, 10k, 10 miles, half, full marathons and longer ultras. These forums have been a Godsend. A place to share my love of running with others, and feel part of the running community, espcially as none of my friends and family are remotely interested in my running activities. 🙂🙂🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️👊✋
Joined this group after completing C25K. It’s really inspired me to keep going and maybe one day get to my 10k goal.
Without the advice to slow down, I probably wouldn't have completed C25K or carried on afterwards. Maybe I would have stumbled across that advice elsewhere, but quite likely not. Being part of a community also helped me feel like a runner and carried me through.
I did complete the c25k before I found this community, but it's been an invaluable part of me continuing to run.
This Community was the start of an adventure which is never ending. Support, friendship and so much knowledge gathered en route!
I would not have continued running without C25K and the incredible selfless contributions of the Admin Teams, and the opportunity to share and receive so much, from our virtual running friends on here
I would have completed C25K, but that's just me, and I can easily see how others may not have managed without the support. What it really has done is kept me running after graduation. I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to all the contributors on this forum. I'm very fickle and go through phases of not even logging on, let alone contributing. When I do come back, though, everyone is always so helpful and friendly. Thank you all x
I completed C25K as a complete novice in 2018. The support and advice I received then was invaluable. I have only posted occasionally since then but I continue run and lurk in the shadows on here! I am so grateful to the ‘admins’ who dedicate so much time and effort to this lovely forum. This happy place is one of the reasons I am inspired to keep running. I 100% love the sound advice, encouragement and kindness, thank you all so much 🙏 🏃♀️
Being part of this community has been a very positive experience. Completing c25k could be a bit of an anti climax and it would have been easy to lose motivation at that point. However the chats are full of suggestions and wisdom. The very diversity of ages, experiences, personalities is brilliant.
And after reading’can you speak comfortably while running?’ a million times (didn’t think it applied to me) I’ve finally taken this on board and, oh, what a difference 😂
Thanks to all involved who give so generously of their time.
I don't post but read the Forum daily. Especially helpful when the going gets tough to read that we all have struggles from time to time
I seem to remember Laura mentioning it on the app around week 3 or so.
I plucked up the courage to join and post something on this forum as i embarked on this journey. Without the help and advice of the brilliant admins and members, I doubt I would have made it though to graduating, let alone the magic 10km plan and then 10 miles. I am eternally grateful to all. ❤️
I found HU in about my 3rd week of C25k. While I might have completed without the community, the advice on slowing down meant that while my W9 runs weren't easy, I had got the running bug. It also helped me get through periods of injury during and after C25k. And after not believing I could ever run for 5 minutes, with the support of this community I have run a 10k. The advice and inspiration provided here keeps getting me out of the door and onto my next run. Thanks everybody!
I was struggling a bit at week 4, then I discovered this forum, read all of the advice, and found out why I was struggling!
I needed to stretch before and after a run, and stay hydrated. I've always struggled to drink a lot of water but began to make an effort and it did make a difference.
I've had to stop running twice, but I do keep on starting again because I find so much motivation from everyone here, especially the stalwarts of admin with their sage advice
I hovered between big and some. It's very hard to say without a parallel universe to try both ways... but I think I would have completed regardless... however the community made it better, and helped to add some fun too. Feeling part of something bigger in life is very important, especially when it comes to keeping something going.
This group has definitely given me the motivation and support to get through the last 11 weeks. I'm a low-motivation/high-anxiety person and I would have just talked myself out of it and given up, but I come back to the group and read other people's posts when I'm being negative, and it motivates me to get out there. Big thanks to everyone who is part of this community
I did C25K in August 2019. After graduating I joined the B210K forum and then I injured myself to the extent that I could barely walk. I'm pretty sure that would have been the end of my running career had it not been for the support I received on the B210K forum.
In the event all it took was a few weeks rest and I was ready to go again.
The best thing about the support I received was to de-mystify the injury for me. I was puzzled how it developed overnight rather than when I was actually running, and that puzzlement was the most frustrating thing about it, and made me think I was giving up running - until that is I posted on the forum and received explanation and advice from experienced runners.
