Hiya...I graduated a few months back. I'm a tubby 56 year old. The only way I have lost weight is to diet alongside the running programme. At graduation ie the 30 minute mark, I was nowhere near the 5k . I have now done 3 park runs..My first was 42, then last week, I got to 40.14. My aim now is to break the 40 minute mark. I run 2-3 times a week and feel a definite but slow improvement. My big mistake (esp at my age and weight) was not to stretch enough after a run,but after an injured calf and phsio, I learnt my lesson. Good luck to you and congratulations for your next run xx

You should feel proud of yourself, very well done!

My story's a bit like yours, had never run (never wanted to) till I started C25k in July 2012. Now 3 1/2 stone lighter and love running and other exercise.

For my grad run I did 30 mins but it was about 4.2 k and it took me another 4 weeks to reach that magic number!

Enjoy your graduation run! You will walk on air for the next few days afterwards. And congratulations in advance, you've already earned them!

Hi there! Well done on your progress :0) I'm similar, 44 with a layer of blubber (wish it would keep me warmer!!) I still have not done a 5k in 30 mins (I'm about 33 mins) I started running mid June and graduated 9 weeks later (whenever that was!) it's difficult not to compair yourself but you are doing really well enjoy it! I am still overwhelmed by actually being able to run! Who would have thought! Me, run?! Yea baby!

Don't worry about how far you run, just keep running and enjoying it. If you can improve your pace, in time, it will motivate you, but don't compare yourself directly to others. Look at how far you have come through C25k, and there is no limit to how far you can go. Congratulations.

Enjoy your running.

I am so pleased to hear that you are about to graduate. You should be so pleased with yourself.

Distance (and by association, speed) are not so important. The fact that you are running for 30 minutes is far more important. Speed and distance will come in time, and you may not even reslise that this is happening.

My story is slightly different as I didn't run for 30 minutes but just kept going to the end if my distance. It was 5.9k and I did it in 37 mins, which I was very pleased with. OK, I have seen times for a 5k of 15 minutes or so, which is silly!! I know I shall never be fast, but I am out there doing it, and I am very happy with that.

Good luck with your graduation, and keep us posted.

Well done on getting this far, which is what it's all about. Pace, speed, time, distance don't matter at the minute, just get round and finish without stopping. You can go for the fancy staff after graduation if you feel the urge

Good luck with your last run. You can do it!!!! We're right behind you.

Well done, sounds like you're doing really well. I'm 40 and overweight. Hadn't run anywhere since school, but do cycle every day. I graduated over 11 weeks (not 9) but found my speed improving without thinking too much about it, just naturally got a bit faster.

Now I'm running 3 times a week, on a 5k street circuit, but that includes warm up and warm down, I don't worry too much about speed/distance etc. My nike+ tells me I've done 5k in 35mins (fastest) which I'm really chuffed with, but the exercise itself is more important to me than reaching the golden 5k in 30min. My average pace is 7.41.

My goal for c25k was to simply be able to run, like all the other runners I saw (and envied). I remember wondering what it would be like to be able to run without the need to stop and catch your breath, and through this ace program I'm now doing that 3 times a week.

Good luck with your graduation run, it sounds like you've had an amazing year

I struggled with week 8, going round the aerodrome, again and again! So week 9 I ran TO the aerodrome, i can't remember the exact distance, but it fell short of the magic 5k, so for run 2 I extended the run (distance, to the next gate before I turned around and time, ran until I got back to the bottom of the hill regardless of what Laura was saying), still just short of the magical 5k; so run 3 came, I extended the beginning of the run, set Laura back to the start at the end of the warm up walk, ran to the aerodrome, through the furthest gate, doubled back and kept going after Laura said to slow and walk. I ran 5.06k (that 60m is important) in somewhat over 36 minutes, just call me pig-headed.

For reference I was 46 back then (just over a year ago), I was a couple of months from 'target weight' so still officially overweight (but no longer obese or morbidly so), about 10 1/2 stone, 5'4" tall.

IannodaTruffe is right, our bodies are all different, so comparison isn't really helpful. Lots of people don't make 5K in 30 minutes (I only did twice, during race for life). Be proud of your achievements, whatever they are. You are doing great, just enjoy the running for now and start playing around with speed and distance over the coming months, new goals to aim for. Well done!

Firstly wow to the weight loss, amazing! Secondly do not worry about distance, pace etc its about way more then that. I set myself personal challenges and thats much more fun and tailored to me. I graduated doing a full 5k but it took me 43.59 and you know what? I didnt care, that was my pace and I felt happy! Just go with it, you are already doing amazingly

THANK YOU so much for all your extremely supportive replies, i appreciated each reply. one of the main things i will take from it all is not to be obsessed with times, distance and pace!!! Enjoy! I am about to do my graduation run and i am so excited, it is 5am in the morning here and i have got up a bit earlier so i could see if i had any response to my post and i feel very supported !! i normally go out on my run at 5.45 am ( am in Darwin, top end of Australia, the tropics and in our wet season!! and it is so hot and humid here that is is very hard for me to run after the sun has risen at about 6.20am- just checked and temp currently 78 F and 92 % humidity) Right better get ready! will go a post on how i get on. thank you once again.

dripping with sweat and nearly crying with pride, i have done it!!! a full 5km run in about 43 mins, will post more on run later - i am estactic!