I've graduated but not managing to do 5k in 30 mins!!! Am I better to do try and go quicker and stick to 30 mins or should I just run for the longer time now to get the 5k covered????
I feel a bit fraudulent to say I've graduated when I'm not really doing the 5k in 30 mins!!
And I quote from the NHS C25K website...
"The NHS Couch to 5K plan is designed to get you off the couch and gradually work you up to running 5K or for half an hour, in just nine weeks...." .... the words to look for in that sentence.. ?
..'or for half an hour'.. You did it.. you are a Graduate...Massive congratulations!
Irish-John did a survey on this fact and the highest proportion of graduates never make 5K in 30 minutes... they did not have to, and many never achieve it... many have no desire to. Again, many of the graduates who run half Marathons and marathons have never done 5K in 30 minutes and they are awesome runners..if I listed them, you would be amazed!
So..bask in the glory, get ready for the party and make your way to the podium for the Graduate Badge that is waiting for you!!!
Well done!
Most people don't get to 5k in the 30 minutes by graduation. The programme aims to get you running for 30 minutes. Now you have to decide for yourself what to do and it's quite scarey!
The main thing is to keep running 3 times a week. There are some more podcasts to help improve speed and technique . I downloaded one last night and I am off out soon to see how it goes.
I have only done 5k once and it took me 53 minutes!! You aren't a fraud, you are a runner. Get out there and run!!
... and I only graduated way back in 2105 with 5K, because foolishly..I thought you had to, too!!! After years of telling my pupils, " always read everything through carefully" Duh! 
You been time traveling again, Floss?
Hmmm... I feel that dark, wet, cold mornings and the thought of a warm shower gave wings to my heels.... It was done in my usual slow and steady way.. and I got there..
Although, I thought I did hear someone mention the Tardis, one dark and stormy morning!
Maztink is spot on.
And the perennial nature of this concern (does someone ask this every week?) does show that people focus on headlines and gloss over the explanation.
Congratulations on graduating! You will find that over time your pace increases, especially if you choose to focus on it at a later stage but as Oldfloss says, many will never run 5k in 30 minutes and they are all runners just the same! Good luck.☺
Here you go, take a look at this earlier post.
I would extend one run a week just a little to get to 5k in your own time. Just continuing to run three times a week will help your speed anyway
My 5K times are between 31 and 33 minutes
Mine used to be 38, but after several setbacks I am comfortable with 42 or less now
Congratulations! well done, you most definitely have graduated.
Time and distance will gradually increase. Consolidate your 30 min runs and perhaps try a Parkrun where you can run/walk if you want to.
Good luck with your future runs ... happy running!
Did you start the programme unable to move and welded to a couch? If not that doesn't make you a "fraud" either 😉
I have been working at trying to get to a fitness level where I can get down to running 5k in 30 mins. My first Parkrun time was 39:14. Yesterday I ran well and ran the full 5k at Parkrun at a time of 31:04. I was thrilled.
It is still going to take me a couple of months to get to that ability and time. But it's a personal quest of mine.
As far as I'm concerned C25k means that you can run for 30 mins without stopping by the end of the plan. Even being able to run a full 5k is very difficult and takes time and training. I have done 9 Parkruns and only managed to run the full 5k without walking 3 times.
So as everyone else has said, you are a graduate.
I'm in exactly the same position right now too! Bit disappointed but will work away...
I only run 3.2km in 30 mins. I graduated 5 weeks ago and have ran 5km once in 47 mins! But as everyone on the forum tells you not to do too much too soon pushing myself to do a random one off 5km has caused me much knee pain! Silly me! I am now slowly increasing one run each week by just 0.2km & if I'm feeling up to it I'm increasing the speed of one run each week using the stepping stones podcast. Good luck!
I graduated 16 months ago and have run 5K under 30 minutes just 4 times. My average has been 30-31 minutes, but since starting B2 10K a few weeks ago, I've run the last two Parkruns at 29:50 and 29:34. So definitely running further has given me faster times!
5k in 30 mins??
Couch to 30 mins! Not 5k. Feeling cheated😥
30 mins v 5k
Almost Graduated, but 5k in 30 mins is still daunting
5k in under 30 mins done!
