Hi all,
At 37 years old and 5 stone overweight I have taken up running for the first time in my life.
Completed third run of week 1 tonight and no dramas so far, throughly enjoying it in fact.
Any tips from experienced runners would be much appreciated, particularly on how to avoid injury as the weeks progress seeing as I am so overweight.
Look forward to sharing my journey with you all, and sharing all of yours with you.
Well done! The first run is the hardest and you've already done that! It takes a lot of motivation to start the programme in this weather so good for you. I'm not an expert but I graduated recently. What worked for me? I got my gait analysed and some decent shoes after knee pain at weeks 3/4 - no real problems after that with my knees. I took it slow and then consciously even slower and that worked for me. Still super slow but I regularly run 30 mins and have done 5k a couple of times ((although not in 30 mins!). I dropped a dress size before I even finished the programme and feel so much better in myself. Good luck with your adventure - if you can start the programme in this weather, I'm certain that you will do really well at this running lark. Good luck - you can do it!
Hey lanson! Thanks for the advice and well done on graduating recently! Yeah I’m definitely going to get gait analysis done and fitted for proper shoes in the next couple of weeks. Thanks again.
Welcome to the programme. My advice is simply to take it as slowly as you can. Be patient and disciplined with yourself and enjoy it as much as you can. The programme is not about weight loss per se, but if you control your diet and consistently exercise you will see a big difference over time. All the best 🏃🏼
Thanks for the advice Gary, much obliged.
Run slow. Follow the programme. Do not skip rest days, ever. More than one is fine.
Most of all, keep going. I didn't start to enjoy running till nearly the end. Now I love it. Post on here if you have any problems. You will get loads of good advice.
Good luck, well done for starting and enjoy.
Well done on starting! You are joining a great bunch of people, very many of us are in similar situation to you and have utterly amazed ourselves at what we've achieved. We've caught the running bug after having done little/no exercise previously. Warning though: this could take over your life - but in the best possible way! Fair to say that many of us are now just a tiny bit obsessed...
I am by no means an experienced runner but general advice is listen to the programme and follow it properly, don't jump/skip bits ....and trust it. It knows what it's doing (many of us had a hard time doing this! but we now realise we should have). Listen to your body, take your rest days, sometimes 2 days might be needed, keep hydrated throughout the day and take it slow.... And then slow down so more. It might get tough, but it should never be impossible and as the weeks roll by you'll be tickled pink by the improvements you are making.
Welcome to the most supportive forum in the universe! Any time you need a boost come on here and we'll sort you out! 
Good luck!
Plenty of stretching and make sure you do the warm ups properly
Hi and welcome... Great to have you here with us
The advice... follow the programme.. do not push too hard, listen to your body and.. the phrase I am famous ( or infamous for), slow and steady! It works!
Take it gently and keep posting for great support and encouragement!
PS
Never miss a rest day
Thanks for all the great advice everyone, and thanks for such a warm welcome.
Welcome and well done for completing week 1 - brilliant!
I agree with the advice others have given - warm up walk is important, take it steady, slow down if you need to, repeat runs or even whole weeks if you want to, remember rest days are vital and stretch after your runs (NHS website has cool down stretches). Enjoy and keep us posted with your progress
Hi summers1510 , well done on your great start . Like you , im well over weight , my next run is w3d3 and im enjoying it .
I ve done all my runs on grass as i find it so much easier on my ankles , knees etc .
Like others have said before , make sure you have goot footwear, also very important to stretch before & after each run , and then a good long soak . They all work for me , hope that might be of some use to you. Best of luck
I wouldn’t say I’m an experienced runner but I start c25k in June at 4 stone overweight and completed around 5 weeks ago. The best advice I can give to you is don’t fasten your shoe laces too tightly (seriously) and make sure you take your rest days. Worked for me and I’m now 8lbs off been a healthy weight 😬 Good luck!
Brilliant, Rachel, well done!
Hey Rachel, thanks for the advice and well done!
Hello Summers,
Welcome to the forum and well done for getting started on the programme. There's nothing I can add to all the good advice above, except that there are days when you find it hard to complete the run and maybe even stop. That's not the end of the world. You just get back out two days later and give it another shot until you can do it.
Keep posting, good luck.
Hi Summers1510,
Well done on starting the couch to 5k and welcome to the lovely community who will help and motivate you continuously.
My advice would be to just enjoy the program, have faith and do not try to run too fast and everything will just fall into place. You will be running 30 minutes in no time!
I’m no expert as I’ve just graduated but I was you just 9 weeks ago. 4 stone overweight, 51 and not exercised for over 25 years
First bit of advice is believe in the programme and believe in you
As the runs got longer I often wondered how I was gonna manage but I did.
Run at your own pace no matter how slow u will be amazed how u build up
We all have days when we tired but try and complete that day’s run but if you honestly feel u can’t then repeat the run. Although it’s a 9 week programme there’s no problem if you need to repeat a week because u not ready . Listen to your body.
Last bit is enjoy and bask in the little steps no matter how small
As Sarah Millican said U can do this.
Good luck and I will look forward to seeing your progress
Well done 🙂. You’re in the right place
The beauty of this plan is that it’s best done very slowly 🙂. No hurry or any need to push at all
Walking more is great for weight loss as well so aim to increase your walking distances. I borrowed a dog when I joined weight watchers. Best thing I ever did, apart from joining WW and C25k 😃. I am just under 5 Stones lighter and have just done my first marathon for my 60th birthday
Good luck 👍🙂
You have done the hardest thing by starting. Well done. I am overweight and disabled but I'm loving it. Slowly, slowly, slower than an arthritic tortoise is the way to go. At the moment you are building physical and mental stamina and strength. Speed comes later. Don't anticipate future weeks, concentrate on the run you are on. Remember that thousands have completed this programme so you can too. That is what keeps me motivated. If others can do it then I know that I can too. Happy running
Wk 1 R 1 and I’m pooped
Complete novice
Novice 'old' runner needs advice...
Novice runner
WK 1 done!
