A long story for those with nothing better to do !! 
I first started walking as a form of exercise about 5 years ago at the age of 67. After not too long I got bored with it and decided that I would walk to our local outdoor fitness area and use the machines there. Soon got bored with that too so decided to run from machine to machine. They were only a hundred metres or so apart - but I then remembered that "I can't run!". I had never been able to run. In my younger days in the Military, I would go out with a Platoon of recruits for a compulsory run, and all I can really remember now were "the side stitches" and the embarrassment of trailing behind everybody!!! I had become used to using the Internet and one day, I playingly asked Google "Why can't I run?" - and Mr Google came up with a thing called "Couch to 5K" . It was a plan to get you to run for 30 minutes in 9 weeks time. I had never known such a thing existed!!! I had a good look at it and decided that it was a bit too much for me - run for 1 minute eight times over??? I don't think so! - I can't run 100 metres. And after all, I was 67 years old - I might break something or have a heart attack. So I did a bit more looking into all this on the Internet and discovered this similar plan mayoclinic.org/healthy-life... It looked a lot easier - only running for 15 seconds at a time and culminating in running for only 30 seconds at a time . But the final run was over 4.5 miles (7.2K) and I remember it well - I had never in my life walked for 7.2 klms much less run/walked it. I felt really good with myself. I then tackled the NHS C25K , discovered parkrun and actually incorporated C25K into my parkruns right from W2D1. C25k taught me how to run for 30 minutes non-stop and I moved onwards to 5 Klms. I have since completed 154 parkruns. I then moved on to the 10 K distance but not long after my completion of C25k, I decided to do the 14 klm Sydney City to Surf event. I had no idea how I was going to do it , I was a LONG way from being able to run for 14K non-stop. But I remembered my first run/walk style programme and wondered if I could do that. Further internet research revealed to me that many people were run/walking. Most of them were either not the best of "runners" or had injuries of some kind - but that was OK by me - so I did it. But I became a regular parkrunner and the overriding ethos at parkrun is to run the entire event , so I concentrated on that a lot - after all I had spent a lot of time and energy learning how to run non-stop. I subsequently "ran" a number of 10K events - running continuously for as long as I could. But then I decided to have a go at a local Half Marathon and I knew that I would have to revert back to run/walking for that. I subsequently did three HM's - all run/walking but got my finish time down to 2 hours 22 minutes even with run/walking. I did notice that run/walking seemed to ruin my ability to run continuously - it was difficult to get them to coexist alongside one another. Trying to train for a HM using run/walk and trying to do parkruns by running continuously became a "struggle" for me. But that is what I did for 4 years or so. BUT NOW - in my near dotage (look it up in the dictionary if necessary ) - I have decided to tackle a full marathon for my first time at age 72. I have now adopted a policy of ONLY run/walking until I have succeeded. So I have basically traveled a circular path back to my running origins and am now run/walking 30seconds/30seconds but over distances that I could never have even imagined 5 years ago. Over that time, I have lost a little weight - maybe 5-6kg but really I could lose a bit more. But I like my red wine too much I recently lost most of my sight in one eye - always be ready for the unexpected to happen. Life is like waiting for a bus - we know that it will come, but we don't know just when. So don't be surprised when it does arrive - prepare yourself for it's arrival and do everything that you need/want to do NOW!!!!
C25K changed my life!
C25K Complete - My Story
Started C25K in April, did half marathon distance yesterday!!!!!
From not quite the couch to marathon in 7 months
