It's really worth it, and anything is possible!

[horsename]

Really want to encourage anyone wavering about Couch to 5K. When I started, on December 31st 2018 I had not run for 40 years. Just some cycling to work and occasional walks plus an annual ski trip. I followed the app religiously, with some dieting at the same time. Graduated the programme, then used Park Run as a good way to slowly increase speed. I applied the C25K principles of progressively increasing distance on a weekly basis, working up to running 10K then beyond.

Last weekend I raised £1200 running in the Oxford Half Marathon! It felt fantastic. It really was not that hard but of course I trained up for it and wanted to do it.

There will be lots of people with medical reasons that stop them progressing, but believing you can do it is really important for the rest of us. I had all sorts of aches and pains as I built up the distance but with confidence in the design of C25K I could distinguish between little pains that could be ignored, and something that needed a day or two of extra rest.

Definitely worth getting some nice running shoes and kit (makes you feel good and comfortable), don't worry about carrying water or food till you are doing well over 10K running, use an app of some kind to track your runs once you leave C25K (I use Runkeeper which speaks to me every five minutes with distance run, average speed, etc, and makes a nice map of my route, but there are many other apps), do think about dieting if you are obese (as its just less work to carry less weight - Slimming World is a good regime as good amounts of carbs are allowed) and BELIEVE AND ENJOY.

[BBJackal]

Congratulations 🥳 &, as a newbie, thanks for the tips.

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

Fantastic journey, well done, keep it up 👍🏻😁👌🏻

[2flatfeet Graduate]

That’s fantastic! What an achievement, well done! Great tips and incredible running!👏👏👏👏👏👏

[Buddy34 Graduate]

Congratulations on all that you have achieved and running the Oxford half marathon and raising an amazing amount of money . 😊👏👏👏👏👏

[LeeU Graduate]

I love posts like this, it shows what is possible from a one minute run which most of us struggled to do.

[Wainwright22 Graduate]

Wow that's amazing! I started 3 days before you and have only managed 10k with a little bit of walking in between. But feel amazing mentally and physically and so empowered!!

Definitely want to go further and enter something to aim for next Spring. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🤩🤩

[Jazzyrunner Graduate]

What a fabulous year! Well done, and thank you for the inspiration. I’ve been pondering how to keep myself motivated after I finish, and I need to think about what you’ve said 👍🏻

[Getfitok Graduate]

Awesome, you’re an inspiration 👍

[Elfe5 Graduate]

Super post thanks- it’s great to hear what people achieve over time- & a huge well done to you! 😄