I completed my first run of week one yesterday and have my second run tomorrow. I was excruciatingly embarrassed, but physically the run was fine. I am extremely overweight (123kg) and “ran” at what might be a walking pace for others, but was very proud to complete it at all.
Was anyone else extremely heavy when starting and did you have to repeat weeks or go straight through?
Well done I've just done my first week and I'm not much faster than walking pace since if I go slightly too fast my knee starts hurting. Thought I may have to repeat the week but once I slowed right down, runs 2 and 3 I actually managed to complete. You're doing the right thing and taking it slowly.
Welcome to the forum and well done on getting started.
This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.
Enjoy your journey.
Well done ! Most of us find Week 1 the hardest but like you we do it , every week is meant to be a slight challenge to slowly get us to our goal of 30 mins 🙏Also overweight and looking to get fitter and achieve a dream of been able to run, you will get there with or without “practice runs”😉I repeated and ran 4 times W2 as didn’t have confidence to move forward but you will see this program works 🤩like magic , just go forward and try if you can’t do it just repeat until you do otherwise you might miss out on the magic of achievement when you thought you couldn’t 🏃🏃just go as slow as necessary to finish 🐌🐌it’s not a race ! Enjoy 😊 I and many walk faster than we run , it doesn’t matter you are moving 🏃♀️🏃Good Luck !
I am still in the obese category and have just completed week 4. In my mind, that makes me a bit fitter than some of the slimmer people who walk by!
Welcome and well done 👍
Go girl. Go slow 😀 🐌. I’m up to W2R2 tomorrow and I am 62 v overweight and feel like I’m getting slower. Which I think is good. I think if people are not going to appreciate how incredibly brave we all are then they can ..... just starting is amazing and I feel so proof myself and so should you. 👏👏👏
Like you overweight obese apparently !! Plus 65 !! So not a great combo. I repeated weeks one and two then moved forward when I discovered slow jogging or slower than some people walk !! It’s ok lots of us do it and but everyone will get to 5k in nine weeks. I’m just so thrilled I can actually snail 🐌my way to the finish line. So being active is important and I’ve just done week 5 so actually did jog for 20mins omg I was so impressed with myself !!
Keep going look for the Japanese slow jog it works. Remember the tortoise and the hare fable !!
🥳 on getting out there. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
This video was recommended by someone else on here and has really helped me. Japanese slow running.
I also use the Strength and flex podcasts alongside the program which has really helped me on my fitness and weight loss. It also helps to prevent injuries. It is talked about in @IannodaTruffe pinned post about completing this program.
You got this!!!
This really helped me too, it's all about the pace and also where your foot lands. I was landing on heel and getting calf strains, now I land mid foot and much better 👊
Wow, such positive comments. Thank you all for such great support 
Well done you!! I'm a little overweight and graduated on Friday having lost over a stone in nine weeks - without really doing much else - keep going - you'll be amazed how quickly you improve and the satisfaction of meeting the challenge week on week makes you feel more energised and determined! Good luck!!
Hi Appollo, if you graduated on Friday you need your shiny graduate badge! There is a pinned post on the forum somewhere for everyone who graduated in May, if you post on there, they will set you up with the badge. I’m sorry I don’t have all of the details but if you can’t find it, I’m sure if you posted and asked, someone would be able to point you in the right direction.
Congratulations, and congratulations too to you, @Runner_P, on getting started on this amazing program. It might be tough at times but you won’t regret it!
Hello! I am very fat and also on week 7! I’m now running for 25 whole minutes- very slowly and it ain’t pretty - but I’m doing it. I couldn’t get through week 1 until about four weeks in because it was too hard. So it’s totally cool to repeat as much as you need. Go as slowly as you can. Take extra rest days if you need them (I do). You’ve done the hard part. You are amazing!
Hi, I am so big i effect the tides! And I repeated until i felt able to move on a week then I gave myself permission to go back if i needed to, i am on week 7 now after 9 weeks and run on alternate days, I empathise with the embarrassment but no one has jeered at me and no one will you. Keep it up and celebrate the victories. Still obese myself but my aim of this was to move not shrink.
Well done!!
Well done! Stay at your pace! X
Hey, I have just started week 3, I am also very overweight (and have discovered thanks to new digital scales that I am a stone heavier than I thought) but just take it slow - you can do it. We all can.
I’m in week 3 and also very overweight. I’ve actually resisted using scales as I’ve previously become disheartened when the weight wasn’t ‘dropping off’. I’ve been trying to focus on the fact that even if the weight doesn’t change I’ll be fitter, and thus healthier, than I’ve been for years. And, this is definitely a better position than when I started. Every day that I complete the run I’m better off than when I didn’t. Good luck and hopefully we can graduate together!
I fall into the obese category, I’m 52 and run very slowly, I’ve never been a runner, and I’ve just completed week 8! Never in a million years did I think I would get there, but I did and you will too. It is worth it, although when my daughter told me that on WK1, I seriously didn’t believe it!
Well done, I’ve just completed week 1. Like you I am overweight and am apparently running at no faster than walking pace - as confirmed by my super fit 19yr old daughter who comes along with me for moral support & take my mind off feeling embarrassed!
I’m really conscious of my knees & also have suffered plantar fasciitis several years ago so am taking it slow and carefully. I accept I may have to re do weeks if I’m physically not ready to move on as I don’t want to risk injury.
Keep going , you can do it!
Well done a lot of us barely exceed walking pace at the start but things improve run by run, you don't need to repeat just follow the program you will be amazed if you stick with it, best wishes from a fellow tortoise about to start week 8 and 28 minute runs having almost died in the first runs of the first few weeks
If I go by the doctor charts I’m morbidly obese but I’m coming up to the end of week 8! I reckon I’m probably getting fitter as there is built in weight training🤪 Well done for getting off that couch! 🙌🏻
Well done for getting started. I felt same as you but am now in week 3 ... I thought I would have to repeat some weeks but have been surprised how much I improved over the 3 runs .. I still feel that I may have to repeat some weeks as I go forward but I’m happy to do that as actually starting to look forward to my runs rather than dreading them 😊
Well done for doing the hardest bit and actually getting out there for your first run 👍🏃♀️. Although lots of people say, just carry on with the program and you will get there, everyone is different. I am not overweight, but unfit, so I repeated each full week before moving on, as I felt each week was such a struggle, despite slow snail jogging That worked for me 🐌🐌🐌. So repeat as many runs for weeks until you feel confident to move on! And remember, most people do not get to 5k, just 30 mins of running..... , but you can do it, keep going!! 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
I am not exactly sylph like, but I just went for it, about to start week 7 and so far haven't had any problems. I don't run fast by any stretch of the imagination, but gradually my speed is improving.
Good luck!
I repeated quite a few runs. If I felt I had to stop during the runs or didn't quite get to the end I did them again.
Well done. Slow is good. Try watching the art of Japanese running on YouTube as it really helps particularly for inclines/hills. Repeating will make sure you are ready to move on but moving to the next week will also give you a boost. Enjoy.
Well done for taking that first step- it is the start of great things to come! “One small step for man; one giant step for Runner_P!”😃
I am about 20kg overweight and started the program thinking I could never run- now starting week 7! Follow all of the great advice on this forum- stay hydrated at all times- including rest days; take it slow- doesn’t matter how slow you run as long as you keep running; respect your body- listen to what it is telling you; trust in the program- it is well designed and gets you to the end goal; lastly- repeating runs is not a failure- a single program- no matter how well designed it is- can not be a one size fits all.
Congratulations on stating your journey- it will be well worth it!
Yes, I was/am obese when I started (112kg). I’m now about to start week 5. Fight your way past those gremlins that tell you you’re not going fast enough.No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everyone who is still sat on the couch!
I too started yesterday, a very unfit overweight 60 year old. Am very slow but I dont care... am just so proud to have achieved first day! I seem to have adopted the slow jog without knowing it was a good way to do it, I just couldn't go any faster anyway! Looking forward to tomorrow😁😁 Good Luck Runner_P! Let's both do this!
I’d say you can feel justifiably proud to have made a start towards feeling good and improving your health. Don’t worry about people jeering at you - the only ones that might in my experience are certain young lads, and they do that even if you’re not overweight, just to show off to their mates. But if you go out early you can generally avoid them, as they don’t tend to be early risers! Good luck on your running journey and go at the pace that suits you x
HI and a big well done for getting out there !!! Prior to starting the C25K I had lost just over 3 stone and have another 3 to lose. I haven't actually lost weight these past 9 weeks but I have lost inches and having finished last week I cant believe I actually did it !! I think the secret for me has been slow and slower and just to keep going . On the app when it talks about bouncing and the other person on the side of the hedge shouldn't know if we are walking or jogging - I found that helpful and stopped bouncing along!! You are going to see the benefits of doing this programme so quickly - and your confidence will soar !! Enjoy : )
Hi - I am on my final week. I started this in lockdown and am lucky to have a very long large garden so 8 weeks of the training has been done in my garden but I still did it at 6-7 am so the neighbours wouldn’t see me. However this week (today) I have run in a straight line outside the house! And yes I’ve had to do a couple of runs twice to feel I was able to manage the runs. But go at your own speed, and if u have a day where you don’t complete it - just do it again when you feel ready. Don’t beat yourself up. The programme is to help you - and you know your body best. Good luck. You can do this!
Completed First Running Event
Eat first or run first?
First week first run🙈
First of January, first run 
First run post graduation. 
