Sink me sideways in a bucket of cement, I did it.

[Epican]

Well it only took me 9 months to complete the 9 week program, but I have finally managed W9R3. I haven't felt this good for many a year. Running isn't my natural area of expertise shall we say hence the extended time span, but I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. So if anyone just starting this program is having doubts, just believe in yourself, your stronger than you think and it feels great to get to the end.I will start the next stage and maybe look into doing a Parkrun sometime soon as it surprised the heck out of me when I realised that it is any enjoyable endeavour to get out there and just run. So here's to the next stage, see you out there folks.

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Congratulations and I can recommend parkrun, it's a great way to start Saturday.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Huge well done to you... go and get that very well earned, badge !

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[JeremiahObadiah Graduate]

Brilliant, well done to you. 🎉🎈

[CBDB Ambassador]

woohooo!!! Huge congrats!!! 🥳 🥂 🙌

[Madwife60 Graduate]

Many congratulations on reaching your goal. Onwards and upwards

[BarbieW Graduate]

well done! And now the Parkrun, that is great to join with a lovely group of runners, it is quite addictive! Bit like running in general, I suppose……!

[Midlifewino Graduate]

Very well done, really nice to hear that you’re enjoying running too! There’s hope for us all!

[00marks Graduate]

Congratulations on completing C25K!

[Woody_53 Graduate]

You got there! I can remember graduating for the first time, so I know how wonderful you feel.

[Fitness2025]

Congratulations!!!

[Sandraj39 Graduate]

Great post - congratulations on completing Couch to 5K!👏👍🙂 I took 7 months to complete the programme as I got injured at about 8 weeks!! That was over 9 years ago and I’m still running and still loving it! 🏃‍♀️Good luck on the next stage of your running journey! 🙂

[JeremiahObadiah Graduate]

Would /coulc you elaborate on your 9 month progression. Did you keep following the plan but repeating the runs? Or was it more about spacing /coming back to it? What was your longest pause if so.? How did you maintain motivation ? Did you tweak the programme to spread it out more?

What I’m wishing to find out is how you made it work for you. To continue over 9 months is great as you have adapted to the running and formed what should now be a habit which should be beneficial and enjoyable for the long term. Best wishes for the onward runs .

[Epican in reply to JeremiahObadiah]

Hi. There was a lot of mental barriers to overcome for me to complete the course. Firstly I am a 54yr old ex smoker, so I had to change my mindset into a less sedentary frame. Then on a few occasions the weather played a part. Also sometimes getting home after a hard day I chose not to run. So many excuses you can give yourself to stay in. I was reminded of a Pratchett saying whilst doing it which goes along the lines of ' If you can find a good excuse to not do it, you'll find a million bad ones.'. So with that in mind I started to just plug away at it, not giving the lazy me a chance to find an excuse, get home, get changed and go, don't think about it. And the rest is history, as I did it more and more and attained the mile stones, it became so much easier and also enjoyable, to have the sense of achievement. I'm now doing stepping stones and loving it. Hope this helps.

[JeremiahObadiah Graduate]

Brilliant. Well done for your resolve and perseverance.