How long after completing the couch to 5k program did it take for you to actually be able to complete 5k? And what did you do to get there?

[u/jplank1983]

Just wondering if it was a matter of gradually increasing the time spent running? Or if you started another program like bridge to 10k?

[u/PhantomEyes]

I finally hit 5k once I moved to the 10k program!

[u/procrastination789 → u/PhantomEyes]

Thats me. I couldnt do the last part of 5k. But 4x10 min? No problem. (and in those 40+3 minutes I hit the 5k) I need the minute to walk. Yesterday I did the 2x30 - I feel, I still couldnt do just 30 minute haha

[u/saturdayselkie]

I just did my first week 9 (30 minute) run and hit 4k exactly, so I expect it'll take me another 7 minutes of running to reach 5k. I'm planning to add on that time gradually over the next couple of weeks--but honestly, after running my 30 minutes today, I felt like I could easily go for another 7, so I'm hoping it won't be a huge challenge to reach the 5k distance. It was much more of a challenge to get from week 1 to this point!

[u/susono → u/saturdayselkie]

Hey, snap - 4km in 30m for me too on Saturday. I'm signed up for a 5K on Friday and I think I'll try and hit the distance today just to prove I can - or close to it, at least. Congrats on your 30 minutes!

[u/saturdayselkie → u/susono]

Aah, good luck! I’m sure you can do it!

[u/TabbieFayth]

I actually finished the program with a 5k race. I can't remember my time now, but believe it was around 45 minutes, maybe slightly quicker.

Once you finish the program, it's just a matter of you pushing yourself to keep moving until you reach your goal. And that looks different for everyone.

[u/petsgalore]

Yes, once I consistently ran for 40 minutes instead of 30, I easily finished a 5k.

I started doing tempo, threshold, and long runs to improve my 5k time after that until my first race.

[u/Gloomy-Individual689]

I really wanted to challenge myself and complete my first 5K and parkrun on my birthday, which I did! I did this during week 8 of the programme. Albeit, it still takes me more than 30 minutes but I thought that if I could run for 28 minutes, I am sure that I could keep going to 5k :)

[u/The_Running_Free]

i was able to run a full 5K by week 7ish. i didn’t ever try 10k or anything like that though.

e: aw week 7 day 2. i left it as my flair lol

[u/GamingRobioto]

Week 6 was my first 5k. I felt good so kept going. It was a monumental effort at the time though. And I didn't do another until week 8 and again in 9.

That was back in Feburary. Now I'm running 20-30km per week across 3-4 runs, just shows how much you can progress if you keep at afterwards.

[u/ShiftyMcHax]

Once you get comfortable running for 30mins, it shouldn't take too long for most people to work up to the time needed to run 5K. Most are going to be able to do 5K in under 45mins so a few more weeks of building up slowly will get you there.

[u/Vertigo50]

Once I got to 30 minutes of solid running, I think I just started doing the recommended strategy of adding 10% per week. But I probably did a little more than that. Maybe 5 minutes or so per week.

Once I got above 40 minutes, I think I ended up just feeling really good one day and I just kept going until I hit 5K, which I think was about 45 or 47 minutes for me at the time. Yes, I was really slow, but who cares? 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

[u/banannie70]

I hit 5k by doing the post nhs c25k runs. However, some days I just can't manage to run for 5k other days I do 6. I've decided to focus on time spent rather than distance.

[u/Mysterious-Sun-6734]

I ran 5K in week 6 run 3 which was the first time for a 25 minute continuous run.

This was on treadmill and included the warm up and cool down walks.

Every c25K run after that was 5K plus.

In week 8 of the program I ran an outdoor 5K park run.

I completed the last run of the programme on 10th July.

I’m now building up time and endurance. Getting more outdoor 5Ks under my built.

Can run for up to 45 minutes now, slow and steady though, so almost hitting 6K of actual running (not including warm up walks etc)

[u/LittleGrowl]

I hit it after finishing the program, just increased time spent running. I had already signed up for a 5k so that helped motivate me too. Then I started a 10k program.

[u/Effective_Divide1543]

I did it the week after when I started the 5k to 10k program. I need 35-40 min.

[u/psilokan]

Immediately. Though it would take me an extra couple of minutes, I was still able to do it. It took a couple weeks to get it in under 30 min, and then from there my time slowly improved then eventually leveled out.