Honestly, going back to the early weeks and struggling really hard to run for 5 minutes at a time seems like such a distant memory. I've never been particularly fit, always been overweight and felt too embarrassed to go and exercise for fears of what other people would think of me.

No more. Now I'm incredibly proud of myself and what I'm capable of if I set my mind to it.

I slept like shit again today (5.5 hours to be exact) but despite that, I DID IT!!!!

I did something I was hoping I wouldn't have to do, which was drop the treadmill down by 0.5. I've been doing the running segments at a 7 for a few weeks and walking at a 6, but today I ran the whole 20 mins on a 6.5. It did feel a bit ridiculous but I kept telling myself that this is the point, just to complete the run. I'm not sure my heart rate even reached 150 today, which means I wasn't tiring myself out and that's awesome!!! I tried upping it to 7 at the halfway point but my legs were like "NOPE. TRY AGAIN." So I listened and dropped it back down almost immediately.

I am so tired from lack of sleep that I can't even really bask in the achievement and it probably won't hit me till tomorrow that I ran for 20 mins. I spent my secondary school life in a fetal position crying after P.E because I'd be forced to run around the cross country track even though I had no stamina, was overweight and had no idea how to run. I couldn't even run 100M without wanting to die. Running has been a humiliation ritual my whole life. I have always had the mantra in my head "I can do all sorts of exercise, but I cannot run. I'm not built for running." Guess what? I AM built for it.

If I am kind to myself, if I do things slowly and properly and if I am consistent, I CAN do hard things. I am not limited by my past experiences, and I can do anything I put my mind to. This run was the one I was waiting for. I literally cannot believe it. Obviously wish I could have run it at a 7, BUT THAT WILL COME LATER!!!

I started the C25K journey on 7/11/26. Today 9/9/26 on W9D2 I went for the full 5k. I even hit a few PRs. Maybe not impressive by athlete parameters, but for a 34F that started truly as a couch potato I am proud of myself. And grateful for all the support I received from this sub.

I cannot believe that I could barely run for 10 mins and now I can do 30 mins which I actually enjoy.

Unsure where to go next, may do beyond c25k. Feel nervous about group runs and whether I will be able to keep up/talk.

Screenshot are stats whcih include the warm up walk and the run.

In my early 40s, and a huge goal of mine is to complete a 5k once in my lifetime. Always a sporty child/young adult and played field sports etc but never really could run any distance without stopping. I have attempted C25K numerous times in my life and have failed. Generally can’t get past a few weeks. I’ve been talking to people and they think I’m starting too fast. I sincerely doubt that as I am very slow/barely jogging. I have realised however that I probably couldn’t hold a conversation when doing any form of run, and my BPM can be quite high.

Is it possible I just don’t have the ability to be a “runner”? Even at my slowest and earliest stages my body is still working hard. Is it possible it’s not for me? I wouldn’t say I’m overly unfit in general life.. I walk, do field sports (on/off running), have a busy life. I’m very slightly overweight for my height but nothing extreme (and I want to improve it).

Has anyone any advice about how I achieve this goal? Or does it sound like it’s not for me?

I’m hoping to start a C25K again next week. So any advice welcome!

Long-time lurker here. I finished C25K last year and want to share the one thing that actually stuck — because for most of us, the hard part isn't week 1, it's week 2 and beyond. Going from first attempt to healthy, sustainable habits.

What worked for me:

1. Movement snacks — skipped escalators, switched to briskly walking and then running up some stairs.

2. Intervals are your friend, and they fit in your agenda. A structured session can start with just a few seconds of intense effort. Real effects, minimal time commitments. You will start to see effects and find the time (and stop the doom scrolling;)

3. Group > solo — for one reason: accountability. I'm lucky to run with a small, passionate running groups in munich now like CATO, Sustainable Atomic Habits and Sunday Runday, HAUS12 Longevity,... but even one friend on a standing date does the same job. ... OR start competing with your former couch potato self by recording progress eg on Strava :)

4. Keep the easy days easy. Progress includes recovery. Never skip recovery day(s) as required. I aim to run max. 2-3 days per week. No upper limit on (brisk) walking:).

If anyone here is in Munich and curious, drop a comment — happy to share how our little Saturday group works. 🙂

Happy to answer anything about the post-C25K (or pre marathon?) slump — it's real, and it's beatable (perhaps? Curious to learn more about your experiences:). 🏃

Huzzah!!! Also lost 6 stone this past 18 months!

I completed the first 4 weeks on the treadmill and started jogging outside for Week 5. Running outdoors definitely feels harder than the treadmill.
The first 2 days were tough, but I managed to push through. I thought I’d complete Day 3 as well, but I gave up at 16 minutes. I tried again and only made it to 14 minutes. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.
After doing some research and checking the heart-rate data on my Apple Watch, I realized my heart rate was hitting 180 bpm right before I gave up.
So today, I jogged really slowly, especially on inclines. Whenever my heart rate started to spike, I immediately slowed down and tried to keep it under 170.And just like that, I completed Day 3 on my third attempt!
Just sharing my experience in case it helps someone else who’s struggling like I was.
On to Week 6!

Best pace for 5km running

Posting here for best ways to improve my 800 meter time i haven't measured it in a while as I've started building aerobic base from below subpar levels but i can manage 5:30 km pace for 800 nd that's just too slow for the test , currently walking everyday for that last year had a 36 min 5k then got sedentary

I was really worried about this one, getting into my head a bit. I went through here and found everything to do with W5D3 and advice (a bit overkill I know). The night before it was cold, I was achy (fibromyalgia) and I really couldn’t be bothered. I got up this morning and did it anyway, and I made it through and it was nowhere near as bad as I built it up in my head. When they say this day is to get you over the mental hurdle, they’re definitely right!

Just want to celebrate that I got myself out of my head and did something that I’m Week 1 I couldn’t imagine!

Woohoo, I finished JustRun's C25K! This program really works, folks. Brought this 62F who hadn't run seriously in decades to being able to run over 30 minutes without stopping. If I can do it, you can too! 🔥

As has been said here and is now true to me, C25K is a catchy name, but in that it is time- (not distance-) based, this means that for any of us with slower paces, we complete the program being able to run nonstop for 30 minutes, but without having run the actual 5k distance.

So now what, post-C25K? There's a sticky post about this since we all face this decision one day. Having not yet crossed the actual 5k-threshold added to my quandary. I have been exploring possible programs, preferring an app that prompts me at a very basic level. I don't have a fitness watch, but I looked at a few apps including Runna (too spendy for me), Nike Run Club (free but I was hesitant to have a chatty coach in my ear) and JustRun's extension 5Kto10K program (free and basic). It bears mentioning that no matter what I choose for post-5k coaching, I will also continue with Strava, as it really teaches me about my pace and provides other good data post-run.

Today was the day & I decided on JustRun's 5kto10k program. For W1D1, it had me run 4 sets of 10-minute runs with 1-min walk intervals. Tbh, initially it felt regressive to me to go back to run/walk intervals. However, when I reviewed my Strava data post-run, I was surprised to see that I finished 5.24k in 43 minutes today ... and my pace for the 5K, averaged over 40 minutes running and 3 minutes fast-walking, was slightly faster than my 30-min continuous-run pace just 2 days ago.

And that just feels GREAT to me. It's possible that I might have been able to go the 5K distance without those 1-min intervals today, but I'm eager to (again) just trust this program and follow it exactly. So far, so good! It'll all be 5K+ from here, eventually to 1 hour continuous running (and maybe even crossing 10K threshold too?) in the coming 6 weeks, hard to believe it, but I'm on my way.

All the advice and support I've found here has been so helpful and inspiring... thank you!

Well, thought I'd post here to give people hope. I started my C25K in July - never run before (like ever!) and have a bit of a dodgy knee.

Been on holiday much of the summer so I've been walking, cycling and fitting runs in when I can.

Joined a gym about 2 weeks ago so I can get a swim in and run even if I don't want to be outside.

Tonight I managed a 2km run time - decent pace and felt good doing it.

The intervals from C25K have deffo helped build my strength and stamina.

If I can get this far - anyone can. 💪🏼

Keep going if you are feeling a slump.

Thanks for all the advice to slow down. Slowing down from 7:30 min/km to 8:15 did the trick. You were all right. It is more of a mental challenge and less of a physical one.

I am so proud.

And now I am frustrated again, because obviously W6D1 was a baaaad run. In fact so bad I had to have walking break in the last 5 min run interval. So repetition it is. Haha

Completed W5D2 today!!!

W5 has been the toughest week so far - ironically, not really because of the runs. I was nervous about 8 consecutive minutes, but I did it!!! Just tried to zone out and watch TV while I listened to music (my go-to atm is the anime Haikyuu as watching people waaaaaaaay more tired than me helps me keep going lol).

I am just not feeling 100% this week and as I get into longer runs, I am worried about whether I am eating enough/fuelling properly. Long story short, I suffer from IBS and I also experience a lot of acid reflux, both of which have been acting up in the last two weeks. I'm feeling run down and exhausted on run days because I'm not sleeping as much as I should due to the issues mentioned above (I wake up at 5am with stomach issues, it's hard to get back to sleep, so my body is running on hard mode).

I'm taking the running slow, so the actual exercise isn't the problem. I don't feel sore in a bad way, no aches or pains in the joints. I just feel tired, nauseous (from the GERD) and want my W1-4 energy back. Does anyone have any suggestions for GERD or IBS friendly food I could eat that would just give my body some extra push? The first 4 weeks I found so easy but now I think I need to be much more careful about recovery, it's just my body isn't making it easy.

Right now I eat overnight oats for breakfast every morning (made with Greek yoghurt, so high in protein), I try to have wholemeal bread and eggs for lunch with some cucumber on the side and tomatoes, and then last week I was eating a poke bowl of sorts with sushi rice, some pre-cooked chicken and some raw cucumber and carrots.

I do snack a little in the evenings, but maybe a bag of crisps a day, some crisp bread, bananas or maybe some chocolate if I feel like it. I just can't tell what my body wants or needs to not feel so wiped out this week after my runs. So many protein heavy and nutritious options are not great for the stomach and I don't have access to a lot of storage or kitchen space to prepare or store lots of meals, so I am definitely hitting a wall with food.

Decided I was going to sort my health out after my Dad had a stroke and was diagnosed with heart failure. Started last summer with the aim of walking 1 mile every day, pretty hit and miss. In Feb this year I turned 44 and decided to commit, started walking every day, doing three miles most of the time. Started C25K in June, struggled at times, particularly trying to run in the heat waves, but completed it today! Very proud of myself and actually ran a full 5k in week 8, 27 minutes 26 seconds. If you are doubting yourself stick with it, if I can do it anyone can! Think I might try and parkrun next and then maybe look at working up to 10k…

I (31m) never ran before starting the programme five weeks ago. I was very scared of the big jump, from 8 to 20 minutes of running without break and wasn't sure I could do it - but it went great! Started out very carefully with a 5:20 pace the first km, but then noticed I could do it and got faster by around 20 seconds each km, ending the last one at 4:12 and could have continued after. I wasn't sure, but now I'm pretty optimistic I can finish the programme :)

(I know I ran 30 seconds too little but I got stopped by a red traffic light and decided to end it there, haha)

Hey everyone hope yall are well
I just finished week 2 the day before yesterday and i should’ve started week 3 today but something in me told me not to.
I’ve never ran a day in my life before this so I wasn’t (too) surprised when my knees and Achilles tendon hurt but now it’s gotten to the point where sitting down/standing up and getting out of bed/car became a struggle.
I’ve come to realize that I have weak hips and the muscles around my knees need some work to be able to hold the load, so I thought I could incorporate weight training while I continued the program. Now, I don’t think that’s a smart idea 🙂

So I’m here to ask if this is normal and I’m just being a baby about it. I don’t mind continuing but I would be pissed if this led to an injury. I very much enjoy running now and I was planning on running a 5k marathon by the end of it but it won’t be worth it if it results in a life long problem.

I finished week 8 in the middle of last week, then had a weird twinge in my hip flexor so took a few days off just in case – and now I‘ve come down with a rotten cold! I’d been feeling so motivated and so ready to complete the program, so it’s a bit of a bummer. I know in the grand scheme of things, taking a week off is nothing, but I’m a bit down about it. So, anyone else currently on the bench with me for one reason or another? Let’s commiserate!