Does C25K work? Success stories?

JoelleAnn78

YES! I loved C25K! I give it 100% credit for taking me to a place where I believed I could be a runner. Now I run for fun -- gasp -- and pay money to push myself in order to shave off another 30 seconds from my PR. I have lost 30 pounds since the day I started C25K (3/18/13) by running and eating at a 500 calorie deficit.

DO NOT out do the program. If it says run - run, if it sas walk - walk. it is designed to condition your body to be able to do the long run (3.1 miles is the long run in this case....). And take rest days. You're body needs to rest and repair muscles.

PurplePolkaDot84

This is so good to know about those programs. Right now I'm walking 4 miles in a hour and it's tuff. I'll have to try this because next September I want to run a 5k for my 30th birthday.

1brokegal44

I hope so. I'm on week 4. Big jump from week 3 to 4 in terms of running time. I suspect I'll be on week 4 for a couple of weeks. I'm planning on running the 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.

SadFaerie

I didn't do C25K but started a very similar run/walk program some years ago. It didn't help me lose weight and I'm still looking to blindness more eagerly than to running. What it did do, however, was to turn me from a person who couldn't run more than 100m without spitting out her own lungs into a person who can now run half marathons and is seriously considering a 26.2 next year. So yes, by all means, try it! It is worth it.

mapnerd2005

I did it, and it worked well for me. Started in January 2011, got to about the 7th week and switched to the 10K one, finished it and ran an official 10K in mid-April. When I started in January I couldn't run one lap around a track or between two lamp posts on the street.

brandiuntz

I started C25K in January as a way to get into running and get cardiovascular benefits. It absolutely helped with that. I've gained a love for running and am currently training for a half marathon.

Diet is more important for weight loss.

As others said, keep your pace slow...slower than you think you need it. That will help you gain endurance without burning out from pushing too hard early and not wanting to finish the program. Running is a mental challenge, though. Part of the sport (to me) is learning how to push yourself when you're wanting to stop.

Good luck!

RBXChas

Yes, I hated running with a passion but really wanted to love it. I did it in late 2011 and continued to run afterwards but never more than five miles at a time (usually 3-4). Running and Spinning reshaped my body and helped me lose 82 lbs.

Now I'm back after having a baby 3.5 months ago, and I need to lose most of that weight again (and then get to ultimate goal weight). I need to add strength training and yoga to the mix, but until I can afford the time to get back to my Spinning classes, I'll be running. As soon as it gets cool enough (I'm in coastal SC), I will be starting C25K again.

Based on other workouts I've done, my stamina is still pretty good, so I may skip the first couple of weeks of the program, but I do intend to use it to get back up to running a 5K again. Once I do that, I want to do Hal Higdon's half-marathon training program. Then that's it. I don't have much desire to run a marathon.

Oh, but as far as enjoyment, yes, once I got my form and breathing techniques down (as well as awesome shoes and comfy clothes for running), I loved it! I lose myself in the music, and it really clears my head. I love Spinning and all, and while the group dynamic makes a tough workout super fun, it doesn't clear my head the way running does. Even if you have a running partner, you'll tend to get some distance at some point, and then it's just you and the road. I find it very peaceful, and if I go early in the morning I often encounter deer and occasionally a fox

ETA that I was eating at a deficit. Exercise helped but was not fully responsible for my weight loss.

RBXChas

I have always DESPiSED running. Hated it with a passion, and struggled with it because of a bad knee to boot. I finally decided last month that I need some sort of real world cardio conditioning, because when the zombies attack, the elliptical is not going to save me.

Yup, pretty much! I know someone who recently lost quite a bit of weight from eating well and doing the elliptical every day for an hour. I suggested she start running C25K, and she figured because the elliptical tells her she does x miles (I forget the number) every day, she can just go ahead and run a 5K. She told me later that she could hardly do it. The elliptical had done very little to prepare her for running. I'm sure she had gained some sort of cardio endurance from the elliptical, but it just goes to show that running is more difficult and as such probably does a whole lot more for your body than an elliptical machine ever could!

AmyMgetsfit

I am doing right now. I am taking it slow, I do some weeks twice or do more easing into it. Like for instance for week 5 day 3 you run 20 minutes. I may run 15 minutes on day 3 and then go an extra day to do the 20 minute run. I am getting much more fit from it. I cross train by biking and strength training on days I don't do the c25k. I am 58 years old and have never run in my life. I have tried it a couple of times when I was younger, but I gave up after the 2nd day. I did wait until I had lost weight and had been working out a few months before I attempted it. I am really loving it and always look forward to my run days. I think it is a great program. For me taking it slow is what is working for me. I also don't want to over do it and get an injury. My knees are holding up well, that was my main concern when I started. Which was one reason I waited until I had lost 40lbs, I didn't want to put added stress on my old knees.