I had to go into Bridge to 10K because having a set program is something I find out I really need to keep up with running. After finishing Couch to 5K (my last day was last Friday) I felt the desire to up the distance, but wasn't sure about it until just this week. Do you want to increase your distance? Better your 5K time? I think answering those questions will help you decide what to do. :-) Good luck!

From my experience... Once running a 5k was not a challenge anymore, I found myself ready to go for 10k. I downloaded the Bridge to 10k app, but ended up tossing it and just running further distances on my own. After you can run 5k without stopping, the walk breaks just aren't helpful anymore. I found that planning periodic walk breaks really disturbed my momentum. Very shortly I found myself able to run 10k without stopping. Occasionally now I will walk for a minute if I really have to, but the walk/run combo didn't work for me with the 10k plan as it did with the 5k plan.

I don't think there's any reason why you can't start on a 10k plan now. Higher distances will strengthen your running base, but so would sticking with 5k runs.

Hi everyone,
Its great to see so much good advice.
I have a problem that once I cover 5km... thats it for me, I pretty much hit a barrier and I can't do anymore.
My body says I couldn't do any more, my brain says 'you've done enough' and my muscles the next day tell me the same.
Is there any way of beating this mental/physical barrier so I can run 10km?
Should I try to walk a little to catch my breath, then keep jogging?
Or should I run slower?
Any tips would be great!