What was your motivation to start running?

A creepy guy with his wife and child

Sounds like you just have a lot of excuses for not running. I began running in June of 2011 and trust me I hated every second I was doing it but I did want to complete my first 5k...I may have jumped the gun a bit to soon on that one because I tried it after only running for about 2 weeks...the good news is...I finished...the bad news...I was dead last...since then I was determined to finish a 5k in 30 min or less...and so I did...my new mission...I ran a few more and so far to date I have run my fastest 5k at 27 min!! Pretty proud, yes I am! I am certainly not a speedy run but I love the feeling when I am finished. So far to date my longest run has been about 5.6 miles...it is more my own drive that wants to do this now. I started because I was getting tired of my exercise videos and wanted to get outside and enjoy the spring, summer and fall weather...I loved my morning runs...and they will happen again...I am now 27 weeks pregnant so running has turned into a very slow jog/walk..stick with it...runners get addicted to running...sounds crazy but it is true!! Soo from one non-runner to another...if you will it you will achieve it;)

Not exactly sure why I started. I suppose I just thought it would help me look better. I simply started doing it. I went one, single block each time, at first. My distances gradually, naturally, got longer. BTW I was living in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, at the time. So, weather is no excuse.

I think the main motivation for me was that I had never been a runner, never imagined I could do that, and in fact, when I was a kid/teenager, I was kind of the "anti" runner. I wanted to prove myself wrong.

I would wholeheartedly recommend C25k. I can't promise you will love running, but it's definitely worth a try. If you hate it (after giving it a proper try!) you can just find something you like better.

If you really want to do this, obviously you're going to have to just go and do it, and disregard all your excuses. However, I don't honestly think there's any shame in waiting until the weather improves. I'm already into it, and find it hard going in icey, snowy weather, especially with the days being shorter at the moment. If you're going to do it, you need to make a commitment to do it, but you could make the commitment to start in the spring, and you might find it easier to motivate yourself when it's a little lighter, and warmer. I'm not trying to let you off the hook, but it's an option.

I always hated running as well. I started running because I was able to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. Then a bunch or us signed up for run for your lives, and now I'm signed up for the color run at the beginning of April.

I am looking for advice from people who run now, but who were once people like me and said NEVER I WILL NEVER EVER BE A RUNNER.

I want to do the couch to 5k program because it's the first thing i've seen that made me think "Yeah, that's doable!" But I can't turn off the excuses:

"I can't run because it's winter in Wisconsin which means dangerous ice, and my neighborhood is too sketchy, and I can't join a gym because it's too expensive, and I can't use my treadmill because the downstairs neighbors will get annoyed and I can't find the key for it anyway, and I don't have time to run in the morning, and I'm too skittish to run after dark, and my ipod is broken..."

They are endless!

What's your story? How did you make the transition between Not a Runner and Runner?

I was like that. I wouldn't run unless someone was chasing me and even then it was questionable. I started with the C25K and it helped me a lot. I just had to make myself figure out how to fit it in. I started getting up earlier and running in my neighborhood (which, at 5:00 in the morning any neighborhood can be sketchy) I also joined a Planet FItness, for the sole use of the treadmills for winter. It's only $10 and you get what you pay for, but I don't care as long as I'm getting a run in. You also jus thave to start out slowly, don't push it and definitely follow the program.
Good luck!

Hmmm, Let me think about this.....

I was a little chubby girl, everyone told me, I couldn't run to save my life. I started running when I took martial arts but only 1 or 2 miles at a time (and I was under 30).

I actually can't define when I got serious about running. But I got talked into running in the Warrior Dash 2 years ago, I started training for that and that's all she wrote. since then I ran the Warrior Dash in 2012, another 5K and have signed up for my first ever half marathon in March. Yes, I am training for that and if you ask my husband, I'm obsessed with my training schedule and refuse to miss a day of any of it.

my motivation was primarily my checkbook. i wanted to start exercising regularly, but did not want to fork out $30 or more per month to join a gym. heard about couch-to-5k and decided to invest in some good running shoes & give it a shot. i stopped the first time thru around week 3 or 4. picked it up again a few months later, and stopped again. the third time was the charm for me. and as i was nearing the end of the program, i actually registered for my very fist 5k. registering for that race kept me accountable for not slacking off, and ensured that i completed the program.

i now try to register for one 5k race per month, and for the same reason. always having a race on my calendar keeps me in check with my training. i'm also planning to start training for 10k distance. i was never, ever a runner before C25k, but what started as my way to get exercise as cheaply as possible has really become something i enjoy. running is great stress relief, and when i'm not stressed, it's very good "me" time. good for clearing my head, nothing to think about except my tunes and the trail (or road).

I was out walking one night. I weighed well over 200 pounds. I had just really started. And I decided to see if I could go faster. And to my shock I could. Only for a few seconds, but still.

So every now and then on my walks I'd bust out running as fast as I could, usually at night when no one was around because I knew I looked utterly ridiculous.

After awhile I worked my way up to a minute or two of jogging here and there, but then one day I was on the treadmill at the gym and decided to see how long I could go. Five minutes. Seems like nothing, but it was a big deal to me.

And then I had the crowning moment (so far, anyway!). Last year around Christmas I told myself as I watched the skinny people run past on this trail I used that 'this time next year, I will run this entire trail, end to end.'

The trail is about a mile. Not only did I run it end to end a few weeks ago, because I started in the middle and went up and down both sides, I ran it twice!

Now I'm trying to get ready for my first 5k no walking, all running. I'm not ready yet, but I'm getting there. In the scheme of things on this crowded, crazy planet it doesn't mean much, but it sure does mean something to me, and I"m damn proud of myself.

The sounds of gunfire

:laugh: That would do it!