5k Run Help/Tips Please

Couch to 5K is great! My only concern is that you might not have time to complete the program if your race is in a few weeks. Get rid of the idea that you have to run the whole thing, and enjoy yourself at the event. Many people walk 5Ks, especially charity events.

If you really want to run it, though (or at least part of it), then try the Couch to 5K, or a modified version of it--but first, go to your local specialty running store and get fitted by the staff with proper shoes. Ideally, they will have you run or walk on a treadmill and assess your gait, plus ask you a lot of questions about your goals.

Then, start the program. I don't know how far it will take you by the time of your event, but make sure you at least walk the distance a few times to get a sense of how far it is and how much of it you can reasonably run. And don't push yourself to run it all if your fitness isn't there yet! It's very easy to get overuse injuries by doing too much, too soon in running. When you do your running portions of the program, GO SLOW. It's vital to build endurance before speed--if you stick with this, you will get faster eventually. And if you don't, then presumably your goal is completing this 5K, so speed isn't the issue.

Best of luck!

I am on week 3 of couch to 5k. It is AWESOME, I love this app. I think it is a 9 week program so you might not finish it before your run, but you can always walk any part of the 5k you need to. Download the app today, dont forget to stretch before and after.

If you're a beginner, you'll probably not run the whole thing since it's only a few weeks away. c25k takes about 9 weeks, and builds up endurance from running for 1 minute at a time to 30 minutes at a time. Most likely, you will not be running a full 5k by the time you are done with the 9 weeks, as running at 6mph is way too fast for a beginner.

If you're already athletic, though, you'll probably do great. You don't necessarily need to be a runner to do a 5k. My husband ran 5k no problem after never having really run in his life. But he's a hockey and tennis player so the cardiovascular endurance and leg strength were already there. I know crossfitters who've run 5ks (and made decent time) without ever running for more than 1600m in training.

Other than that, though, just run as much as you can and enjoy the race. You might be surprised how far you can go just running off adrenaline from the crowd (or so I have heard ).

If you have 7 weeks, you might be able to run the whole thing.

After week two (I think that's the week where it splits), you can do it for distance and not time. You won't get all the way to 5k in training, but people who train for really long distance runs don't get to their full distance in training either.