Hi, I'm Ceci. I live in Northwest Arkansas, but am a Native Texan.

I have been running since April 2013. I have completed 2 official 5k's and will do a 10k this weekend.

I don't love running, but I don't hate it anymore either. I LOVE riding my bicycle.

My best run so far was when I visited my brother, the runner, in Washington, DC and we ran around the National Mall. (And then, there was that time that I ran 2 miles in 19:01!)

Welcome to the group, it's a great one!

Hi, I'm Tim. I live in Buford, GA (northeast metro Atlanta).

I started C25K in December of 2012 and restarted in March 2013 after getting tendonitis the first time through.

This year I have done a 5K, 10K, 10-mile, and a few odd-distance trail races. My first half marathon is coming up next week on Thanksgiving - the Atlanta Half Marathon. I am giving myself nearly a year to train for a marathon and will do the Savannah Rock & Roll Marathon in November 2014.

My wife motivated me to start running and she continues to keep me motivated. It's great running together! And we have a huge running community in the area which helps us a lot.

I love coming to this site every day to see what everyone is up to. Welcome to the group!!

Hi, I'm Karen

I live in London, UK.

I just finished the C25K programme last week and decided to head straight onto a 10k programme.

Unfortunately I have to do my sessions on a treadmill as its too dark now for me to run outside and its just not safe but I'll be back out on the road in the spring.

Just in time for my first 5k at the end of March, and my first 10k at the end of May

I'm not very fast, but 9 weeks ago I couldn't jog for 60seconds without feeling like my chest was going to explode, so being able to go 30mins now is good enough for me

Hi I'm Sharon and I now live in Little Sandhurst, Berkshire, England though I'm originally from Northern Ireland.

I started running for the first time ever with the C25K programme back at the end of May '13 and after a few interruptions, completed it mid August.

At this point in time my longest run has been 7miles and I think I've probably got a 10mile distance in me so I'm going to aim for that as an achievable distance in the time I have available..

I'm an antisocial runner in that I run by myself (I don't know anyone else who runs!) and I've yet to enter a proper 5 or 10k race though I plan to do some 10k's next year. So I come on here and babble on at everyone as my husband starts to glaze over when I mention splits and cadence or the need for special socks.

I can see myself running in years to come - I'll not be breaking any speed or distance records but it's something I enjoy which is rare when it comes to exercise!

Hello all,
I've been running for a little over 2 years. I started out on my own, with the internet for help and through time and injuries, learning lots, I ran a 10k last summer and completed a HM in November.
I love running, so glad I started doing it. I had always joked about only running if I were being chased, but now I go out on my own free will, often, and through all kinds of weather.
I'm so glad for this site, and all the support, inspiration and advice I've found here.

Neither have I, Beth.

Hi! I'm Petra and I live just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. I'm married to a wonderful man and work full-time at a local hospital repairing & calibrating equipment used on patients. I mainly look after the kidney dialysis and physiotherapy machines.

I graduated C25K early in 2013 (February, I think) and have maintained a regular schedule of running since then. I'm fairly slow and run mainly 5K distances and am working at improving slowly.
So far, I am an antisocial runner, too. It's best for me to go running right when I get home from work and not wait for anyone or else I run the risk of not going.

I reached my weight goal in mid-March and have been maintaining since.

My other physical activity is tai-chi and I go on a yearly week-long hiking trip with my step-dad (he's 83 and amazing). I also garden, read and like working on crosswords & Sudoku puzzles.

I'm Rosie and I'm 28. I'm from New Zealand but have been living in Germany with my boyfriend for the last 18 months. I am learning German with an aim to get back into my career(s) as nutritionist/project manager before summer.

I finished C25K at the end of 2013 and have just completed Week 9, Day 2 of my C210K trainer by Zen Labs. For my last two runs I've done 4x round a 10 minute circuit, which I find much better for pacing myself than on a big 40 min loop.

Anyway that's a bit about me, nice to be here and I look forward to seeing how we all progress!

I've been meaning to do this since Varda invited me and I've worked on it a few times and then got dragged away for one reason or another. Here goes...

Introduction

Hiiiiii! ???????????? I'm brand new to the group, thanks for the invite Varda! I know some of you and the rest are welcome to request me if you like what I have to say during this introduction or on my profile page. (Please include a courtesy message, thank you!)

I'm Nicholette, I have been trying to run since June 2012, and successfully running since March 2013 lol. In June of 2012 I was 300 pounds and completely sedentary. It just hit me like a ton of bricks on June 13th that I needed to drastically change my life. At the time I had been a full time SAHM for 10 months, I quit working my 60 hour/week job after much consideration between my hubby and I. At the time (June '12) our son was 19 months old and we started taking our regular old stroller out for wogs 1-3 times per day to get some exercise. We worked up to a mile at a time, then started working towards a 5k at a time. The first time we finished 3.1 miles it took 52:00 with me pushing the stroller. Eventually I let LilB run part of the time also and we both got more exercise. ????

I never used C25k, I just basically ran more each time until I could run the entire 5k distance with the stroller or alone. I registered for my first 5k as an adult in Nov 2012 and finished in 39:??. I was still taking one short walking break at this point, about halfway through the run. I continued running and joined a running club in March of 2013. I started taking running, especially running competitively seriously. I ran 30 events from March to December 2013. I ran my first 10k in May 2013 and finished in 69:??. I ran my first half marathon September 2013 and finished in 02:33:06. I PR'd my 5k in October 2013 at 28:44. I PR'd my 10k in November 2013 at 61:00. I PR'd my half marathon in October 2013 at 02:25:41. In December I was selected as an Ambassador and sponsored runner of 3WRaces (a local race company I had been running with).

So far 2014 has been a fun year of running! Being part of a race company is exciting! I have been able to run five events so far, scoring a new half marathon PR last month 02:25:14 beating my previous time by 27 whole seconds lol. I also set a goal to run #2014milesin2014 and have run 187 miles so far as of 02/09. I ran 130 miles in January (missing nine days being sick and having a sick 3 year old), as well as my longest run 20 miles on Jan 11th. I set my goal for 160 miles for February. Basically running keeps me SANE, less stressed, at peace, gives me time alone or with my real life or MFP running buddies, it's also kept me on maintenance for a year. Now I'm ready to lose the last 30 pounds. Thank God I found running...

Nice to meet you all, some I have been fortunate enough to be friends with for awhile now. ❤️

ETA: for those who are nervous about their first event, I still get TOTALLY nervous, no matter how well I've trained and how prepared i am. Just smile and enjoy it! It'll be over all too soon. Even the half marathons believe it or not lol.

Nice introduction! You are an inspiration to us all :flowerforyou:

You're all so sweet! I am enjoying the group already, thank you!

Hi, I'm Stephanie. I just finished the C25K program and decided to push on to training for a 10K. I never thought I'd like running enough to think about a 10K or half marathon but I do. Actually I still have a love/hate relationship with running. Tonight was day one of the 10K training and those extra 10 minutes weren't easy. I'm running a 5K on Sunday with my mom to prep for an actual race on March 2nd and then I'll have my first 10K on April 6th.

Hey all...been lurking a while in this group although was kinda active in the C25K group. My name is Matt, and I am a endorphin junkie. The bigger problem may be for me though is I am not sure if its the endorphin high I am addicted to, or the chasing of it.

Up until last fall I have never run,....ever. Started with C25K, was given advice by two people to get a run analysis done and purchase new shoes which I promptly ignored. Got sidelined on two occasions with shin splints when it finally sunk in that maybe I should listen to my sister, a marathoner, and my other friend who is a Iron Man competitor. I mean come on...I have never run and I know more than them right ?? Finally finished the program in about 12 weeks and then just kept at it till I could go 5K, which took about another month. It was at this point I realized that I love running. It's almost an obsession now. I have been trying the whole 'streak' thing of running a minimum of a mile every day and have almost 30 days under my belt.

Decided to up my game to 10k after telling everyone that 5K was all I would ever need to do....but like a true endorphin junkie, I just want to keep running. I tried a 10K trainer but honestly just not that crazy about it so I have just decided to try getting there on my own (I know...will i never learn ???) I have run 10K now on 2 occasions at a pretty slow pace but I am training by upping my distance 10% every week with 5K as my baseline.

I have no real plan or race or agenda...I just want to run. I do have a dream of a sub 30 5K, and I am still a solid 3 minutes off that time, and I have a vision of myself just hitting the road and running, and then realizing that I am miles and miles from home but it doesn't matter because that was the plan....
Anyway good to be in the company of other obsessive/endorphin junkies

TL:DR version.....fat guy decides he is a endorphin junkie and wants to just keep running.

Hey all...been lurking a while in this group although was kinda active in the C25K group. My name is Matt, and I am a endorphin junkie. The bigger problem may be for me though is I am not sure if its the endorphin high I am addicted to, or the chasing of it.

Up until last fall I have never run,....ever. Started with C25K, was given advice by two people to get a run analysis done and purchase new shoes which I promptly ignored. Got sidelined on two occasions with shin splints when it finally sunk in that maybe I should listen to my sister, a marathoner, and my other friend who is a Iron Man competitor. I mean come on...I have never run and I know more than them right ?? Finally finished the program in about 12 weeks and then just kept at it till I could go 5K, which took about another month. It was at this point I realized that I love running. It's almost an obsession now. I have been trying the whole 'streak' thing of running a minimum of a mile every day and have almost 30 days under my belt.

Decided to up my game to 10k after telling everyone that 5K was all I would ever need to do....but like a true endorphin junkie, I just want to keep running. I tried a 10K trainer but honestly just not that crazy about it so I have just decided to try getting there on my own (I know...will i never learn ???) I have run 10K now on 2 occasions at a pretty slow pace but I am training by upping my distance 10% every week with 5K as my baseline.

I have no real plan or race or agenda...I just want to run. I do have a dream of a sub 30 5K, and I am still a solid 3 minutes off that time, and I have a vision of myself just hitting the road and running, and then realizing that I am miles and miles from home but it doesn't matter because that was the plan....
Anyway good to be in the company of other obsessive/endorphin junkies

TL:DR version.....fat guy decides he is a endorphin junkie and wants to just keep running.

Your post makes me smile! I did a lot of the same things you did/are doing. Ran in the wrong shoes at first, rebelled against program structure, thought 5k's were the best/only distance to run...etc.

It is literally one of the best feelings in the world (to me) to realize you're 10 miles from home and the only way back is running them. This fall I will have completed my 7th half marathon. Though I have to say 5k's are still totally amazing! I'll probably run about 10 or more this year competitively. Also side note: in my opinion the 10k is the most difficult distance! It's a bit too long to go out at full steam but too short to run as a LSR. Tough!

Keep getting out there and enjoying the run!