Couch To 5K, has anyone done it?

I am glad to hear that this program has worked for so many of you. Hope to do a 5k in July. Just beginning and realize that I need new running shoes to begin this C5K. Will do this!

I've been kind of interested in the program for a while but I didn't know how much I had to lose to begin. I know there isn't a "weight limit" per say, but how slow is the transition? I know it's intervals of walking and running, but how long are the intervals? I know I couldn't swing 10 minute intervals at first. I'm still 270lbs but with 8 months of fairly strenuous activity under my belt. I can jog for about 2-3min, intermittently with walking, with very minimal stress to my ankles or knees. 8 months of clearing thick overgrowth in my yard... by hand... with a halberd lol... Very uneven terrain does great things for the muscles in your ankles and knees... So... what are the beginning interval times? And has anyone began the program at my weight and succeeded?

I used it about 5? years ago. Go slow, once you get to week 10 you can start to work on speed. I've yet to do a full marathon, but I have done several 1/2's and OCR.

I'm on week 9 day 2 of c25k and have loved it so much! I could barely finish the 3 minute running intervals at the beginning but now I'm running 30 minutes pretty easily. I did a 5k 2 weeks ago and was able to run the whole thing with a really good time. Now I'm hooked on races! Running is such an amazing thing! I definitely echo the advice to go slow. I started out running too fast and it didn't do me any favors! When I slowed down is when I really made progress!

I've stopper and started so many times, it's nutty. C25K, I can't quit you! Tomorrow is W1D2 this incarnation.

I did it three times. The first time was when I first learned how to run. I was 38 years old and hadn't run since high school, and that was just to make up skipped gym classes. Within 10 months, I won medals in my age group. Then I overdid it trying to run faster and ended up with a stress fracture. When I got the ok to start running again, I used C25k to ease back into it. What I found, after returning to running, is that I enjoy it much more if I include walk intervals. It doesn't have any major impact on my average pace, and I'm more into running for fun and stress relief than I am for racing and being competitive, so it doesn't really matter if I finish a little slower.

Fast forward a few years, and I had a lower back injury. When that finally eased up enough to start running again, I used C25K again. But this time around, I veered away from the set plan after the fifth week, because I don't like steady running. So I just ran about 3 miles total, running when I could, and walking when I needed it, then after a few weeks, started adding a little more distance to my longest run. I'm up to 10k again now.

I did a similar program called Learn to Run offered by our local Running Room. In eight weeks I was running 2.5 K and I still am. The transformation is amazing.

Biggest tip? Go slow. Speed comes with endurance and endurance comes with longer runs. So to go fast (which you will want to do later after you finish C25K) you run farther.

The first to improve is cardiovascular and it happens so much faster than you might expect. Within a few days my endurance had improved.

The second to improve is your strength.

The last to adapt are the joints and tendons, so be kind to them. Don't overdo it.

I did C25K! I will echo what someone above said.... if it still feels impossible, don't be afraid to keep repeating a certain day or week a few extra times. I did it with a friend, and we both went from zero to 5k in a few months. Now I am training for a half marathon! Definitely get an app... I got some free C25K app on my phone, which made it really easy to keep track in the beginning when you're walk/running/walking etc. a lot. Once we got to the longer runs, I stopped using the C25K app and started using Runkeeper. Way to go and good luck!