Never thought I would be asking this...

Firstly, I am so very sorry to hear about your mother. That is just truly awful. I just recently lost my mom (almost four months ago) to pancreatic cancer. I know it's not the same, but it was relatively sudden and I don't think it's quite fully sunk in, yet. I cannot even imagine what you and your family have been through. I love that you are taking such a tragedy and turning it into something positive (awareness). My friends and I are planning on organizing a 5K in Mom's name to raise money for pancreatic cancer research and awareness.

I was athletic growing up and throughout high school, though I was never a runner. When I was in college, I would run a mile several times per week just to keep myself in some sort of shape. Then I graduated, and got fat. Well, not really fat, fat for me. I looked at myself in a photo from a cruise I had just been on (in 2009) and decided I needed to do something. I was absolutely shocked by the person I saw in that photo. It was awful. I decided the easiest way for me to get into shape was running. I never did a (the?) C25K program, but I know a few people who have and who have been successful with it.

I don't remember the exact plan I used when starting, actually, I may have used the Run Coach Pro app that no longer exists. However, this plan from the Mayo Clinic is very similar to what I used to get started:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/5k-run/art-20050962

Good luck with your new goals!

I used the zen labs couch to 5k and liked it a lot. you probably won't run the whole 5k by the end-like most people. But it will give you a good base to start running

I am so sorry about your mum. What an awful thing for you and your family.

Regarding running:

- C25K is a programme which many people are successful with, but you can also devise your own run-walk programme based on perceived exertion, if you find C25K too demanding. Gymboss do great and inexpensive interval timers. https://www.gymboss.com/

- Good shoes are a must. Only because a shoe is expensive it doesn't mean it's good for YOUR feet. Go to a reputable running shop and ask for "gait analysis". They can find out if you pronate or supinate, which determines whether you need a neutral shoe, a shoe with moderate stability or a shoe with lots of stability.

- If you have the money get a heart rate monitor. Most people give up running because they simply start too fast. If you learn to run to a sustainable heart rate, then you have two benefits... 1) you can keep going for longer and 2) you won't build lactic, so your legs won't tire so quickly. Initially your sustainable running pace may not be much quicker than your power walking pace but THAT'S OK!!!! Speed will come naturally once your endurance grows.

Good luck.

Starting a new activity is daunting. Break it into smaller goals. Buy new shoes, make a playlist (if you like using music), pick out a specific route (not 5 miles lol), commit to a start date and maybe a first week how many days, tell someone (accountability). Most people fail at setting a new habits because they don't spend any time making a plan.

As others have said though you dont need to do five 2k. The principal is sound.

If you have 4 months to get to 5k, you've got around 50 runs to get it right which should be plenty (3times a week for 16/17 weeks).

I'd suggest (and I am in no way a doctor or physical trainer) but I more or less did this and in four months was running 10k.

start by walking 5k - use your smartphone and try a fairly flat route.

2nd time, alternately jog (slowly) for 30secs and walk for a minute. -there are loads of timer apps out there.

If you made it jogging for 30secs without stopping for each jogging section great! Go to a minute next time. And then 1min 30 etc etc

Didn't make it? Not a problem just do the 30secs/1 min again.

Keep going. 3 times a week. So your runs will look something like this:

1. Walk
2. 30secs jog / 1min walk intervals
3. 1min jog / 1min walk intervals
4. 1min 30secs / 1min walk intervals

When you get to several minutes you can go to an extra 1min each run. Then 2minutes extra for each interval.

So sorry to hear about your mom. That's something no one should ever experience.

Start slow. Run considerably slower than you think you can. After finishing the program, slowly increase your speed.

The first time I tried C25K I started too fast. 5mph didn't seem fast, in fact, it's a pretty slow pace (relative do many runners). But I was out of shape so it was too fast for me. Every week when I increased my running times I thought I'd die. Ha ha ha. It was miserable. I got plantar fasciitis, but pushed through. I finished it, but it wasn't enjoyable so I eventually quit running.

A few months ago I started running again at the same pace. Plantar fasciitis set in, so my doc recommended I continue running but run SUPER slow. He said to keep my heart really rate low and take it easy. So, I was "running" at about 3.5mph. I ran for 1.5 hours! It was barely even a jog! It was embarrassing. I could have walked faster. But, I kept going for a long time. And my plantar fasciitis quit bothering me after a while (combined with some other treatments).

Every week or two I increased my pace by about .2mph. And I shortened my run times to about 35-45 minutes. I actually enjoyed it because I didn't think I was going to die. I was able to enjoy my own thoughts, my music, and my accomplishment, even if it was embarrassingly slow at first.

So sorry to hear about your mother. All of the advice given sounds good. I'm not a runner, hate running. But with that said I did do two small runs last summer. (One was uphill and I walked most of the way.) I started out walking, everyday. Everyday. And to my surprise I got better and better. I came to look forward to my walks. Then I started hiking and that was even more fun. And both of those you can do with your baby if you can't find the time to be alone. My advice is to start slow and keep at it. You will notice, over time, that you're getting stronger and stronger. Good luck to you.

In addition to what everyone else has said, you don't necessarily need to run the 5k. There are quite a few people who just walk the 5ks, because that's what they want/are able to do.

If you can run it all, great. If you can run part of it, but walk the rest, great. If you only walk the entire thing, great.

OK I googled based on your city-your local running room runs a learn to run clinic starting in march. Even the learn to run clinic with have levels so use February to get started. Try the c25 program or just run 30 seconds walk a minute. I have taken the RR Clinic. It's worth it.