Couch to 5k - Top tips to get started with running
How to start running as a beginner
Couch to 5K is a great way to get into running, providing a free, beginner-friendly running plan.The best way to start is to plan a route, wear comfortable clothing and trainers – and get out there. Of course, it might be hard at first, but it will get easier with time.Fletcher says: "I can remember my first run. I only ran for 10 minutes and I felt this burn through my lungs for the majority of the day. My next run, I didn't feel that."Lindsey Burrow – the widow of rugby legend Rob – has used running to support her through grief, completing the London Marathon and the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in April and May 2025."Anyone that starts running, you've got to start somewhere," Burrow says."The first run seems impossible. The second one's not much better. Then something changes."Your lungs get stronger. Your legs get stronger. You just start to build on that courage, that resilience and that bravery."
Run with someone
If you feel self-conscious running outside or are struggling to get started, organising to run with other people can help."I find it really hard running on my own," says radio DJ and Couch to 5K coach Jo Whiley."I really like running clubs, parkruns and running with a friend. That makes all the difference."You can find a running club near you on the England Athletics website, external and parkrun, external organises 5ks in local parks across the UK every weekend.Whiley adds that she finds it easier if she can talk to a friend while running: "That's distracting and it stops you thinking about running."It's a really good way of catching up with friends. You don't have to look at each other, so if you're getting something off your chest, it's somehow easier to talk."
Just keep going
By committing to Couch to 5K, you will get fitter over time, but that does not mean every run will be easy."Every run is different," Whiley says. "There are days when you go out and it's really hard work. Then the next day, it's really easy and you can't quite work out why."On the days when it is tough, Burrow's advice is to "keep putting one foot in front of the other"."Keep going," she adds. "There will be tough times. There are parts of the run where you're thinking, 'This is awful, this is horrendous, how am I going to get through this?'"Then, the elation you get, that endorphin release. You feel so much better in yourself."
It does not matter how long it takes you to run 5k
Once you start running, it can be easy to compare your running times to others.Whether it takes you 15 minutes, or an hour and 15 minutes, completing the Couch to 5K programme is a big achievement."So many people say, 'I'm not a runner'," Fletcher says."Years ago I would have said I'm not a runner. Back then a runner was someone who did a 5k in 15 minutes. That's a runner."If I can slowly move my body around and get to 5k, I'm a runner. It doesn't matter how fast, it doesn't matter how long it takes you – you've done it."
The best way to start running… is to start running
Even the most experienced runners do not want to run sometimes. On those days, focus on the benefits that running will bring."You can just have the headspace," Burrow says. "You don't have to think about the worries of life."You put the music on and go out for a run. I don't know if it's the endorphin release of the run."I come back and I find I have much more patience. It puts me in a better mood for the day. I try to get my runs in early in the morning because I know it's going to set me up for the day."Whiley adds: "On those days when you don't want to go out the door, you will always find an excuse not to run but make yourself do it because you never regret a run."
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