Last night, on behalf of Sherfield Park Runners, I ran the first ever session of our beginners’ running course – Couch to 5k. Over the next 9 weeks I will be taking people who have never run before through a structured programme, resulting in the ability to run a 5k / 30 minutes continuous running. Not surprisingly, interest in the course was high from the very beginning, and by last Friday I had 29 people confirmed for the course.
The weather was dreadful yesterday and last night it was drizzling and the ground was wet, and I did wonder if the weather would put people off. If anyone was going to drop out, then this was the night to do it. I’d had three emails during the day from two people who had heavy colds and so reluctantly had to miss the first session, and one who’d pulled her calf during an exercise class – all three were very apologetic and made it clear they’d be joining next week. So I was expecting 26 to turn up …..
….. and to my delight, every single one of those 26 did turn up; all upbeat and keen despite the weather! I was so proud of them all already and we hadn’t even put one foot in front of the other yet.
I’d roped in 4 club members who volunteered to help faciliate the session, which was a good job really, as 26 people dressed in high viz clothing running around the local streets is quite a lot to manage alone!
Formalities done, we set off on our very first session. Five minutes brisk walk, followed by 20 minutes of 1 minute runs and 1 minute 30 seconds walks, and finally a 5 minute cool down. Whilst I shouted out various instructions, I also ran up and down the long line of two-abreast runners to make sure everyone was OK – all were slightly breathless but still smiling.
We finished our run back where we started, just inside 30 minutes, and had a quick chat about how everyone felt, the next steps, and Week 2.
What impressed me the most, is that every single runner really seemed to enjoy the session (as I did) and despite the dark and dingy night, had actually got off their couch in their quest to get fit/fitter and take the first steps to running a 5k.
Deborah
Hi - I am Deborah, and was the founding director of talkhealth My blog is generally focused around my own personal story about weight loss, running, exercise and generally trying to get and stay fit, as well as what's been in the news that's topical. Any views expressed are my own.
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