Angela Sherwin, a 42-year-old mother of one from Manchester, says Couch to 5K (C25K) has improved her self-confidence.
Angela started the C25K plan while she was on maternity leave and began by taking her son with her; pushing him while he was strapped safely in his pushchair as she ran.
As she returned to work, she managed to build her training into the commute; ‘I live fairly close to work – about 6K, so in the earlier stages of the plan, I would run the distance and then catch the bus. But now I’ve finished the plan I run all the way home. And it actually gets me home in pretty much the same time as public transport would.’
While Angela says she feels fitter, perhaps the most profound change has been to her confidence and self-belief. ‘I think because of the achievement I’ve had from running, that feeling has moved over into other areas of my life. The sense of belief that I can do other things – more than I’ve perhaps allowed myself to. I definitely have more self confidence.’
Angela concedes that she was never the sporty type and wants to encourage others to take on the challenge; ‘I’m probably more amazed than anybody that I’ve actually done it. I absolutely hated sport at school and I’m not a sporty person at all. The fact that I’ve done it is gobsmackingly amazing really.
"The beauty of Couch to 5K is that you don’t have to do it all in one go. You can repeat it week after week if you need to. It doesn’t matter how unfit you are or how overweight you are – you can always start it. It’s important people aren’t scared of it; just try it.’
