I asked my husband Brian, on the 1st of January if he wanted to do couch to 5K in the new year, and to my surprise he said yes. I said we could all do it, my two sons, Ellis (10) and Eben (7) too. Granted Ellis and I are already seasons 5k pros, I thought it would be good for us all to do it together. We started in the second week of January and embarked on our 9 week journey to 5k. So I downloaded the NHS couch to 5k app, and got us all set up and off we set out on our first run.

In the beginning it was easy, maybe even a little tedious for Brian. He wanted to run more and run faster. I urged him to just trust the plan, slow it down and just do what the app says. Brian also struggled with little niggles, a tight hamstring, a dodgy achilles, and the rest days were crucial to him keeping going each week. In contrast to Brian, Eben struggled in the first few weeks, often dramatically wailing that he hated running, while running, loudly for anyone to hear (and potentially rescue him from his evil mother who was forcing him on this run).

We even had a little blip around week 4 and 5, where we ended up redoing week 5, so that we could all get on the same runs schedule, as we all fell a bit behind on the schedule. I was worried that we were getting off track, but it was just what we needed, to dial back, so that we could keep going.

At around this time, we had a run with 2 x 8 minute blocks of running, and I was worried how Eben would cope. 5 minute blocks of running were tortuous, and no amount of funny stories and chat from me could distract him. I remember Ellis was with us and Eben sailed through the first 8 minute block, but as we approached the end of the recovery walk and the second 8 minute run was about to start, it was struggle bus from the first step. There was a lot of wailing, and in my head I thought, well this is it, I can’t make him do this, if he really hates it, there is no point.

We did our cool down walk home and I told him he didn’t have to run again, it was fine, and if he did feel like he wanted to, we wouldn’t have to run until Sunday (which was 3 days away). He looked at me and said that he wanted to try again, because if you don’t keep trying you will never do it, and he wanted to get better. My heart swelled with pride.

The final run of week 5 was a solid 20 minute block. It seemed like a huge jump, and seeing as 8 minutes proved almost disastrous, I had no idea how we were going to do this. I had a rough game plan involving sweets and a bribe. We started on our run and every 4 minutes I gave Eben a little sweetie. The minutes sailed by, me swinging little sweeties into his mouth at regular intervals was just the boost he needed. He not only ran 20 minutes no stopping, but even did a sprint finish.

The second part of my plan was a bribe, and I said every run that Eben completed we would go to the newsagent and I would buy him a 90p Super Thing toy. This was great motivation, the reward at the end of the run, plus all the feel good endorphins of completing a run was a winning combination.

Eben also realised that he could run as slow as he needed while running, it didn’t matter how slow, if he was tired he could go into a snail pace jog, just making sure to keep running and not walking. He loves to tell everyone this top tip about running.

From this point forward, Eben’s got it, we’ve just finished week 7 of the plan with 3 x 25 minute runs in one week and he smashed it. Every time I suggest a couch to 5k run, he is well up for it.

Now my other project, my husband Brian, how was he getting on? Well, it was a slight reversal of fortunes, as the runs got easier and more enjoyable for Eben, Brian struggled with the increases in continuous time on feet during the runs. The niggles are still there in the background, and despite the simple at home exercises I try to get him to do, he’s not doing them regularly, just a panicky stretch when something hurts. That being said, we all went out together for the final run of week 7, a 25-minuter and this was the longest Brian has ever run and he nailed it. It wasn’t easy, but it was done.

So, what do we think of the couch to 5k plan? I think it is great. Here are some thoughts.

• 9 weeks feels like a long time, but once you get into it, the weeks fly by
• Don’t skip the rest days, these are super important for recovery
• The start might seem easy, but just go with it, walk the walks, run the runs
• Go as slow as you like, just keep running and do what you can, speed will come later
• When the plan says you can do something (like run 20 minutes straight) trust it, you can
• Don’t be afraid to start a week over again, sometimes you have to go back to keep going forward
• Find other couch to 5kers and enjoy the journey together

Have you done a couch to 5k programme? What did you like/not like?