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Given it’s the start of a new year, it’s a natural time to be thinking about new beginnings, and that means new year’s resolutions. With running experiencing a popularity boom at the moment, doubtless many people will be aspiring to become runners in 2026.

But running is hard … so how exactly can you get out and hit the road? One option is to sign up for one of the many “Couch to 5k” programs available. To get the rundown on how these programs work, I spoke with a recent C25K graduate, Alex Watt - who also happens to be my daughter.

Alex decided to start running after she’d lost a lot of weight through a combination of walking and being more judicious in her eating.

“I was looking for a new challenge. I'd lost 20 kilos and was walking pretty much every day and I was looking for something new to do. A lot of my friends and family run, you run, my partner runs, most of my friends run, so I figured it was probably something that I could pick up,” she says.

The walking started out as a part of Alex’s weight loss regime, but before too long the appeal was just to get outside and get some sunshine into her daily routine. Running was a natural extension of that.

“I downloaded the app Runna… and started a Couch to 5k”.

This decision was pivotal in Alex’s success. For most people, running doesn't come easy. It takes discipline and determination. You need to stick at it. And, just as Alex did, you need to find strategies to make it doable. Couch to 5K is one of the best.

“I knew about the Couch to 5K program. My friend had been doing it because his workplace was doing Bridge to Brisbane and another one of my friends had also started running probably a month or two before I did, and she was also doing the Couch to 5k program. 
So I heard it through the grapevine.”

Alex is a notorious rule follower. So when I asked her how strictly she followed the program, her answer was predictable. “I followed it exactly. I love rules. I love being told exactly what to do and exactly when to do it.”

With that mindset, Couch to 5k was perfect for Alex. “I found it really helpful, because without it I would have had absolutely no idea where to start.”

Having a smartwatch – in this case a Garmin – also really helped. “It all synced to my watch and I have a little calendar on my Garmin app so I could see when my runs were due.

“You can reschedule the runs which was good because I work shifts and I don't have a set roster every week. So I could shuffle my runs to be on the days that fit my roster.”

The watch also made following the program during the run itself very easy. “My watch would vibrate when the next thing had to happen, so it was foolproof,” she says.

“If I was doing, for example, intervals - running for a minute and then walking for a minute - it would vibrate on my wrist when I had to start running, and then for the last three seconds of that activity, it would vibrate every second and then vibrate again to tell me to start walking when I needed to start walking.

“So I didn't really have to time myself or think about it. It just told me what to do. So while I was dying as I was running, I didn't have to think about my timings.”

Alex didn’t buy the Garmin specifically for running, she’d been seduced by a bunch of other features. But it’s been a real help as she’s worked her way through the program.

So how does couch to 5k work?

If, like Alex, you’re using an app like Runna for a Couch to 5k program, then the app guides you through the whole process.

“You can choose to either do 2 or 3 runs a week. And it just gradually increases the time that you're running,” Alex says.

“So week one, you'll do a five-minute walk to warm up, then run for a minute and then walk for two minutes. You repeat that a number of times and you get about two kilometres for that first run.

“Then the next week you'll do two minutes running and then the next week you'll do three minutes running and it gradually increases.”

Alex says while a lot of programs are badged ‘Couch to 5k’, the end goal of her program wasn’t to run 5k, but to run for 30 minutes without stopping. “Which, for a lot of my beginner running friends, would not get us a 5k. It still wouldn't get me a 5k… Basically it’s an eight-week program that gets you up to being able to run 30 minutes straight.”

Alex says the program was relatively easy to begin with. “The first two weeks were great. I was like, ‘I can run for one minute. So easy! I can run for 2 minutes. Great!’ The jump from 2 minutes to 3 minutes - I almost quit!

“I don't know why that one extra minute was so much harder. But I was like, ‘Maybe I'm never going to be able to run for longer than two minutes at a time!’”

The Runna app overcomes this by turning to a tried and tested tactic - dopamine. Alex says the app rewards effort by giving runners a “small win” every time they step out.

“The first couple of weeks you get that dopamine hit from starting something new and it's exciting. Then you get three, four or five weeks down the line and you're like, ‘Oh, why have I done this to myself?’” she says.

“But then it starts to get easy again after that. I just had to get into the groove of it.”

The program also switches between asking runners to run a certain number of minutes before getting a walking break, and asking them to run a specific distance. Alex says this variety reduced the predictability in her runs, which helped with motivation.

“After a while I fell into the trap of knowing I needed to run for five minutes straight and so I would just keep looking at my watch and being like, ‘Oh, how many minutes has it been? Oh, it's only been two minutes. How am I going to keep running for another 3 minutes?’

“But when it swapped to distances, it wasn’t time related, so it would be like run for a kilometre. And at that point, I didn't really know how long it would take me to run a kilometre.

“So I found myself looking at my watch less and worrying less about how much longer I had to go. I was just running until my watch buzzed and then being like, ‘Oh, I've done it. Next interval now.’”

Alex was surprised how quickly she made progress.

“I was really expecting NOT to actually finish the program. Because I'm not very mentally strong. I give up quite a lot when things don't go my way. And when I'm not good at something straight away I'm like, ‘May as well give up. This is ridiculous. This is stupid.’

“But I think because it's designed to give you those small wins, every week you get a little bit further, and a little bit more success. And because it was an eight-week program, I didn't feel like I had to go from 0 to 100. It was just little bit extra every week.”

The program also integrated some fartlek intervals, which introduced more variety.

“I'd do like 200 metres faster and then walk for a bit. I'd run for a bit at a nice slow pace, and then there’d 400 metres faster. There was one run where they worked up to pretty much a full 5k. I think I ran six kilometres that week, but I'd run for 800 metres, walk for 200 metres.

“That was really helpful because I was really worried that if I tried to run a 5k it would take me an hour. Then I ran this - running for 800 metres, walking for 200 metres - and it took me about 38 or 39 minutes.”

She says that came about six weeks into the program and was a real confidence booster. Being the stickler for rules that she is, Alex started the program in the last week of July, and finished eight weeks later. So, could she run 5k at that point?

“On the last day of my program … I was able to run the full five kilometres and it took me about 37 minutes,” she says.

“It was tough at times. The first three kilometres were great. And then once I got to the last two kilometres I could sort of see my destination … and it got a bit tough. I was like, ‘Oh, I still have so far to go.”

Bitten by the bug

Having reached that milestone, I’m happy to say Alex is now running regularly, and has ambitions to go well beyond 5k.

“I've run pretty consistently about three times a week since finishing the Couch to 5k. I did [the 5k event in the] Bridge to Brisbane with a couple of friends a week after my Couch to 5k program finished. That was really fun because it was a bit different, running with other people and having people on the sidelines hyping you up,” she says.

“It was only my second time running 5k, so it felt really good to accomplish something that you didn't really think that you'd be able to do eight or nine weeks before that.

“I did my first 10 kilometre run the week before last. But that's as far as I've gotten. I haven't run further than 10K yet.

"I'd like to run a half marathon. I’ve signed up for the Sunshine Coast half with Fat Cannon Run Club. So I'm keen to get stuck into that. Beyond that, I don’t know. I think probably one day I would like to run a marathon, but I think I’ll wait to see if the half marathon kills me or not. And then decide.

“I keep getting bullied by everyone into going onto the trails. So maybe that can be an ambition after the half marathon - to check out some trails and see how that goes, because I haven't ever run on the trails before.

“‘Trails are the best.’ That's all I hear. Every time someone converts to trail running, they're like, ‘I’m never going back to the roads.’” What a smart young woman!

So if you or someone you know is thinking about taking up running in 2026, Alex has some wisdom for you.

“I think the hardest step is doing the first run. Once you've gotten over that hurdle and you've gone out and you've done it, it gets easier from there. So if you're thinking about running and it all seems a little bit too overwhelming, get a program, go out for that first run and see how you go.

"The only competition that you have is with yourself.” Alex says running is trendy and the idealised life of “runfluencers” is all over social media, making running seem glamorous and effortless. But she says that’s a false impression and aspiring runners shouldn’t be discouraged by comparing them to the social media personas of others.

“The biggest thing for me was just to get the program, go on the first run and give myself some grace. If it wasn't gonna work out, it wasn't gonna work out. I wasn’t necessarily thinking I was going to quit ... but I was thinking that if I did, it wasn't the end of the world.

“But I think once you get over that hurdle of the first week, the first couple of runs, you'll realise that it's not as daunting as you thought.”

Now she enjoys running. “It's quite calming, especially my 10k. I was just cruising along at a nice easy speed. I got an hour and 12 minutes to myself. I could listen to my podcast about The Hunger Games, running along the river.

“Also, you get a nice sense of accomplishment every time you hit a new milestone. It gives you a little bit of an ego boost.” As a bonus, it’s great for her mental health. “I do I find it nice and calming… It made me feel a bit better than sitting inside and never seeing the sun.”

Alex says she enjoys running on her own, but she also enjoys running with others. “I really enjoy Parkrun ... You get that sense of community and then we go for coffee afterwards and it's nice.”

So, what final words has Alex got for all those with “start running” as a new year’s resolution?

“Just get out there. Just start. Take the first step. The first step is always the hardest part.” Wise words indeed.

Upcoming Events

There are way too many events for me to list everything that’s happening around the country, but here is a selection of upcoming races (with a bias towards South East Queensland).

The Running Calendar website is a great source if you want a comprehensive understanding of what’s available around A