Gavin O’Connor C25K
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06 January 2017
My wife attended the August 2015 Couch to 5K programme and after a "good Christmas and new year" a friend and I, both a little bit unfit and heavier, decided to join the programme in January 2016.
Whilst doing the programme I could not commit to the majority of the Saturday sessions held by volunteers of Trawden AC due to personal commitments and therefore took it upon myself to download and follow the programme via the recommended app.
Each of the volunteers that delivered the programme were very supportive and I'm glad to say l have made some great friends who share a passion for the sport.
Since graduating the nine week programme in March 2016, I have certainly got the running bug and have joined the Iocal club and am proud to be wearing the team stripes.
We are now nine months in and I am a regular attendee of the training sessions held by the club whether it be road, trail, fell, speed sessions or the odd orienteering session. To date I've completed 88 runs, run 450 miles and achieved an elevation gain of 34000ft.
I raced for the club in my first 10K on 27th May and have since done a further six 10K races and four 5K races over a mixture of terrain involving road, trail and fell.
In addition, I have raced in three half marathons with my first ever in Lytham in July, then Manchester in October and Lancaster in November.
Going forward into the New Year, I aim to continue with the club and am planning to do a minimum of two races per month and average 25 miles a week.
I continue to enjoy running and have even started to commute from work running 10+ miles. I am also attending the new Couch to 5K programme whenever possible to help out the new runners giving them support and success stories of what I have achieved.