Couch to 5K, on your Garmin
Never run before? In nine weeks you go from one minute of running at a time to thirty minutes without stopping, and your watch tells you when to run and when to walk. Sending the sessions to your watch is part of Pro, which starts with 7 days free.
Start Couch to 5K- Weeks
- 9
- Runs a week
- 3
- Longest run
- 30 mins
- Pace
- One you could talk at
The nine weeks
Every session starts and ends with five minutes of walking, left out below. Where a week shows one session, you run it on all three days.
| Week | Session | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 8 × (run 1 min, walk 1.5 mins) | 30 mins |
| Week 2 | 6 × (run 1.5 mins, walk 2 mins) | 31 mins |
| Week 3 | 2 × (run 1.5 mins, walk 1.5 mins)2 × (run 3 mins, walk 3 mins) | 28 mins |
| Week 4 | run 3 mins, walk 1.5 minsrun 5 mins, walk 2.5 minsrun 3 mins, walk 1.5 minsrun 5 mins | 31.5 mins |
| Week 5 | Run 13 × (run 5 mins, walk 3 mins) | 34 mins |
| Run 2run 8 mins, walk 5 minsrun 8 mins | 31 mins | |
| Run 3run 20 mins | 30 mins | |
| Week 6 | Run 1run 5 mins, walk 3 minsrun 8 mins, walk 3 minsrun 5 mins | 34 mins |
| Run 2run 10 mins, walk 3 minsrun 10 mins | 33 mins | |
| Run 3run 25 mins | 35 mins | |
| Week 7 | run 25 mins | 35 mins |
| Week 8 | run 28 mins | 38 mins |
| Week 9 | run 30 mins | 40 mins |
How it works
- Timed, not paced
- There are no pace targets to chase. Run at a pace you could hold a conversation at, walk when the session says walk, and let the minutes do the work.
- On your watchPro
- Each session goes to your Garmin calendar as a structured workout, so the watch tells you when to run and when to walk. There’s a calendar feed for your phone too.
- Ticked off as you run
- Each run your Garmin records is matched to that day’s session by its time, so you can see which sessions are done and how many weeks are behind you.
- Repeat a week when you need toPro
- Fall behind and Velox offers to run the week again and move the rest back, rather than pushing you on to harder sessions. Pause the plan for illness or a holiday and nothing counts as missed.
- Strength, if you want it
- Add one or two short strength and mobility sessions a week, on days you’re not running.
Couch to 5K questions
Do I need to be able to run already?
No. Week one has eight minutes of running in all, a minute at a time with walking in between, and each session takes about half an hour.
Do I need a Garmin?
Velox is built around one: the sessions go to your watch, and your runs come from Garmin Connect to tick them off. Any watch that syncs to Garmin Connect works.
Is Couch to 5K free?
The nine weeks are on this page for anyone to read, and building the plan in your account is free. Sending each session to your watch as a guided workout is part of Pro, which starts with 7 days free.
What comes after Couch to 5K?
When the nine weeks are done, build your next plan from the runs you’ve logged: a 5K time goal, a 10K, or general fitness to keep the habit going.
From the couch to 5K
Create a free account, build the plan in a minute, and start with 7 days of Pro free.