Simple Plan Gets Millions Running

Writing for Hong Kong���s South China Morning Press, Jack Lau tells the story of Couch to 5K, the running schedule I created in 1996. Get the scoop on how the thing came to be and, um, compare photos of 25-year-old Josh running in 1996 to 49-year-old Josh running now.

I created the schedule well before I became a designer, but looking back, I consider Couch to 5K (C25K) to be my first big UX project. The ���brief���: onboard skeptical would-be runners to a regular, sustainable running habit. Twenty-four years later, many millions of runners have used C25K to do exactly that.

The secret behind the nine-week plan is to offer kind encouragement to go (very) slow and advance (very) gently. Many come to C25K after defeating experiences with fitness: pain, self-flagellation, boredom, or ���failure.��� The program turns that around by delivering attainable victories. As Jack calls out in the article, the process has deeper effects than the merely physical. I���ve received a truly remarkable number of notes from people who tell me that completing the program revealed new confidence in what they might achieve.

���If a depressed 33-year-old with bad knees who hates cardio can do it, enjoy it, and start to thrive, anyone can,��� one C25K alum told Jack. And that���s pretty cool.

South China Morning Post | Simple Plan Gets Millions Running