From January 19 through March 17, 2025, the club sought input from members to see if there was enough interest to develop a weekly, group-based couch-to-5k training program. A total of 11 respondents completed a brief survey about their running background, goals, and motivation. Aggregated data is summarized below (unfortunately charts could not be pasted into this post due to limitations of the website):

All respondents reported having completed a 5K, either walking or running.

Average time to complete LAST 5K: 34:11 (range: 20:00 - 48:30)

When completed LAST 5K: Range: "today" to "several years ago"

Average time to complete FASTEST 5K: 25:01 (range: 16:32 - 34:00)

When completed FASTEST 5K: Range: 1998 to 2025

Locations people are able to make for a weekly training event:

• Downtown Redmond: 8 (72.7%)
• Downtown Kirkland: 6 (54.5%)
• Neither: 1 (9.1%)

Days/times of week that work best for a weekly training event:

• Monday evenings: 0 (0%)
• Tuesday evenings: 2 (18.2%)
• Wednesday evenings: 1 (9.1%)
• Thursday evenings: 3 (27.3%)
• Friday evenings: 2 (18.2%)
• Saturday mornings: 7 (63.6%)
• Sunday mornings: 5 (45.5%)
• Other: 3 (27.3%)

Synopsis of open-text comments:

• A subset of respondents indicated preferring weekday morning training times

• Over half of respondents had run more routinely in the past with goals to return to more consistent running and/or previous levels of running fitness
• The majority of respondents expressed goals of increasing running consistency (number of runs/week), improving endurance, and/or improving speed
• Several respondents expressed desire to find community and safe spaces to run

Decision to move forward with program

Although we had a small sample size and people's backgrounds and experiences varied, the results were clear: people want to improve on their running and run in a safe manner. However, given the majority of respondents are already able to complete the 5K distance and only 3 of 11 respondents reported 5K times >40 minutes, the Board did not feel that a true "Couch-to-5K" training program would benefit the needs of most of this group. Additionally, the most preferred days of the week for a training program were Saturday and Sunday mornings, and at this time LSRC does not have the personnel resources (we are a 100% volunteer-run organization) to add an additional training day on the weekend beyond our current Sunday morning run in Redmond.

What happens now? What resources are available?

LSRC will continue to explore other options to support the goals of its runners. For now, we recommend looking into the following services currently offered by the club, as well as a few external options. We hope these resources are a good start for you, whether you are at the beginning of your health and fitness journey or anywhere further along.

• Weekly Group Runs: Our scheduled runs on Monday and Thursday evenings and Friday and Sunday mornings offer both shorter (3M) and longer (5M-6M) routes and usually have people from a range of paces, along with sometimes run/walkers. Check out the Weekly Runs page for details on the meeting locations, times, and routes. There is also a monthly dinner/breakfast social post-run for each location.
• Beginners' Run: The second Sunday of each month at 9 AM is our designated beginner-friendly run. This run starts from the East Lake Sammamish Trail adjacent to Redmond Whole Foods (details in the Weekly Runs page above). We will have a pace buddy for the last person / people, whether you are running, walking, or anything in between.
• Personalized Coaching: Full members of LSRC have access to free coaching services from one of the club's USATF Level 1 certified coaches. If you are interested in working with one of our coaches, please contact our team at coaches@lakesammamishrunclub.org. Check out the Coaching page for more details on how to apply and what to expect from coaching.
• Join a Free Parkrun: Parkrun is a free community 5K every Saturday morning open to runners and walkers of ALL abilities. Started in the UK, it has now grown to over 80 locations in the US, with 7 (and soon to be 8) locations in WA alone. The closest Parkruns to the Seattle Eastside are Perrigo, Renton, and soon-to-open Downtown Redmond (May 24, 2025).
• General Tips on Getting Started: Read this informational sheet from Coach Zach Fung on returning to running from an injury. Many of these principles apply to returning from taking time off running or getting started for the first time.
• Join our Facebook Group: Have a question on training or anything else related to running? Post it to our private Facebook group and you'll likely get some input from the community. (Plus, the Facebook group is a great way to keep up with what we've been up to and you can also find each week's scheduled run in the Events section!)