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C25K tips

One of the most popular aspects of the C25K podcasts was the ‘running tips’ given to runners. Participants said they liked these running tips, even when they didn’t use them:

Helen, C25K, interview: The running tips that I remember, are trying to run in such a way that people on the other side of the hedge could not see that I was running - that I found useful. She also talked about breathing deeply to avoid stitches. I didn't have any stitches, but I still thought it was good to be reminded to breathe deeply

There was one tip about synchronising steps with breathing, however, which was almost universally disliked by participants, not only because they found it complicated to understand and difficult to do, but also because it interfered with their running and breathing instead of helping:

Emma, C25K, week 2: I tried the breathing suggestion (in for 4, out for 4 in time with left foot stepping) but the timing didn’t work for me, then I did that thing of forgetting how to breathe normally because I was overthinking it!

WJS tips

The suggestions offered in the WJS podcast such as countdowns, paying attention to the environment and smiling were generally liked by participants, however they were not called ‘running tips’ in the podcasts.

Countdowns and sprint finishes

As discussed previously, countdowns were a popular aspect of the WJS podcast, as were sprint finishes:

Dinah, WJS, interview: [the countdown was] really useful, because… if I was getting too tired I knew I needed enough pace for another 4 minutes or whatever… or I needed to slow down a bit more and then hopefully conserve enough energy for that last 10 second sprint Counting as distraction

One participant liked the tip to count if she was struggling during an interval:

Anne, WJS, interview: so, ah, really helpful, VERY helpful about the different distraction techniques. For me the counting was really successful, I hadn’t heard of that either, so for me that’s really successful, because quite often my breathing could get a bit out of control and it’s a really good way of me steadying my breathing so I can I can keep going

Smiling

Several WJS participants said that they liked being told to smile during the podcast, though this was not universal:

Dinah, WJS, interview: I even have a little smile to myself now so it does make a difference and I think it is about making positive associations really isn’t it …you’re supposed to be doing it for enjoyment

Anne, WJS, interview: um… um, I…I found it a bit cheesy, but equally if if you’ve never run before … that could be a really good thing

Paying attention to the environment

Two participants appreciated the suggestion to pay attention to their environment:

Trina, WJS, week 2: Liked what you said about becoming aware of the surroundings while running - thanks for the tip!

Dorothy, WJS, week 6: I really enjoyed the suggestions about what to do while running (e.g. making lists of what you've seen/heard or using running as a kind of meditation)

Using the FS

Use of the FS is covered at greater length in the qualitative synthesis chapter (chapter five), but in summary views were mixed.

Extra tips suggested

Participants suggested that extra tips might be a useful addition to the C25K podcast:

Emma, C25K, interview: Mental tips could be good. I think it is true that the mental challenge is maybe the main thing.

Sarah, C25K, week 5: Tips on what to wear? Today I wore my usual but it was warmer and I was hotter from more running and didn't think to anticipate it myself

Since participants also sometimes struggled with being too hot or too cold or being out in inclement conditions, including specific information on clothing could be a useful addition to the WJS podcast. Although it was included in a ‘getting started’ document sent to all

participants, they either did not read it or did not remember it. In particular, increasing the amount of running increases body temperature, so taking account of both running intervals and weather is worth mentioning to participants.

Other helpful ‘tip’ additions suggested by two WJS participants were instructions on using ‘running mantras’:

Anne, WJS, interview: running mantras are fabulous, yes, I would definitely discuss running mantras

Another participant said that she had not considered running mantras as a tip, but suggested that having different options could be helpful in allowing different people to select tips which worked for them:

Diane, WJS, interview: yeah see I don’t know if I would use mantras erm it hasn’t occurred to me. But … it’s quite a personal thing….I suppose it’s adding in a different strategy so if you didn’t get on with the counting and you didn’t get on with the looking around then you might get on with a mantra

In addition, the suggestions from C25K participants about tips on running clothing, running technique, dealing with stitches, and reframing existing distraction strategies as ‘mental tips’ would be useful additions to the WJS podcast.

Some participants also discussed ‘pep talks’ on how to get through difficult stages, suggesting that extra reassurance could be useful:

Anne, WJS, interview: maybe talk about it more, some mental aspects of it. I don’t recall…a lot of discussion about how actually you may find this really challenging but this is to do with your, believing in yourself and you can do this and maybe exploring more of that

It could also be helpful to include reference to research on the research behind these tips.

Anne, WJS, interview: [On being told of research showing smiling improves running economy] well NOW I’ll try some, I’ll not go round with a glowering face

Calling these strategies ‘distraction tips’ or ‘mental tips’ or ‘running tips’ and adding additional useful information could be helpful in participants appreciating this information. Brick et al. (2018) propose that socially shared metacognitions with more experienced runners or coaches could help beginner runners to acquire cognitive strategies which would help their longer term adherence, and using this tip-based approach could fulfil a similar function in the podcast. In particular, it seemed participants were keen to hear more ‘mental tips’ about how to overcome the mental challenges of running, and it could be useful to include reference to research on these tips, to provide reassurance based on expertise.

Aspects common to both programmes Warmup

The warmup was the same for both programmes and all sessions (a five-minute brisk walk). Some participants found this boring or frustrating:

Marianne, C25K, week 1: It was incredibly boring. The worst was probably the warm up walk…Those minutes were really long and I felt a bit silly just walking

Participants often found the first few running intervals after the warmup to be the hardest part of the session (even with shorter intervals in WJS):

Lizzie, WJS, week 5: The first minute I was shouting in my head 'why am I doing this'

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Paradoxically, including a longer warmup could result in the running section feeling easier as some participants found:

Diane, WJS, interview: instead of just doing the just using the walk as my warmup I was doing some other exercises as well because I found … the first half of the session was killing me… [after increasing the warmup] by the time I was running I actually felt as though I was running and not just plodding and heaving myself round

Ruby et al. (2011) found that the earlier stages of an exercise session were perceived as less enjoyable than later phases even if the warmup and cooldown were identical (as in the C25K and WJS programmes), arguing that this results in underestimation of exercise enjoyment due to focusing on the unpleasant start. They also found that this could be overcome by making the start of exercise more enjoyable, or by spreading attention to the whole experience of an exercise session instead of focusing on the beginning. There is therefore scope here to both improve the warmup experience (for example by including more enjoyable, fun elements such as playful movements, for example skipping) and also to improve affective forecasting by drawing attention to other aspects of the session (e.g. how good it will feel at the end). From this observation that some people find the first running sections to be the hardest, there is scope to offer people more choice in what kind of warmup they would like, whether adding extra walking or additional dynamic stretching to their warmup to make the first running feel easier and to combat boredom. People could be encouraged to experiment with different options, and to vary them according to how they were feeling.

Cooldown

Participants were all given the same cooldown for both podcasts (a five-minute walk, i.e. the same as the warmup). Participants did not comment very much on the cooldown either in the

feedback or interviews other than on the music used in this section (which was popular and described as relaxing), suggesting cooldowns were neither particularly liked nor disliked.

Anne, WJS, interview: yeah yeah, and I liked the 5 minutes warmup and the 5 minutes cooldown is is very helpful. So it was good…I liked the chill out music too

This might relate to peak and end effects, where the global evaluation of an episode is

influenced by the peak (high or low) affective responses and affective responses to the end of the episode (Hargreaves & Stych, 2013). Kilpatrick et al. (2003) found that there were no differences in affective evaluations of an exercise session which finished with a cooldown versus one which finished abruptly, however there seems to be little other research in this area. It might be that participants’ interpretations of where the end is (i.e. whether it includes or excludes the cooldown) could influence their affective responses. In addition, how pleasant the cooldown is could influence peak and end effects, and more research is needed into psychological aspects of exercise cooldowns.

Also related to cooldown considerations, Karageorghis et al. (2018) found that using slow, sedative music during an exercise cooldown versus a control or fast, stimulative music gave more positive affective responses and a larger arousal decline. Combining recuperative music with a cooldown could improve affective responses to exercise at the end of a session.

Music

Opinions on the music used for the podcasts was divided. Some participants thought that listening to music was essential or motivational for running:

Lizzie, WJS, interview: I’d find it difficult not to listen to music

Some other participants found talking to be more motivating or distracting than music:

Anne, WJS, interview: if it’s hard, if I’ve got other stuff going on, having to listen to you, it’s really good, because if you’ve got other stuff going on or it’s really bad or whatever, music doesn’t necessarily take you to a good place

There were a few participants who disliked the music in the podcasts in general:

Marie, C25K, week 1: Music is very boring- like lift music

Some participants said that they might not have liked the music to start with but got used to it over the weeks:

Sarah, C25K, week 5: I am still not a great fan of the music but I have come to know some of the beats lol

Helen, C25K, interview: I got used to the music…maybe it is good that I don't like it too much, and that it doesn't have lyrics, so I don't waste energy on getting very emotionally involved

Some participants talked about enjoying the music either generally or specifically:

Emma, C25K, week 1: I liked the slightly futuristic music in the second running session, it took my mind off the running.

Anne, WJS, interview: I thought the chill out music was really good and the warmup music was really good. No no it was good, good…I’m going to go and download some of those tunes

The final running music for some weeks was popular with many participants:

Emma, C25K, week 4: The last piece of music in the final run definitely gives me the

motivation to keep up a good pace! …I do really like the final bit of music that starts during the last running section, the beat is perfect

Many participants said that they enjoyed the clear change in music tempo between the running and walking sections, especially in early weeks with many intervals.

Karen, WJS, week 1: The music worked well, I liked the change in tempo between run and walk

This might also have inadvertently improved signposting in the C25K podcast:

Helen, C25K, week 1: It is very good that the pace of the music changes when I am supposed to start running - easy to understand without the wording being exactly the same every time

A few participants mentioned one or two tracks which they found annoying, one with an ‘alarm’ sound they found intrusive and another with some spoken words in a foreign language they couldn’t make out (the remaining music was purely instrumental):

Jenny, WJS, week 1: Some of the music had an alarm type noise in it which was distracting, loud and annoying. Otherwise the music was fine

Hutchinson et al. (2011) found that music has a greater effect on perceived exertion and feeling states in untrained or recreationally active people versus trained people, and there is evidence that when exercise is self-paced (as in both programmes here), performance and

psychological states are both improved with music (Karageorghis, 2016). Since preferred music and motivational music result in more positive feeling states during exercise

(Hutchinson, Karageorghis & Jones, 2015), it is encouraging that so many of the participants said they liked at least some of the music in the podcasts and described certain tracks as motivating.