LEWISTON — St. Mary’s Commit to Get Fit Challenge will coach couch potatoes into becoming runners with the Couch to 5K program.

A 5K is approximately 3.1 miles. For those who break into a sweat just thinking about having to run one block, the thought of jogging a 5K might seem unattainable, but it’s not that impossible. 

The key is to start slow and gradually progress. The issue most would-be runners face is they start out too fast and go too far, leaving them sore and feeling less than motivated in the days to come.

St. Mary’s HealthSteps program can help.  They’ll provide a doable program in which the becoming-runner can gradually progress distance, alternating between walking and jogging, with no emphasis on speed, becoming ready for a 5K in as little as nine weeks.

The next session will begin Wednesday, March 2, and run until April 29, the day before the St. Mary’s Commit to Get Fit Challenge 3K, 5K, 10K. The program will be held at 6:05 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Bates College Merrill Gym indoor track and will take 20 to 30 minutes. The cost of the class is $55. An optional group warm-up, cool-down and strengthening component is also available.

 FMI, register: 207-777-8898, [email protected].