12 October 2026

A walk to run progression is simple: start with short jog efforts and long walk breaks, then make the jog a little longer and the walk a little shorter each week. Six weeks of that is enough to take most newer runners from run walk intervals to one full lap at a club run, and at Hills Run Club one lap is a full run.

Why walk breaks are part of the plan

Walking between jog efforts is not giving up. Walk breaks keep your breathing under control, they let your legs recover between efforts, and they mean each session finishes before you are worn out. Run walkers who mix the two usually keep showing up, because they are not spending the whole session out of breath.

The other half of the plan is pace. Your jogging efforts should feel easy, at a pace where you could hold a conversation. If you cannot say a few words at a time, you are jogging too hard and the walk break is coming too late.

The six week walk to run progression

Repeat each week's session two or three times before you move on, and stay on a week for longer if it still feels hard. There is no prize for rushing. Walk for a few minutes at the start and the end of every session as a warm up and cool down.

How the six weeks map to the club's runs

Weeks one to five fit around a club run, because you can jog the parts you are ready for and walk the rest. Walkers are welcome at both runs, and you choose your distance option on the day, so nothing in the plan locks you into more than you can manage.

By week six the goal is one full lap. On a Thursday morning that is one 2.5 km lap, and on a Tuesday night it is one 3 km lap. One lap is a full run. The second lap is there for whenever you want it, not as the price of entry.

Thursday mornings finish with coffee and a sweet treat. The night run is held under the lights, so it suits anyone who cannot make an early start. Enter Castle Hill Showground via Doran Drive, the entrance closest to the metro, take the first left and follow the road to the lit oval, where the group meets at the large shed, with plenty of parking around it.

Five habits that make the progression stick

• Run and walk by time, not by distance, for the first few weeks. A timer is easier to trust than how far you think you have gone.
• Keep the jog at conversation pace. If you are gasping, slow down before you shorten the session.
• Finish every session with something left. If week five felt brutal, repeat week four.
• Count laps rather than pace. One lap is a full run, and walking part of it still counts.
• Take an extra rest day if your legs are heavy. The plan is six weeks of moving, not six weeks of racing.

Your first full lap at a club run

Pick the run whose time suits your week, then set yourself up in HRC+. Runs are free, and every run is registered in HRC+, so each date needs its own sign-up.

1. Make a free HRC+ account. It is the club's free membership program and it is where you register.
2. Choose your run from the runs page and register for that date.
3. On the day, choose the distance option that suits you. One lap is a full run.
4. Arrive at the meeting time, say hello, and go at your own pace. You will not be left behind.

Keep reading

If you have wondered whether pace matters at all, do you need to be fast to join a run club? answers it plainly. If walking is your plan for now, can you walk a run club? explains how walkers take part. And when one lap feels easy, how to run your first 5k without dreading it is the natural next step.

Questions and answers

Upcoming runs include the Thursday Morning Run on 15 October and the Tuesday Night Run on 20 October. Full details are on the runs page, and you can follow the club on Instagram at @hillsrunclubau.