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Hello, hope there's room for another here? I started running a couple of years ago using the C25k programme, which helped to kick start my weight loss, but after running a half marathon a knee problem forced me to stop running last year. I'm now back up to 25mins running non-stop and, thanks to Rosemary Conley, at the weight I was before I had to stop running. But ideally I'd like to lose 1.5 - 2 stone. The calorie counting was going really well and I've lost 10 pounds but I got a bit complacent and started buying crisps and chocolate so I need to get back into the habit of low-fat and portion control as this is the only thing that appears to work for me.

Off to make a big vat of low-fat tomato and bean soup as it's Monday tomorrow, that seems like a good time to start again! Looking forward to reading about more pounds being lost by everyone

Hello, another C25ker here! I popped into this thread a few months ago hoping that I would be able to start C25k again. I started running in May 2011 and went from couch to half marathon but had knee issues that forced me to stop running last year. After an x-ray, ultrasound and MRI scan all came back normal I decided what the hell and that I was going to start running again as I missed it so much. So I started c25k again recently and am now at week 7. I'm also at a happy place now that I'm running again! My knee problems haven't gone away, but they've improved to the point where I'm only getting discomfort rather than pain so as long as they don't get any worse I'm going to keep on running and hope to get back to running a couple of 5k during the week and 10k+ at the weekend. Fingers crossed!!!

I'm meeting up with a couple of friends from work later for a run round our local broad in preparation for the Race for Life 5k next weekend. 

bookworm-airhead wrote (see)

I'm toying with race for life which in my area falls exactly at the end of my week 9! Perhaps I should just sign up and do it!

Go on bookworm-airhead, you know you want to! 

Well done to all of you who decided to do the C25k programme, it's not always easy to find the time or the motivation. Happy running!

I've been suffering with knee pain for just over a year. An x-ray, an ultrasound and an MRI scan all came back as completely normal, so I've been advised that the most likely diagnosis of the small lump in my knee is a benign lipoma. The lump is just above and to the outside of my kneecap, quite deep in my leg where the quad muscles are attached. It's slightly painful to press and sometimes causes muscular aches in my quad muscles.

I recently started the couch to 5k plan again, and although I have some discomfort on every run, I haven't yet had the proper pain that stopped me running before. The specialist said that unless the lump gets bigger or starts to press on a nerve I should be OK to carry on running, but I was wondering if anyone else had a similar knee problem? I'm just worried that if I carry on running the lump is more likely to get bigger, cause pain and force me to stop running again. When I first started running two years ago I had no idea how important it would become or how much I'd miss it when I couldn't do it. I was even dreaming about running (think Forrest Gump shedding his calipers...) and the thought of having to stop again fills me with doom

Hi Sarah, another relative newbie with a knee issue. I had my gait analysed (neutral) did the Couch to 5k in May-June 2011 and went on to run a half marathon in November 2011 - all with no problems, not even a blister. I developed a knee problem that I've had before on walking holidays, the one where it's excruciating to go downhill and down stairs but all other movement is pain-free. I started barefoot running in spring 2012 to try and sort the knee pain, but after a few months I started getting knee pain in the same knee but a different place.

From googling various anatomy pics, the pain is in the area of the tendon that attaches the vastus lateralis to the knee: about 1 inch above my knee cap to the outside of my thigh. I was continuing to run with this but eventually it was too painful to continue and I haven't run since September 2012. At first I only had this pain when I ran, but since about November I've been experiencing it on and off every day, while sitting, standing and walking. I went to a biomechanic clinic who said I needed an ultrasound to diagnose the soft tissue damage he could feel (he said he could feel a lump that might be a cyst), but my GP told me to take Ibuprofen for a week (it didn't help), sent me for x-rays (they came back normal) diagnosed "probable tendinitis" and suggested a steroid injection (if he's not 100% certain, he's not sticking a needle in my knee!).

I'm still in pain and don't know what to do next, and would really appreciate your advice - thank you.

sorry for the enormous post