A MONMOUTH running club has successfully led more than 25 people into fitness.

A beginners' group loosely based on 'couch to 5k', an NHS initiative where runners gradually build up their fitness, was sponsored by Spirit of Monmouth to encourage people to safely build fitness with the ultimate goal of running continuously for 30 minutes.

The group, led by volunteers David Mather and Karen Barratt, was encouraged to run an additional twice throughout the week to maintain fitness and prepare for the challenge of the following week.

To celebrate the achievement of completing the beginners' course the group ran a 5k race in Newport last December.

Gemma Dorington, who took the course, said she had no previous running experience. She said: "I saw the course advertised and was apprehensive at first. I remember being in school and doing exercise very much because I had to, not because I wanted to.

"I contacted Karen who told me that everyone was in the same boat and not to worry. I went and I loved it.

"We built up our fitness gradually so originally we ran for one minute then walked for one minute eight times. This increased week by week.

"It was a really good atmosphere and you knew the instructors were with you every step of the way. Even though I was one of the slowest at the beginning, I still felt like part of the team and didn't feel out of my comfort zone.

"There's no way I could have built up my fitness like this without the help of the instructors. I went from doing no exercise to running 5km."

Jane Ayres, also a member of the beginners' group, said: "It's surprising how you can go from a very low fitness level to having plenty of enthusiasm for running. Before joining the club I never thought running could be so social, everyone encourages each other.

"We have a private Facebook page to talk to each other and that has hugely helped. You could run at home on your own, but receiving an encouraging message from someone is really nice."

David Mather, instructor of the beginners club, said: "I'd planned to start a course like this for some time. I felt we needed to get more runners involved and active.

"I based the course on the running programme 'couch to 5k' and adapted it slightly to fit the needs of our runners.

"Motivating our group relied on a combination of keeping up to date with emails, I used to email the group at least once a week, and chatting to people on a one-to-one basis to find out where they were in terms of fitness."

Mr Mather said that he'd like to set up another course, preferably towards the end of April.