Absolute Beginners Club (ABC)
Want to get fit, explore the countryside and make new friends?
More about our couch to 5k course (ABC)
One reason why Hook Runners is such a friendly club is that most of our members originally joined through our Absolute Beginners Course (ABC) and had never really run before or were coming back after an extended break.
This extremely successful course takes people of all standards and levels of fitness from absolute zero to running 3 miles (5km) in around 10 weeks and culminates in a graduation Parkrun supported by other members of the club. The next course starts on Monday the 2nd March 2026 and consists of two coached sessions of around 45 minutes each Monday and Wednesday evening at 7 p.m, meeting outside Hook Community Centre, Ravenscroft, with some additional “homework” over the weekend in your own time. The total cost for the entire course is £35.
Hook Runners is a very social and supportive club and in addition to getting fitter and losing weight, those on the ABC make many new friendships along the way with a supportive and encouraging team around them.
The training sessions are led by our fantastic team of qualified coaches, along with other club runners and graduates of the previous 16 ABC courses.
Please email abc@hookrunners.com with any further questions or sign up using this link.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The ABC is designed for complete beginners and suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels. We expect participants to join with a range of abilities and to progress at different rates. Our focus is to help you run 5Km without stopping at your own pace, whatever that may be.
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The sessions are suitable for adults, so anyone aged 18 or above – with no upper age limit!
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Over the past 9 years of ABC, we have learnt that consistency is the key to succeeding!
We ask you to commit to three sessions a week. There are coached sessions on Monday and Wednesday nights at 7pm and a further session to be completed whenever suits you over the weekend.
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Each session is around 30-40 minutes in duration.
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You will start with a short warm-up to get your muscles and cardio vascular system going. The main session will usually consist of run/walk intervals starting with 1 minute of gentle running and 2 minutes of recovery walking. It builds up from there with more running and less walking as the course progresses. Each session will finish with a stretching session to help your body recover.
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Whilst consistency is key, sometimes life gets in the in the way for all of us. Missing a session or two is no big deal as we ensure everyone knows in advance the content of following weeks sessions. As long as you get out there 3 times a week, you will be able to reach your goals.
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Yes you can! We have helped hundreds of previous non-runners to run 5km non-stop at their own pace!
Our focus is all about building fitness and endurance, so we start slowly and build up a little each week. Speed is irrelevant and will improve naturally over time after graduation.
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We create a private WhatsApp group just for the coaches and participants of each ABC course. It’s used to update everyone on the sessions and will also contain advice, videos and support from the coaches. The WhatsApp group is great for peer support where we encourage runners to do their weekly homework runs in small groups that suits those individuals.
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The course is managed by two of the original ABC graduates who are now fully qualified coaches, so they know what you will be going through! You can use the private WhatsApp group to raise any issues you might have and later in the course you will be supported and encouraged at the coached sessions by other recent ABC graduates.
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You don’t need to go out and buy any special running gear before you start the ABC. Trainers and general sports kit is perfectly adequate. During the course we will advise on suitable running shoes (most important) and where to get them and other running clothes at a discount.
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During the course , we will encourage you to join Parkrun (it’s free) and get a personal barcode. The graduation run is a big event in Hook Runners and will take place at the Edenbrook Parkrun in Fleet at 9am on a Saturday morning. There will be lots of previous graduates running alongside you for support and at the finish we celebrate with coffee and cake!
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Towards the end of the ABC, we will introduce you to the format of our regular training sessions which take place on Tues morning and Weds and Thurs nights. Post graduation, we would like you to take up our free membership and join in at the training sessions and regular social runs all at a relaxed ‘chatty’ pace where you will be made very welcome.
Where you take your running is totally up to you. Some like running in small social groups during the week exploring the glorious countryside that surrounds Hook and others may start to take part in local events and races. Plenty of previous graduates have eventually worked up to run marathons!
There are also regular social runs
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You can sign-up for the ABC using the form on this page.
If you have any further queries about the ABC, please use our contact form or email us here.
