If you are one of the 2011 resolutionaries who vowed to become more active and fit in new year, you might want to visit c25k.com which is both the URL for web site and the acronym for the Couch to 5K program.

Although this program has been around since 1996, I was not aware of it until seeing it mentioned on an NHS web site this week. The nine-week approach uses three training sessions a week to get the participant from alternating walking and running to being able to run for an entire 30 minute stretch.

The program's web site includes a plethora of useful information:

• Written instructions in more than 20 languages
• A version for treadmill users
• Podcasts to put on your favorite MP3 to accompany your sessions
• C25K apps for iPhone and Android
• Inspirational stories
• What to do beyond 5K

Before beginning any exercise program, especially if you were the ultimate couch potato in 2010, you should check-in with your healthcare provdier.

If that New Year's Resolution feels old, and you did make it last year, you might want to check out C25K and find our how others have gone from the living room to 3.1 miles in nine weeks. And that treadmill version might come in handy until the snowpack and ice have melted from the streets.