Finish Line from Philo Nordlund
I have been wanting to try this out for a while and this year I decided to actually do it. The thing that motivated me to get started is that I found myself short of breath after little things such as going up a flight of stairs. By running, I was hoping to increase my lung capacity and it seems to have worked out well.
I found that weeks 5 and 6 were some of the hardest weeks of the program as it moved from runs of 10 minutes or so to 20 and 25 minute runs. My ankles were sore in the last two weeks, but with the rest days in between they seem to have healed up nicely.
Robert Ullrey’s C25K podcasts were extremely helpful. The rythm gave me something to follow as I put one foot in front of the other. I found his vocal cues encouraging as well.
I’m lucky in that I have some lovely deserted country roads to run along, so I was able to run barefoot. It doesn’t get much more minimal than that for exercise equipment! 
I’m not sure where I’ll go from here. There is enough warm weather left that I could probably make it to 10k before winter if I keep going. I’m thinking of trying the Freeway to 10K program.
If you’re thinking of taking up running, give the Couch to 5k program a shot – it worked for me despite my lack of running experience.