Couch to 5K on Edge Rewards: What a Beginner Earns Over 9 Weeks

A beginner following the NHS Couch to 5K plan would earn about 25 to 40 Edge Rewards points per run, because every minute of a logged workout is worth 1 point and the walking breaks are part of the workout. Across all 27 runs in the 9-week plan, that adds up to roughly 870 workout points before you count a single step, earned month by month rather than saved up in one pot.

One honest note first. Edge Rewards is our own free rewards programme and it is not live yet: founding members from the waitlist get in on Sunday 1 November 2026, and the public launch is Saturday 7 November 2026. Couch to 5K is the NHS's free running plan and Edge is not affiliated with it. If you are brand new to running, our complete UK beginner guide to Couch to 5K covers the plan itself. This article is about the points.

How does Edge Rewards score a Couch to 5K run?

The rules are short, and they treat a Couch to 5K session exactly like any other workout:

• Workouts: 1 point for every minute of any logged workout, up to 50 points.
• Steps: 2.5 points for every 1,000 steps, up to 25 points.
• Daily max: workouts and steps combine to a maximum of 50 points a day, with no roll-over to the next day.
• Monthly reset: points go back to zero at the end of each calendar month.

So the clock matters, not your pace. That suits Couch to 5K perfectly, because the plan is built around time, not speed or distance.

Any logged workout counts, whether it is imported from Strava, Apple Health, Garmin or Coros or added as a manual entry. If you follow the NHS app's audio prompts, make sure the session is also recorded somewhere Edge can see it, or log it by hand afterwards.

Do the walking breaks count as workout minutes?

Yes. Edge Rewards counts the minutes of the logged workout, and in Couch to 5K the walking is part of the workout. In week 1 you spend more time walking than running, and every one of those minutes earns a point.

The same goes for the warm-up and cool-down. The NHS plan starts every run with a 5-minute walk and finishes every run with a 5-minute cool-down walk. Start recording at the beginning of the warm-up and stop after the cool-down, and those 10 minutes count too. The NHS session times leave out stretching, and so do our numbers below.

What does each week of Couch to 5K earn?

Here is the full plan, using the session times published in the NHS Couch to 5K running plan (warm-up and cool-down walks included, stretches excluded). Where a session has half a minute left over, we have rounded down to keep the numbers conservative.

Session lengths from the NHS Couch to 5K running plan, warm-up and cool-down walks included, stretches excluded. Part minutes rounded down. Workout points only, steps not included. Edge Rewards is not live yet, so this shows how the published rules will work at launch.

A few things stand out. Week 3 is the lowest-scoring week, because its sessions are the shortest in the plan even though the running intervals get longer. From week 5 to week 9 the weekly total rises every week, as the walking breaks disappear and the continuous runs get longer. And no single session reaches the 50-point daily max on its own, which leaves room for steps on run days too.

The NHS says you can take 9 weeks or longer, and repeating a week is completely normal. On Edge Rewards, a repeated week simply earns its points again, so there is no reason to rush ahead just to keep your numbers up.

What can steps add on top?

Steps are an optional extra. They earn 2.5 points per 1,000, up to 25 points a day, whether or not you trained. To keep things conservative, our examples only count steps from the rest of your day, not the steps inside the run itself.

Here is a simple example with illustrative step counts: a beginner who does about 4,000 everyday steps on run days and about 6,000 on rest days.

Put that together and an example week 1 comes to 174 points (three run days at 38, plus four rest days at 15). An example week 9 comes to 210 (three run days at the 50 max, plus four rest days at 15). Step counts vary with stride, pace and device, so treat these as illustrations.

For context, about a week of training earns something like a free coffee. Point prices for individual rewards have not been published yet, so we will not guess them.

Why does a 9-week plan span more than one points month?

Nine weeks is 63 days, and no two calendar months add up to more than 62. So Couch to 5K always crosses at least two month-ends, and your points reset to zero at each one. You cannot bank week 2's points for a treat at the end of week 9.

Say you start on Monday 9 November 2026, two days after the public launch, and run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, keeping a rest day between every run. From the runs alone, you would earn about 277 workout points in November (weeks 1 to 3, plus the first run of week 4), about 437 in December, and about 158 in January, with your final week 9 run on Saturday 9 January 2027. Each month's total resets when the month ends.

The takeaway is simple: spend as you go in the in-app marketplace, rather than waiting for a bigger balance that will reset anyway. Starting in November also means most of your plan falls in the darkest weeks of the year, so our guide to doing Couch to 5K in winter is worth a read before you begin.

Should you add extra runs to earn more points?

No. The NHS plan asks for a rest day between each run, and that structure is a big part of why it works for beginners. The 50-point daily max means a huge day earns no more than a steady one, and steps mean rest days still count. A few gentle ways to top up without extra running:

• Walk part of your commute or the school run on rest days.
• Take a relaxed walk at lunchtime. If it is a proper walk, you can log it as a workout too.
• Walk to the start of your run instead of driving there.
• Repeat a week that felt tough rather than skipping ahead. It earns the same points again.

Edge Pro members will earn double points with no daily max, plus exclusive prizes and secret offers, so a 40-minute week 9 session would earn 80 points. You do not need Edge Pro to earn or redeem, though. Every member earns and redeems for free.

Can week 9 line up with your first parkrun?

Often, yes. parkrun is a free, weekly, timed 5k on Saturday mornings where you can walk, jog or run, and plenty of people use it as their Couch to 5K graduation. In our example, the last run of week 9 falls on a Saturday.

Bear in mind that the plan builds you up to running for 30 minutes without stopping, and you may take a little longer than that to cover 5k. That is completely fine. On Edge Rewards a longer run earns more points from the run itself, so a 35-minute parkrun is worth 35 and the walk there and back adds steps on top. Our guide to what a parkrun earns on Edge Rewards does the full maths. parkrun is not a rewards scheme and Edge is not affiliated with it.

What comes after Couch to 5K?

Finishing the plan is a real milestone, and a clear next step helps you keep going. If you want more structure, Edge Pro builds a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime. Running and strength sit in one plan, so you do not need separate apps.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.