Is running safe/healthy for someone who is overweight? I am 179 lbs, 5'7. I wanted to do the couch to 5K but not sure if i should wait to start until I've lose some weight or not.

TIA
Angela

Barring any injury or illness running should be perfectly safe for you.
Before beginning any new fitness/diet routine you should consult your physician.
After you get the all clear pick up a running magazine or see runnersworld DOT com. They have wonderful beginner programs for training.
A 5K is a wonderful goal, a 10K is a lot IMO.
Get a running buddy if possible. I enjoy my running much more when running with friends.
Good luck to you.

Robyn

I've been following the couch to 5K program on a treadmill and I'm now at week 6. I can't speak for your health situation but so far I haven't had any problems. The program is good because it builds you up slowly.

Other than being overweight I have no known health problems. I go for a yearly full physical and just had one a month so I know I'm good to go

That's about the weight I was when I started last April. I've since reached goal and ran four races, including a half marathon. Go for it!

I started running when I was far heavier than that, so go for it if you want to!

I ran a marathon at about your weight (I'm also 5'7"), properly trained of course. I started running when I broke through to under 200 lbs. This was 3+ years ago, and then again in the last year as I lost way too much pregnancy weight. Just remember to take care of yourself. While running itself doesn't cause arthritis, injury does, so be aware of overuse injuries, avoid them and take care of them early.

Good luck, and come join us on Cool Runners and let us know how it goes. I think there is also a C25K thread around here somewhere, that is named something incomprehensible for the uninitiated, so you may want to hunt around for it.

Anne