Meet John “The Penguin” Bingham
Writer, runner, storyteller, and an unlikely champion of the everyday athlete.
John Bingham never set out to become one of the most recognizable voices in running. Before he found the sport, he described himself as an overweight, sedentary smoker navigating middle age. When he finally began moving, at 43, he discovered something far more meaningful than speed: the possibility of becoming someone new.
His reflections caught the attention of Runner’s World, where The Penguin Chronicles debuted in May 1996 and ran for 14 years. His monthly essays - and later writing for Competitor - spoke to people who rarely saw themselves represented in running magazines. John wrote about the awkward beginnings, the difficult miles, the friendships, the doubts, and the remarkable courage it takes simply to show up.
Known affectionately as “The Penguin,” he became a leading voice of the second running boom - the New York Times credited him as a creator of the slow-running movement - encouraging runners and walkers of every pace to claim their place in the sport. He completed more than 45 marathons and hundreds of shorter races, but his greatest contribution was never a finish time. It was helping others believe they belonged.
John brought that same wit and warmth to race events, speaking engagements, and books including The Courage to Start, No Need for Speed, and An Accidental Athlete. In addition he co-authored Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals with Jenny Hadfield. He served as spokesman for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program and as the voice of the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series. With his wife, coach and author Jenny Hadfield, he co-writes and co-hosts running adventures around the world.
“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
The Archives on this site gather his columns in one place - preserved in his own words, for the readers who loved them and the ones still to find them.