The Courage to Start
by John Bingham
Added:
Jan 22, 2026
Book Description
Has the idea of running crossed your mind, but you haven’t acted on it because you don’t think you have the body of a runner? Have you thought about running but quit before you started because you knew that you would be breathless at the end of your driveway? Well, put aside those fears because you can do it. John Bingham, author of the popular Runner’s World column “The Penguin Chronicles,” transformed himself from an overweight couch potato who smoked into a runner who has completed eleven marathons and hundreds of road races.
Forget about the image of a perfect body in skintight clothes, and don’t worry about how fast or how far you go. Bingham shows how anyone can embrace running as a life-enhancing activity—rather than as a competition you will never win. In an entertaining blend of his own success story and practical advice, Bingham provides reasonable guidelines for establishing a program of achievable goals; offers tips on clothing, running shoes, and other equipment; and explains how anyone can prepare for and run distances ranging from a few miles to marathons.
After all, in running and in life, the difference between success and failure sometimes comes down to a single step. Waddle on, friends.
Notes & Highlights
Chapter 6: Runner’s High
I was able to develop a dynamic definition of success that took into account the reality of the moment.
Because my definition of success was always changing, I was successful more often. On some days, I succeeded just by getting out the door for a run. On others, success was measured by how hard I pushed myself during a tempo run or track workout.
The side effect of focusing on what I was feeling was that words like “winning” and “losing” were replaced by words like “doing” and “becoming” in my vocabulary. All my old notions of failure were replaced by an evolving definition of success.
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