The Courage to Start: A Guide to Running for Your Life

by John Bingham

Book Overview

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." Take your first step toward fitness and a happier, healthier life.

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684854554
• ISBN13: 9780684854557
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

garunteed to get you going

I have tried becoming a "runner" many times in the past..I was on the "brink" once again when I read this book and have now been running 4-5 days a week since reading the book about 2 months ago. The author makes you realize how anyone can enjoy, and even become addicted to this elusive, seemingly insane activity. Unlike many other running books, he doesn't ever say "you just have to really want it", he just tells his story, in which, after many years of inactivity and weight gain, he took up running at age 43. The focus of this book is on enjoying the process, not the end result (how many min. it takes you to run a mile) of running. If you are looking for nutrition or speed advice, this is not the book for you. If you want an inspiration easy read, this IS the book!

This book spoke to my soul!

There have been other wonderful reviews written about this book already. All I can say is this book is so inspiring for those of us who always wanted to be athletic, but thought our chance had passed us by. I'm a 35 year old, stay at home, slightly plump mom. I've always admired runners, I always wanted to be one. But the truth is, I suck at running. This book gave me something wonderful. It gave me hope. It's a book that says so what if you suck, so what if you're slow, so what if the neighbors kid runs faster than you, and that kid runs with crutches. It's okay! If you are getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other, you're a runner! I've been running for five months now. And I don't think I would have ever had the courage to step outside my door, take a deep breath and start jogging without this book

Inspirational and motivational.

As a neophyte to the sport of running, I found this book incredibly inspiring. The author came from where a lot of new runners come from: years of inactivity and poor shape. The Penguin's transformation can motivate anyone with desire into a life of good physical health. Do not expect a lot of techniques from this book. There are some, but the focus on getting and staying motivated for a lifetime of excellent fitness and health through the sport of running.

Excellent reading & info for beginner runners!

Wonderful insights, encouraging words and very humorous! An excellent book for someone wanting to get into the running world. I'm a seasoned runner and have read it for enjoyment. I've given it as a gift to 3 family members who want to start a running program but don't know how.

You'll want to read this book over and over again.

Do you enjoy "The Penguin Chronicles", a monthly column in Runner's World? The column's author, John "The Penguin" Bingham, now has a book out to complement the column. The book is entitled "The Courage to Start : A Guide to Running for Your Life."This book is a must read for runners of all ability levels, from beginning runners to those who have been running for decades. Bingham gives practical advice to beginning runners, as well as showing how running transcends from a physical activity to a self-discovery of yourself. His revelations are insightful and motivational. Once you start reading this book, you will not be able to put it down.Bingham began running in 1992 as a 43-year-old, 240-pound, couch potato. His first run consisted of sprinting down his driveway for about 30 seconds. That was all his legs, lungs and ego could take. But unlike many other times in his life when he had given up, he didn't quit this time. For some reason he stuck with running, and managed to run ¼ mile, then ½ mile, a mile, and increasingly more. As the months passed and he shed the excess weight, he found himself running 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, and eventually, full marathons.He first began to tell his story on the internet via the Dead Runners Society (DRS). He sent out an e-mail telling about a race where he nearly finished last, but was finding himself a happier and healthier person because of running. Much to his surprise, he received responses from readers that said he had told their stories. They said he had managed to put into words what they were feeling about themselves, and about the metamorphosis that running was causing in their lives.From these initial e-mails, "The Penguin Chronicles" was born. First it was a monthly e-mail on the DRS, and then Bingham set up a web site to host his columns. Eventually, Runner's World became aware of his columns, and in May of 1996, the column became a regular part of the magazine. It appears near the back of the magazine each month, a comfortable place for the many back-of-the-packers that are touched the most by his writings. The column has generated a huge following as runners from around the world find Bingham's words to be entertaining, inspirational, down-to-earth, and humorous.Hoping to share his joy of running with other runners around the county, Bingham set out on the Penguin Tour in the summer of 1997. He traveled by motorcycle for eight weeks and visited runners from coast to coast. Bingham did another Penguin Tour in the summer of 1998, this time traveling by car and logging more than 14,000 miles over three months. On each stop during his trips, he found others who share the joy of running, and who discovered themselves via running. He found people who had moved past the self-imposed limitations that society places on us. After running with both new and veteran runners, Bingham found how little difference there was between them. At the start