An Open Letter To John Bingham

While I do not fit the typical mold of the "Penguin Brigade," I have always been inspired by John Bingham's writing and journey.  His mantra, "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start," has been one that I have held close to my heart for many years since In began running regularly again.

John retired from race announcing and regular writing in December.  In our December 2014 "Inspiration Issue" of The Oregon Distance Runner, I penned this farewell and thank you to The Penguin.

John Bingham & I in 2012

Dear John,

The typical Dear John letter is one where one person tells another they are leaving or already gone.  This is the opposite.  We know you are leaving and a running nation is left to cope.

By the time you see this letter your last column will have been penned.  You will have announced your last race and provided your last seminar to those waiting to hear your inspirational story.  Our running community will be lesser for that.

They call you the “Pied Piper of the Second Running Boom.”  Since your first “Penguin Chronicles: was published in 1996, thousands, perhaps millions, of long-time runners and newcomers have thrived on your message that it’s okay to be slow.  That getting out there is as much a win as crossing the finish line first (and maybe more so). That the miracle isn’t that we finished, but that we had the courage to start.

While I may not have ever fit the mold of the typical Penguin Nation citizen, I certainly identified with your message.  After years as a competitive runner through high school and college, I was forced to the sidelines for four years with an injury. For much of that time, a 10-mile week was a miracle.

Towards the end of the running asylum, I read “The Courage To Start.” The story of how you went from an overweight, chain-smoking music professor to a fit and trim minister of the two-foot gospel was inspirational. It is part of what gave me the courage to start again.  I am a better man for it.

I was blessed enough to meet and talk with you at a pair of Portland Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon expos.  The second of those, in 2013, began as a pre-seminar three-way conversation between you, myself and Frank Shorter.  Talk about being in the presence of running royalty. It’s an experience I will never forget.

I was impressed with how you identified by name some of the RNR roadies that make many of the series’ races.  You had time for them and every other bright-eyed runner who came in, including me. Your actions mirrored the words you had written and spoken for years, that every runner, every ability, is important.

So, on behalf of a running nation and millions of Penguins everywhere, thank you for your years of inspiration. There are many who are better people for having heard your message and our sport is better off for it.

We know you won’t stay completely away from running in your retirement.  You’re too hooked on it.  Hopefully, should the right idea or event lure you back, know that we welcome you back with open arms ... or wings as the case may be.

Waddle on, my friend.  And thank you.

— Blake Timm