No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running

Of all the running books out there, from by-the-numbers training plans to dense physiology tomes, none provide the uplift and motivation needed by average "non-athletic" mortals better than the two written by John Bingham. In his newest, Bingham, long associated with his "Penguin" philosophy through Runner's World Magazine, inspires with his personal story. Only this isn't an Olympic athlete's heroic quest, but an average, vice-ridden everyman's transformation from overweight couch potato to athlete. In a conversational, non-preachy tone, Bingham writes for the majority of runners and fitness walkers-- the back two-thirds of every road race. No Need for Speed contains much useful and up-to-date advice for beginning and intermediate runners and walkers, of course, including equipment, training and technique. Frequent sidebar entries from real citizen-runners also share lessons learned by average joes and janes while morphing into athletes. But by far the BEST thing about this book, and the most encouraging to newer, older, heavier, and/or slower runners, is that Bingham manages to legitimately drape honor and glory to "back of the pack" athletes. You don't have to be lightning-fast or whippet-thin to call yourself a runner. To anyone stuggling to get in shape, survive a road race (or finish it in less than a day), and feel good about being in the game, Bingham's words are priceless.

I used to hate running because I wasn't very fast, it hurt, and it was boring. Bingham's book changed all that. I'm 38 now, I still don't love running as much as the author, but his advice and words helped me incorporate running into my life. It also gave me the encouragement to train and run regularly and tell people that I am a runner.It encouraged me to enter races, not to win, but to get the feeling of being around other runners. Finally it encourgaed me to train for a goal - a marathon. With this book and "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer" (Whitsett) book I began a solo sixteen week training program to enter and finish a marathon. That was the goal, just to finish and become a marathoner.I finished the 26.2 miles in just under 5 hours. I was 890th place out of 1100 runners, but I felt like I'd won a gold medal. This book taught me that "you don't have to run fast to be a real runner." I may or may not run another marathon (1/2 marathons are more tolerable), but I will keep running as part of my lifelong fitness plan, because I am a runner.Bingham's first book "The Courage to Start" is also a great book and I frequently re-read both of his books. In "The Courage to Start" he states, "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." If you want to start feeling better about yourself and start taking steps to become a runner, there is no better book.

I am an adult-onset runner! This book is so informative. It answers every question you may have as a new runner, and address all your insecurities about running. Bingham also has a sense of humor!

Although John "The Penguin" Bingham is targeting would-be and beginning runners, his practical and inspirational message is also relevant to experienced runners. Bingham expertly helps would-be and beginning runners make the jump, start running at their own pace with the right equipment, accept their highs and lows in their sport practice, and celebrate their big and small running accomplishments over time. Bingham's message is especially convincing because he had led an unhealthy lifestyle for many years before he discovered the joy of running. Bingham also reminds his core audience that running is a life philosophy that is based on the best possible balance to strike between mind and body. That quest is nothing new. For example, the Ancient Greeks and Romans respectively used the expressions "Nothing too much" and "A sound mind in a sound body" to describe the achievement of a harmonious state. Bingham finally echoes the words of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games: "The essential thing ... is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not triumph but the struggle." As a side note, would-be and beginning runners can also find inspiration in the movie "Chariots of Fire" and Vangelis' memorable accompanying music to keep faith in their performance, whatever it is.

I was working out at the gym but too self conscious to start running. This book motivated me to hit road. I bought running shoes, read the whole book and went running the next morning. Highly recommended, the pounds are falling off already.