Run your own race
4 Quotes from John Bingham that transcend running
I shrunk to the back of the pack fearing the gazes and words of the fit young runners. It was my first 5K after completing a Couch to 5K program. A few years earlier I had lost 100 pounds and began cycling. My pal Chuck urged me to try running. There I stood self-conscious and feeling unworthy.
An hour later I was feeling accomplished and proud. What I found was that the running community is supportive, diverse, and not all 5-minute milers. Three years later I would complete 4 half marathons in a year.
I found John Bingham, the father of the slow-running movement and author of several running books. His philosophy resonated with me and motivated me to leave behind my couch potato past. I am sharing four of my favorite John Bingham quotes that ring true for anyone seeking a more active life.
The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I dared to start.
John Bingham, “The Courage to Start”
With only a few years under my tires, my pal Chuck invited me to join him on his first weeklong bicycle tour. I initially turned him down. I gathered the courage to get on my heavily laden bike and join him. I ended the week confident, feeling accomplished, and ready to take on another tour by bike.
I encounter people of all shapes and sizes, all skill levels, and all ages living a dream on their bikes when I am on tour. I see that on social media and my local Knox County rides. Don’t dwell on believing you may not finish. Step up and have the courage to turn those pedals and banish the self-doubts.
If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.
John Bingham, “The Courage to Start”
Facebook can be cruel. Far too often I see people celebrating their ride, bike purchase, or personal cycling challenge. Inevitably, a Topper quashes that person’s pride and joy. Topper of Dilbert comic fame spoils a person’s celebration by topping it with a grander achievement that no one cares about.
Replace run with cycle and running with cycling in this quote. You are a cyclist if you get on a bike. No time trial, no carbon fiber bike, no cycling kit, and no century ride are required to cycle and be a cyclist. Celebrate the elite crowd. Celebrate the slow rollers. Celebrate everyone in between on a bike.
The joy is in the journey, not the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else.
John Bingham, “No Need for Speed”
I set out on my first adult bike ride in 2009. I was a 55-year-old that had only taken short jaunts on beach vacations. Recovering from triple coronary bypass surgery, my destination was a heart-healthy Tom. I had no idea what journey that 8-mile ride would take me on over the next fourteen years.
Change happens slowly, often without realizing that things are changing. I would never have envisioned myself exploring the world by bike, running half marathons, and advocating for cycling and trails. Aim for but don’t obsess about the destination. The small things you do today bring joy and real change into your life.
It isn’t a matter of getting the body you want, it’s a matter of doing the most you can with the body you have.
John Bingham, “No Need for Speed”
Nearing exhaustion on day 1 was a Bike MS 2-day 150-mile ride, a cyclist considerably heavier powered past me effortlessly. Overweight runners passed me on my first 5Ks. Both events altered my perception of weight and fitness. I needed to end my obsession with my weight.
Run your race, not someone else’s. Experienced runners echo that thought often. It translates to being the best you can be and celebrating your personal victory. I don’t have the long strong marathoner legs or a lean Tour de France body. I do the most I can with the body I have striving to be a healthier person.
Closing thoughts
Slow runners at the back of the pack do not run for the money, the glory, the awards, or the recognition. They run for themselves, their pride, and their sense of achievement.
Paraphrased from John Bingham
Read this quote several times. Let it sink in. It is exciting to celebrate the winners of the Tour de France and Boston Marathon. These people motivate and engage people in their sports. Almost no media coverage exists for those who crossed the finish line last.
I will never be a person who crosses the finish line first. Most runners and cyclists will be somewhere in the pack. The philosophy of running your own race is a super philosophy for life. Be yourself. Do your best. That is what running your own race is.
Run your own race
Tom on the trails.