An Accidental Athlete

John Bingham

2011 • 216 pages

Ratings4

Average rating3.5

"John Bingham is a beloved evangelist of running. Known by fans as "The Penguin" for his gentle humor and back-of-the-pack speed, Bingham's memoir An Accidental Athlete explores with wit and poignancy his evolution from a bespectacled fat kid in the 1950s to unlikely hero of the modern running movement. Bingham remembers unfulfilled childhood dreams of athletic glory seen through Coke-bottle glasses, his unhealthy sedentary years as he chased a career, and his epiphany at age 43, when he stirred from the couch, found his mojo, became a runner, and rediscovered himself. An Accidental Athlete is a warm, engagingly written, feel-good book for the everday athlete who is sure to recognize him or herself somewhere in these pages"--

Genre

Adventure

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Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

Greg

I've recently taken on the challenge of a couch to 5K program. This book came along at the perfect time. I'm getting ready to go into week 5, day 3 on the program. Prior to this you walked, then ran, then walked, then ran etc. gradually increasing your time running. The upcoming run though is walk 5 minutes then run 20 minutes. YIKES.

Bingham's book helped me to understand that I have to run to my ability. On the next run I may or may not be able to run a full 20 minutes. I hope I do but if I don't I know that sometime soon I will.

Thank you Mr. Bingham for giving me courage. In so many ways you've described me and what it's like to become an adult onset athlete.

March 7, 2022

Mert Topcu

Funny and easy to read for sure.
However maybe because I had high expectations and/or read more books about running, I found this book repetitive and a collection of not so unique ideas.
There are of course nice nuggets in it and if you are looking for a easy, summer or weekend read, go for it.
If you are already a runner I'm not sure if you will get too much out of it.

January 27, 2021