family | The Penguin Chronicles

Come Sail Away

Posted on June 18, 2013 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

Runners and walkers want to experience the world with their your own two feet.

Jenny and I have listened to what you want and have created vacations that allow you to get away from it all with a group of friends who understand who you are. Whether you are young or old, a new walker or a life-long runner you will find yourself at home, comfortable, and welcomed.

In Alaska you’ll see the Last Frontier up close. No riding in tour buses and looking out the windows. You will be right there seeing and feeling the REAL Alaska.

The Great Alaskan Marathon Cruise is a once in a lifetime opportunity to share the unique beauty of Alaska. For more detail, check out Will and Sunny’s blog. For more information, or to book the trip: The Alaskan Vacation.

Looking for some sunshine, crystal clear water, and white sand beaches in the middle of winter? Want to experience it all with like-minded, active people. We’ve got the trip for you.

An all new itinerary for 2014 will take us to Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. You’ll explore the Caribbean, you’ll run or walk in some of the most enchanting places on earth, and you’ll do it friends.

For more information, or to book the trip: The Caribbean Vacation

The best part of both of these vacations is that the Ships serve as hotel, restaurant, and transportation. You unpack ONE time and spend the rest of the week enjoying all that the journey has to offer.

These are truly special trips. If you’ve been on one, you know. If you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to see why these have become some of the most popular active vacations in the world.

For more information, contact Mila at The Cruise Authority or me, John “the Penguin” Bingham

I’ll see you on the Lido Deck…

Filed under: Bingham, family, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, motivation, Penguin, Running, Walking | Tagged: Bingham, Penguin, running, Travel, walking | Leave a Comment »

Looking for Adventure

Posted on June 12, 2013 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

I should mention this at the very beginning. This edition of the Penguin Chronicles has little to do with running – in an absolute sense. It has to do with looking for, and finding, a means of expressing one’s self, one’s joy, one’s desire for some unique experience that defines a moment in one’s life. Come to think of it, maybe it does have something to do with running.

For the past week, Jenny and I have been exploring the Great Smokey Mountains on dual-purpose motorcycles. When my son, Terry, was young he and I did a lot of this kind of riding. The bikes are smallish, the challenges different than those that you find on the roads, and the satisfaction is immense. While Jenny is an accomplished road motorcyclist, this was her first real exposure to dual purpose riding

The plan was simple. Jenny contacted Dan and Debbie of GSM Motorent , arranged to rent a cabin and get some advice on places to ride in the area. What we got was much more than we could have expected. Dan was an old-school motorcyclist that I felt like I had known my entire life, and Debbie made us feel like friends who had stopped by for a visit. It was perfect.

The first afternoon we did a combination of on and off road riding to get a feel for the bikes and the area. The next morning, armed with one of Dan’s route lists we took off to find the checkpoints on the 185 mile route. Our first mistake was forgetting the very detailed maps that Dan had suggested we get. Undaunted, we took on the challenge with nothing but the checkpoints, dead reckoning, a GPS, and our own skills.

Everything went well until we missed a checkpoint and followed a trail that led deeper and deeper into to woods. After about an hour of searching out every Jeep trail and deer path in the area we did what every experienced navigator does; we went back to the last place where we knew were were right.

We found ourselves back on the course and after a quick lunch we headed back into to mountain. Our navigation was dead on and we were having a great time finding the marked and unmarked trails. And then we came to the creek. Or at least it was supposed to be a creek. It was a raging river. Too deep to cross on foot let alone with motorcycles.

By then is was late afternoon and we knew that we’d be losing the light soon. Under the heavy canopy it was already getting dark. We couldn’t go on. We didn’t have a map to figure out another way around the obstacle. And we were running out of daylight. We had no choice but to backtrack for nearly two hours.

Jenny went in to full “adventure racer” mode and flogged her Yamaha. She rode fast and well. She led with complete confidence. I was hanging on for dear life. After a couple of serious “seat puckering moments” we made it back to the gravel roads and eventually to the pavement, and ultimately to the cabin 12 hours and 225 miles after we had started.

We spent the next two days riding around and through the park, on and off road, experiencing great roads, beautiful scenery, and wonderful people.

In the end I learned a very important lesson. At 64 years-old, I’m too young to not be adventurous. But, at 64, I’m too old to be foolish. That’s not always an easy line to find and too often an easy line to cross. Kind of like a mountain trail in the middle of the Smokies.

Waddle on, friends.

John

An Accidental Athlete is available in print and ebooks versions now. BUY THE BOOK

Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

What others are saying: Looking for some motivation to start running and improve your fitness? You’re sure to find some inspiration from John Bingham’s new memoir, “An Accidental Athlete.” As an overweight, uninspired pack-and-a-half-a-day smoker, Bingham realized that he had to make some changes in his life and began running at the age of 43. With wit and humor, Bingham recounts his journey from couch potato to self-proclaimed “adult on-set athlete.”- ESPN Gear Guide

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Facebook Friend-see

Posted on March 10, 2013 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

When Facebook first come into the national consciousness I had no idea what it was or what it could do. I couldn’t even figure out how to get an account so I hired a recent college graduate, a 20-something computer whiz, to establish my Facebook presence. He created two pages; a John Bingham page [Facebook/jjbingham] and a “Penguin” page [Facebook/john the penguin bingham] What I didn’t know then was that the personal page, John Bingham, allowed people to “friend” you. The “penguin” page only allowed people to “like” you. And, as you know, you are limited to 5,000 Facebook friends, a threshold I hit pretty early on.

Not, I must confess, because I actually have 5,000 friends. I just didn’t understand how it all worked; when someone send a friend request I eagerly accepted it.

This morning when I opened my Facebook page and saw the collection of “friends” photos I was astonished at what an elegant, if somewhat bizarre, snapshot it was of my life. So, for those of you who are curious, this is who they are: From the top, left to right.

Linda Raymond: My son’s mother and my first wife. I met her when I was 17.
Nancy Stutsman, AKA “theQueen”: An old motorcycling musician friend. We’ve been friends since I was in my 20′s.
Martha Raymond: My son’s stepfather’s sister. We met when I was in my 30′s.
Peter Jacob: The service manager at my local BMW dealership. We’ve argued a bunch but share a passion for motorcycles and good Scotch.
Pat Raymond: My son’s stepfather and one of my oldest friends. We share a long-standing love of motorcycles and a new-found love of our grandchildren.
Jan Loichle: My high-school girlfriend that I haven’t seen or talked to in 45 years. She was the first, and only, girlfriend that convinced me to wear a “steady” sweater.
Evan Wert. A newer friend in the running industry. We discovered early on that we’d rather talk about fast cars then about pronation.
Howard Gould. My son’s mother’s younger brother. I met him when he was 8 or 9 years old.
Michael Sardo: My cousin/nephew. I’ve known him his entire life, through the awkward transition from child to Marine to Chicago Police officer to father. VERY proud of him.

What do all these people in common? Me, I guess. I’m sure, though, that if each of them were to describe the “me” that they knew they would be very different “me’s”. Jan would remember the high school John the drove his sports car inside the school. [that's not Jan in the photo]

The “Queen” would remember a pretty decent bass trombone player who could “wheelie” any motorcycle ever made including a full-dress Yamaha XS1100.

Howard would remember a Steve McQueen wannabe who showed up at his parent’s home on a Honda 305 Scrambler. I don’t know how cool he thought I was, but I know how cool I THOUGHT I was.

Michael would remember an uncle that took him camping for the first time and explained that the bathroom was a stand of trees. Years later as a young Marine in Desert Shield, I’m sure a nice tree would have been welcomed.

Pat Raymond would remember working together at Cycles Incorporated and a time when riding was as important as breathing. He might remember 3 guys sleeping in a two-man tent in the rain. [that's Pat with our oldest grandson at the MotoGP race at Indianapolis. In the backround is my son and younger grandson with our buddy John]

In the end, though, this snapshot brings more memories to me than to any of them. It is a reminder of how far I’ve come, how difficult that path has been at times, how important certain people have been in my life whether they were there for a few months or 40 years, and of how fortunate I’ve been to have ever been able to call each of them “friend.”

It may be my age speaking, because the theme song from Golden Girls is ringing in my ears. I’d to say to every one of them: “Thank you for being a friend.”

John

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Groundhog Day

Posted on February 2, 2012 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

If you haven’t seen the movie Groundhog Day, I strongly encourage you to see it. I think it’s Bill Murray’s best work. The movie is funny enough on it’s face, but if you look beyond the gags the allegory is really poignant. I don’t think it gives away the plot to suggest that the point is that until you’re willing to take some risks and take action to change your life you’ll be living the same day over-and-over even if the calendar date changes.

That was certainly the case for me. There were lots of external changes in my life. I went from being in school to being in grad school to being in the Army to being back in school to getting a job and so it went. I was married. I was not married. I was married again. And so it went.

I changed jobs, changed careers, changed the geography of my life and yet, sooner or later, everything that I had been became everything that I was: again. Like so many people I weighed too much, I ate too much, and I drank too much. So I tried eating less, drinking less, cutting out carbs and fats and protien. I ate nuts and bananas, eggs and cheese, fat free yogurt and low fat peanut butter. For a while.

But who I was always resurfaced. It didn’t matter what I did to the outside of myself the inside of me stayed the same. I was going around in circles. Every day was the same day. It was the movie Groundhog Day and I was the star.

It all changed the day I took my first run. It was more of a walk, or a waddle, or a stumble. It was movement. Forward movement. And even though I ended up where I started out I knew that I had gone somewhere. That experience of moving – slow, steady, relentless moving – was new. Something was changing. Slowly, for sure, but changing. I was changing. With each run I got farther away from who I’d been and closer to who I was becoming.

So when I watch Bill Murray finally come to grips with the truth that the biggest problem in his life was that he was the one living it, I smile. When I remember all the excuses I had for not being active, for not eating better, for not living a life with more purpose, I smile. It was never relationships or bosses or experiences that help me back. It was me.

If your life feels like Groundhog Day, I understand. I’ve been there. I lived there.

But I can tell you that it doesn’t have to stay that way. Life can change. YOU can change. And you can do it with nothing more than your own two feet.

Waddle on,

John

An Accidental Athlete is available in print and ebooks versions now. BUY THE BOOK

Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

What others are saying: Looking for some motiviation to start running and improve your fitness? You’re sure to find some inspiration from John Bingham’s new memoir, “An Accidental Athlete.” As an overweight, uninspired pack-and-a-half-a-day smoker, Bingham realized that he had to make some changes in his life and began running at the age of 43. With wit and humor, Bingham recounts his journey from couch potato to self-proclaimed “adult on-set athlete.”- ESPN Gear Guide

Filed under: Bingham, family, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, motivation, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: 100days, Bingham, column, media, Penguin, running, walking | 1 Comment »

Veteran’s Day

Posted on November 10, 2011 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

I’m an Army veteran. 5 1/2 years active duty and 6 months of reserve. I’m one of a generation of men who had to register for the draft and – in the year of the draft lottery – put our lives on hold while we waited to see if our number would be called. Men my age remember their draft lottery number. Mine was 165. My number was drawn on December 29, 1970. On January 1, 1971 I would have been clear.

I was one of the very lucky ones. I auditioned for, and was accepted into THE U.S. Army Band [Pershing's Own] in Washington, DC. My son, on the far left of the photo, is now in the same band. We both went to Fort Leonard Wood for Army Basic Training and we share a common experience that most fathers and sons don’t have.

Last Christmas he went with the Sergeant Major of the Army’s holiday tour to Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I was there the morning he got dressed to go. He wasn’t a trumpet player. He was a soldier. He would perform when had to, but when he wasn’t on stage he’d have a weapon on his hip.

As I watched him go I was overwhelmed with fear, and he was going to be gone for 10 days. I can’t imagine what it must be like for the parents, wives, husbands, and loved ones of the men and women who are being deployed. I don’t know how they live their lives knowing that the person that they love is so far away and – in many cases – in harms way.

When one enlists in any of the Armed Forces one swears to support and defend the Constitution. To support and defend. Everyone on active duty and every veteran shares that common experience. We all, at some point, raised our right hand as swore to something without hesitation. It’s what separates us from those who have never served.

This is not a political statement. I’m not for war. Or against war. This is a parental statement. This is a thank you to all who have served and a thank you to all who have loved those who have served.

There have always been warriors among us. There are warriors among us now. Let us take a day to honor them, to celebrate them, and to remember them.

From one vet to all others, thank you.

John

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The Italian Job

Posted on October 12, 2011 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

There’s something magical about Florence, Italy. People have know that for centuries, but even so, being there it’s impossible not to marvel at the beauty, history, and – well – magic of Florence. This photo, which looks a lot like some of the water-color paintings in the Uffizi Gallery, was taken with an iPhone from the balcony of my room at the Plaza Hotel Lucchesi. That’s the Arno river in the foreground. It had been raining and this photo was taken just as the rain stopped.

I’m not saying I’m a great photographer. I’m just saying that in Florence you can just about turn in any direction at any time, take a photo, and you’ll have something you want to keep.

I was in Florence because we were hosting the Marathon di Tuscany. You can go to the Facebook page to see all the photos. It was an amazing trip with about 70 of our closest friends. It wasn’t an easy week of running and walking. But, I think everyone went home weary but happy.

This was not my first trip to Florence. The first time I walked the streets of Florence was over 20 years ago during a very tumultuous time in my life. I think I was so absorbed in the chaos of my own life that I couldn’t see beyond myself to the beauty of Florence. The next time I was there, in 1996, was less chaotic but I still wasn’t open to all the Florence was, and is. In subsequent visits I ran the Florence Marathon a couple of times, got to know some of the local Italian runners, and began to get sense that there was a Florence beyond the art and museums.

Seeing Florence, and more broadly, Tuscany, was like being there for the very first time. I walked streets I had never walked, visited places I had never visited, and experienced the magic of Florence in a whole new way. In part that was by seeing the area through the eyes of the participants in the Marathon di Tuscany. Knowing that they were literally discovering Tuscany with there own two feet made it all the more interesting to me.

I was able to see past the history and even the beauty of Tuscany to what is, to me, more important. I was able to see into the eyes and lives of the people there. I was able to connect with the staff at the hotel, the bus drivers, the servers at the restaurant, the race organizers and local runners. I wasn’t separated from them by culture or geography or politics. I was united with them by common goals and shared values. What we couldn’t understand because of our language barrier was easily overcome by our desire to communicate.

In the end I left Florence this time with more than I had come with. I had found what I had been looking for all those other times. I had found a part of myself that felt like it was home.

Waddle on, friends.

John

An Accidental Athlete is available now. BUY THE BOOK

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What others are saying: Read your book, loved it, it was wonderful. It made me laugh, it made me cry. In it I saw glimpses of myself. I may be old and I may be slow, but I am an Athlete, I am a Competitor, I am a Runner! Wow, thanks John, for enabling me to see that! D W, Senior-Onset Athlete

John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.

Order your copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.

Have a question for John? Write him.

Filed under: Bingham, family, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, motivation, Penguin, Running, Walking | Tagged: Bingham, Italy, Penguin, Travel, walking | Leave a Comment »

Passing the Baton

Posted on September 14, 2011 by John "the Penguin" Bingham

I’ll tell you up front that this blog has nothing to do with running. Or at least, not much. The beauty of having a blog called “The Penguin Chronicles” – seeing as how I’m the Penguin – is that it doesn’t have to do anything except chronicle. So that’s that.

I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t interested in, and in fact crazy about, motorcycles. The neighbor across the street had a shiny red BSA when I was growing up. He had the leather jacket and everything thing. He was COOL. When he eventually got a Harley-Davidson Sportster I was in awe.

My uncle showed up with a Sears moped when I was about 12 years-old. My cousin and I rode it nearly non stop for days. Then, just as suddenly, it disappeared. I think someone must have worried that we’d get hurt.

A friend had an old Cushman motor scooter. Not one of the cool Cushman Eagles that are still VERY collectible. Nope. This was the base model with a tw0-speed manual transmission with the shifter on the left side of the gas tank. Whenever he let me I’d ride that scooter for hours. No one in my circle of friends was cooler than me. My senior year in high school I nearly had my parents talked in to my getting a new Triumph Bonneville until a crashed a different friend’s Honda 65.

I bought my first motorcycle, a very used Honda CL77 [305 Scrambler] with my first tax refund. It was the best $300 I ever spent. I won’t bore you with the litany of motorcycles that I’ve owned – well over 60 – but I can tell you that I remember every one of them. I worked for 10 years in a motorcycle dealership and I can remember nearly every motorcycle I ever even sat on.

My son started riding in front of me, sitting on the edge of the seat and gas tank, and hanging on to the handlebars when he was not much older than 2. He went to his first day of school in a BMW sidecar. He got HIS first motorcycle, and Honda Z50, when he was 7. He’s now 40 and that very Z50 is being restored by his step dad. And I’ve got a pretty good idea whose going to be riding it.

The first photo is of my 6 year-old grandson, Hunter, on HIS first ride. Yamaha was offering a “Learn-to-Ride” experience for kids from 2-12 at the MotoGP races at Indianapolis. His “Opa”, Pat, another old-school motorcycle enthusiast and I just looked at each other and KNEW it HAD to be. Hunter HAD to learn to ride THAT day. And ride he did. He bounced off the hay bales once, popped up, and never looked back.

There are hundreds of recreational lifestyles, from fishing and hunting to boating, camping, and more. If we’re lucky we enjoy one of these lifestyles ourselves. If we’re REALLY lucky,we get to pass that interest on from generation to generation.

I now have two recreational passions in my life. Running and motorcycles. The second photo is Hunter running. I am committed to exposes my grandchildren to both of my passions. It’s the only way that I can think of to help them experience the joy that I have.

Waddle on, friends.

John

An Accidental Athlete is available now. BUY THE BOOK

Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.

Order your copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.

Have a question for John? Write him.

Filed under: Bingham, family, John "the Penguin" Bingham, motorcycling, Penguin, Running | Tagged: Bingham, motorcycle, Penguin, summer | 2 Comments »

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