The race name has an interesting history. The term “penguin” was coined by the friends of John Bingham over 15 years ago because of his “waddling” pace. The term has gained international notoriety by the “back of the pack” marathoners who finish around 5 hours or longer. Marathon Charity Cooperation (MCC) coach, John Steitz, was named as our Penguins coach to train our slower runners. John is a staunch advocate for the “back of the pack” marathoners who endure the course for hours longer than the average marathoner.
Marathon Charity Cooperation, who sponsors the race, had previously used the DCRRC National Capital 20-Miler as one of our longest runs to test the fitness of our Summer Training Program (STP) runners. Working with DCRRC for several years, they were not at all accommodating to our Penguin runners as they imposed a 4 hour time limit for their race. So, MCC started our own race and named it “Revenge of the Penguins” since we do not have a time limit and promise to hold the finish line open until the last runner finishes. Penguins Rule!