Paul Ballinger (born 25 March 1953) is a retired long-distance runner from New Zealand, who won the 1982 edition of the Fukuoka Marathon, clocking 2:10:15 on 5 December 1982 setting the current national record. A year later he finished in 27th place (2:16:06) at the inaugural 1983 World Championships. He is a four-time national champion for New Zealand in the marathon. At the 1978 Commonwealth Games he finished 6th in the marathon with a time of 2:17:46.