Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr.

Okay, so it has been a while since I have done one of these.  Life has been busy and I just never found the time, so here goes the first of two new book reviews.  The first is for John L. Parker, Jr.'s Once A Runner.  You will often see this one described as the best running book ever written.  And while I haven't read them all, I think you would be hard pressed to find one better than this.  I am not a runner myself, but my son is and he has turned me into a student of the sport.  Even though it was fictional, this novel gives some great insight into the training and mental state of elite level runners.  

 Once A Runner is the story of Quenton Cassidy, a star collegiate runner at Southeastern University in the 1960's.  He dreams of breaking the 4:00 barrier in the mile and is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish this goal.  Amid growing discontent among the athletes and athletic department policies, Quenton spearheads a protest.  And as the face of this protest, he faces the most severe consequences, indefinite suspension.  This means no more running for the university he has so proudly represented.  But his good friend, mentor, and Olympic gold medalist Bruce Denton gives him an alternative.  Go live by yourself in the woods and train like you have never trained before.  In preparation for a race against the world's best miler, Quenton takes Bruce's advice and pushes himself to the limit in the hopes that he will find a way into the race that could change his life.

This story is fun, heartwarming, and inspiring and would be a fantastic read for anyone who likes a good story.  You don't have to be a runner to find yourself rooting for Quenton Cassidy as he sprints down the homestretch!

 

From Amazon: 

The undisputed classic of running novels and one of the most beloved sports books ever published, Once a Runner tells the story of an athlete’s dreams amid the turmoil of the 60s and the Vietnam war.

Inspired by the author’s experience as a collegiate champion, the novel follows Quenton Cassidy, a competitive runner at fictional Southeastern University whose lifelong dream is to run a four-minute mile. He is less than a second away when the turmoil of the Vietnam War era intrudes into the staid recesses of his school’s athletic department. After he becomes involved in an athletes’ protest, Cassidy is suspended from his track team. Under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Bruce Denton, a graduate student and former Olympic gold medalist, Cassidy gives up his scholarship, his girlfriend, and possibly his future to withdraw to a monastic retreat in the countryside and begin training for the race of his life against the greatest miler in history.

A rare insider’s account of the incredibly intense lives of elite distance runners, Once a Runner is an inspiring, funny, and spot-on tale of one individual’s quest to become a champion.