Once a Runner

Rating:
Summary: Cult Running Classic Inspires All
Review: Hello All!

I run Divisin III Cross-Country and Track for Colorado College in Colrado Springs, CO. I have been running since 7th grade, yet somehow I managed to miss reading ONCE A RUNNER until this summer. This is the premire running novel! It is the cure all for those days when you are having a hard time getting motivated. After 10 months of training, it is easy to get a little burned out. After reading the Interval Workout chapter, I remain inspired to dedicate my life to the sport. For all runners out there (and those trying to understand us) you can't find a better read!

Rating:
Summary: RUNNERS MUST READ
Review: Any serious runner, or anyone who loves the sport, is missing out if they have not read this. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. Parker has an incredible ability to put into words what we all feel every day in training and on race day. I am positive that any competitive runner would love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good for Runners
Review: This book captivated me after reading an early chapter on Bruce Denton. I run 15 a day and the book has running described well enough for runners to appreciate it, but while it has a well developed plot and certain great sections like the night before the race and the interval workout, there are too many chapters that were copmpletely unnecessary. The well developed plot had me wanting to keep reading about the running, but there were too many poorly written sections on dumb secretaries and clumsy pranks that spoiled the book. "Once a Runner" has a terrific ending, but the trashy sections almost stopped me from getting there.

Rating:
Summary: A Reintroduction to a Sport
Review: I recently decided to reread this story. As a former high school and college runner, "Once A Runner" had been my running bible. As I began to read certain scenes of races and workouts, I actually began to sweat. The joy of physical activity that I had once known all to well was actually coming back to me. This book has the unique ability to recreate a feeling. I found myself wanting to run again. As a result, I went out and ran a race the very next day, the first race that I had run in ten years. I did not stop there, but decided to embark again on a running program. Once called the "The Olympian" for the seventies, this book has remained the best work of running fiction for its nearly thirty years. It is now the standard by which all other running novels should be measured.

Rating:
Summary: A revieling work into another world
Review: Once a Runner gives the reader and insight into the obsesive but often beutiful world of the seriouse runner. The main character, Quinton Cassidy, is the captain of his college cross country team and a nationally reknown miler. Through trials of miles, he learns what it means to be a true runner and breaks all mental barriers he hits along the way. I loved Once a Runner because being a high school runner, I could relate to it well. I can say with little doubt that any runner would appreciate this book; it is one of the finest books writen on the sport. But, those ignorant to seriouse running have perhaps the most potential to really get alot out of the book. Parker describes the world of a hardcore runner so well that anyone could uderstand and fell the pain Cassidy does day in and day out. After reading this, I would not be surprised to see people emmulate it. So if you need a shot for your own personal running mentality or want to learn about something new read Once A Runner.

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Summary: The Incisive Wit of John L. Parker
Review: American novelist Wright Morris, in "The Huge Season," wrote: "Old man, a book can have Chicago in it and not be about Chicago. It can have a tennis player in it without being about a tennis player." Similarly, John L. Parker's "Once A Runner" chronicles the exploits of stellar collegiate miler Quentin Cassidy, but is about more than just running. On one level, it is a light read, full of surprises and funny anecdotes, but moving steadily towards an exciting climax. On a much deeper level, however, it is a story about overcoming adversity, dealing with lost love, and coping with failure. Parker's novel will be loved by avid runners and non-athletes alike, if not for its incisive insight into the nature of collegiate competition, than for its compelling storyline.

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Summary: community college creative writing evening class
Review: After reading Running with the Buffaloes I searched for more running-related books and came across this one. The title alone should have been warning enough as to just how awful this book is. Anyone who has sat through a creative writing class will recognize this: it's written by the guy in the class who just read Catcher in the Rye and decided that he could write something like it.

The characters in this book, all of them, and their relationships are unbelievable. The smart people are too smart; the dumb people too dumb. The dialogue and description made me wince.

One shouldn't love a running novel merely because one loves running - the only explanation I can think of for all the exceptional reviews I see here on Amazon for this book. (Geez, one person exclaimed it was the best book he'd ever read!)

I noticed that the author has another book out titled, Runners and Other Dreamers. Now that sounds good.

Rating:
Summary: overrated
Review: What does one want from a running book? A good story? Good descriptions of running? This book is short on both. The characters are very flat, the story is trite and the running scenes are mediocre. Among runners it is very popular; I suppose this is because they are desirous of anything connected with their normally marginalized sport. I am a runner, so I can sympathize, but I can not concur in calling this book "good" or "great". It is written for runners by a runner; a runner who, can not write, I might add: a good high school writer could have come up with such slop. Poorly conceived, poorly written. It will make no waves outside of running circles. Only a novel which aspires to be great literature as well as great literature about running will be successful or worth reading. Borrow this from a friend or find it at the library, but dont expect "a cult classic". The classic novel on running is yet to be written.

Rating:
Summary: It will make you believe
Review: Once a Runner is a book about more than running. It is a book about sacrifice, and having a willingness to do things many would find ridiculous, in order to achieve a goal. This story touchs upon the rigors of what it is really like to be an elite distance runner. Anyone who ever wonders why people run will find their questions answered in this book. The protagonist, Quentin Cassidy, is a humble hero. He represents what is possible when one combines a humble yet confident demeanor, with a willingness to undertake the most rigorous of training regimens. My teammate and I in college spent many a night talking about trying to do the interval workout, which is one of the best chapters in the book. The first time I read it I showed up to a class a half hour late because I couldn't put the book down until I had finished. I remember my first year of college, when another freshman was reading the book in front of a 5th year all-american. The all-american asked him what he was reading, what it was about, and if it was a good book. The freshman started to explain it. After a couple minutes of animated description by the freshman, the all-american smiled and said "I know, i've read that book five times."

Rating:
Summary: Truly Inspirational
Review: I bought this book one Saturday morning at a running supply shop looking for a new pair of running shoes. Went home and began reading it though i wasn't able to put the book down! I finished "Once a Runner" that night and went out to run a memerable 12 miles. This book definitely touches on the deepness of the running spirit.