Once a Runner

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Summary: I've never read a more inspirational book
Review: Once a runner is the most inspirational book about running that I have ever read. Currently I am on a Track and Cross Country team. This book totally helped me take my training up to the next level.

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Summary: the best depiction of what running is all about!!!
Review: john parker associates this book so closely to what running really feels like it is incredible, the best book I HAVE EVER READ!!!

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Summary: ...provides motivation to help me run harder and faster.
Review: Cassaday's everyday toil with running and becoming the best is a very real-life depiction of how to be the best runner you can be. He sets an example of how hard work pays off, and how running is real. Through his turmoil with the school's authority and girlfriend problems this book is not only made for runners, but for anyone who enjoys good writing and a story of a person driven to attain a goal.

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Summary: Viren, Pre, Shorter, Zatopek, they¿re all here in fiction.
Review: A rare, gem of running lore. You won't find a more pithy, well-hewn tome from which sweat and memories of racing and training flow. This work is a classic as it embodies what it is like to run competetively at the elite college and professional level.Quotes such as The lean wolf leads the pack", "If the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn," and Gaunt is beautiful" can be found here and will be spewed with abandon by those so moved from the book's wiry characters.

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Summary: "There is no secret"
Review: I've been involved in the sport since 1972, and I learned more about training from this novel than from all the books on training theory I've ever read... and as a coach, athlete, and fan, I've read plenty. Parker portrays a world of a true champion -- one in which we spend our time actually training rather than just thinking about it. In short, "There is no secret." The chapter entitled "Breaking Down" captures the true runner's zeitgeist as nothing else ever has. But it's not just an elitist's novel; it's an exciting story that captures heart and soul devotion to excellence. I re-read the book whenever I need a mental boost.

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Summary: Without a doubt, the truest book I've ever read.
Review: This book delves into the life of a runner and offers as true a glimpse as I've ever seen into what it's like to put oneself in great discomfort on a daily basis, all for the sake of trying to prove something to yourself. Quenton Cassidy embodies the mind, spirit, and soul of a runner, no matter the skill level or speed. His troubles become yours as you read the book, as do his triumphs. Parker captured what it is to be a runner and was able to answer in perfect sense the question that every distance runner is asked at one time or another: why do you do it?

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Summary: This is the best inspirational book I have ever read!
Review: Once A Runner is a great book for all runners to read. I run a lot and use this book to inspire me when I do not want to run on certain days. My whole team has bought a copy and we are all reading it. Our coach likes it so much that he reads passages from it before meets. Reading the chapter "Orb" gives me and my friends ways to visualize our upcoming races. When I read this book my heart started to beat faster and I could not stop reading it. It is a great book and shows the true feelings of a runner at any level. I would reccommend this book to any runner and anyone else who wants to see how it feels to be a runner.

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Summary: Entertaining, funny, clever, engaging, exhilarating finish.
Review: I laughed out loud, I was engaged by the cleverness of the dialogues, I was thoroughly entertained by the masterful mischief of Quenton Cassidy, my heart pounded for the last twenty pages...I hated the fact that the book ended. For a day and a half, I was inside the mind of a world-class runner. I felt his joy, laughed with him, felt his pain, felt his anger and shared in his amazing triumphs. Thank you John Parker for a world-class work of art! Far and away, one of the best books I have ever read. I have bought several copies to hand out to fellow runners and non-runners.

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Summary: Best book I have ever read......need I say more
Review: It will change the way you think about track, running, or challenging yourself and meeting your goals, no matter how high your goals are.

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Summary: TRULY A BOOK YOU CAN'T PUT DOWN!!!
Review: BEWARE!!! Buy this book and your training may suffer because you won't be able to put it down!!