Once a Runner

Rating:
Summary: For TRUE runners
Review: Once is the book read by many top collegiate distance programs across the country. Cassidy represents all runners who seek to be the best. This is not a book for the happy-go-lucky "Runner's World" readers who think a 35 minute 10k or running on the treadmill when it rains outside is what running is about. A true runner runs when he doesn't want to, has quirks that come out when doing it, and puts his heart into it--just as Quentin Cassidy. An inspirational book for those that laugh when people ask them the Secret to running, why they run, and other things only runners understand. Miles of Trials. . .

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: A Slightly-Included Running Gem
Review: The quaking of your mattress upon waking in the morning, driven by the slow pumping of your supercharged heart muscle. The harsh forms of retribution imposed on upstart "workout heroes" by track team veterans. The nearly intolerable psychological contortions required to rev up the psyche in those eternal moments before a big race. The sheer torture experienced by the middle-distance runner as the will to win clashes with a body in the throes of anaerobic respiration. And, most of all, the obsession and single-minded focus required to become a champion.

By finding the right words to capture these kinds of experiences, "Once a Runner" has rightfully earned its cult status as the classic running novel. The basic plot is simple and unadorned: Quentin Cassidy, a senior at Southeastern University, embarks on a quest to become the best four-lap runner he can be. Everything else in his life be damned, as it must be, for distance running is the ultimate jealous mistress.

"Once a Runner" creates the archetypal runner hero and uses him to convey the inner world of the competitive distance runner like nothing I've ever read, but it unfortunately suffers from a number of literary shortfalls. Much of the conflict between Cassidy and the monsters who populate the university's athletic department comes across as contrived. The portions of the novel that depict this secondary conflict tend to drag and detract from the power of the passages focused on the primary and more convincing conflict (Cassidy versus himself). And the editing of the novel is sub par, with a number of jarring typographical errors breaking the narrative flow.

Shortcomings aside, though, this is a must read for anyone who would like to relive what it was like to lay it all on the line as a competitive runner or for anyone who's considering making the enormous sacrifices necessary to do so in the future.

-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"





Rating:
Summary: Not the way to train
Review: Bad way to train. Running 60 400 meter intervals so that you pee blood and sleep for days is horrible. The younger, more impressionable runners who read this are going to think "no pain, no gain" and go out and hammer it every day, taking little recovery. This will hurt them simply because they'll be going at anaerobic paces, producing lactic acid, and over a few days, their blood will become so acidic that vitamins can't function in it. The effect is that your body isn't getting what it needs when you're still pushing it hard, so not only do you hinder development, your immune system is weakened, and your risk of injury goes up because your muscles are weakened. Your body needs real recovery after hard days to get its blood pH back to normal rather than acidic, and to allow your muscles to develop fully from the day before. This book is telling runners to train completely wrong. The psychological aspect of racing is fine, but what's that if you never did the right work to get you into real shape?

Rating:
Summary: Once a Runner, Always a Runner
Review: "Once a Runner" is the ultimate book for anyone who runs for any reason. Whether it be for sport or for fitness, the book will connect with any runner on multiple levels about the hardships of running and the sheer determination that we all possess. Runners are a different breed, and "Once a Runner" exemplifies that in a way that no other book has accomplished.

"Once a Runner" follows Quenton Cassidy through grueling workouts and hardships in his social life. It describes the sacrifices he makes in order to continue running and highlights both our accomplishments as runners in training and our failures as runners in competition. This novel defines the things that are important in life and the things that are superficial through a metaphor that is so moving that no other book about running could even deem itself comparable.

A must-read, especially for every runner.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!
Review: I loved this book and found it very inspiring. It is great to get into a sports book that is about more than the sport itself. Even as fiction, this book was a great lesson in dedication and achievement. I highly reccomend it.

Rating:
Summary: Pure excellence, but with a disclaimer
Review: There are 87 other reviews here, so all I will do is offer the following breakdown for people interested in buying this book. Put yourself in one of these categories:

a) Competative runners: this is an increadible book, period. The best part about it is reading about a little tiny nuance in Quenton's running life and saying to yourself, "I know exactly what he's talking about, wow", which will happen literally hundreds of times. Your hopefully already-substantial appreciation for the sport will likely increase tenfold with this book.

b) The casual runner, recreational, or other athlete: this is an excellent book and is very highly reccomended. You probably will not appreciate it to it's fullest extent, but there are aspects of the story and how it is told that will be enjoyed by anyone with the capacity for excitement from sports or human physical endeavors.

c) The non-athlete: this book may not make sense to you. Not in the literary sense, but it may seem as though there is little direction in the story, and you might read it and then find yourself thinking that nothing interesting really happened, and you are not really to blame for this. There is still a good chance that you will find it enjoyable, but if you are looking for a piece of literature based on traditional merits (plot, character development, etc) there are likely better books out there for you to spend time on.

Clearly I thought this book was one of the best I've ever read. However, I hope this breakdown about who in particular might enjoy it the most was helpful.

-Andrew

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring read for any runner
Review: I am also a reader that seldom reads a book more than once. This is one of two books I have read many times. Many of the reviews describe this book as an inspiring read for the competitive runner. At its core, running is an individual endeavor and this story and the description of the final race is as relevant to a back-of-the-pack slogger as it is to any competitive speedster. Every time I read this I am reminded of reaching way down deep somewhere to run that last marathon mile and for a few minutes I'm right there inside Quenton's head.

Rating:
Summary: Review from someone whose been running for 25 years
Review: I have read many books on running. This is simply the best of them all. You will laugh. You will get goose bumps. You will sweat and your heart will race. And when you are done, wishing the book did not have to end, you will quietly say 'whoa.'

Rating:
Summary: Once a Runner Rules!
Review: Once a Runner is one of the best books I've ever read. As an avid competitive runner I can say that nothing else I have ever read really captures the mind and the life of runner giving his whole life to the sport. The book is great motivation for anyone who aspires to run faster, go longer, and find true meaning in life along the way. I can't praise this story highly enough.