Once a Runner
A Novel
John L. Parker Jr.
- 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.
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