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Once a Runner is a novel by American author John L. Parker Jr. and was first published in 1978 by Cedarwinds (0915297019). In Once a Runner, Parker illustrates the hard work and dedication required of an elite runner. A reissue was released in 2009. The novel was followed by the sequel Again to Carthage in 2008 and the prequel Racing the Rain in 2015.
The novel opens with a physically fit young man standing on a track, watching as "the night joggers" toil around him. He begins to walk toward the starting post and thinks that now that the Olympic games are over for him, he does not know what he will do with his life. The man starts to walk around the track and thinks back to four years ago.
Quenton Cassidy is a collegiate runner at fictional Southeastern University based on the University of Florida. He is a mid-distance runner who specializes in the Mile. After writing a petition for the college's athletes protesting a dress and conduct code, Quenton is suspended from the university and prohibited from competing in the university's annual track meet. Cassidy drops out, moves to a cabin in the woods, and submits himself to a brutal training regimen. He is under the coaching of fictional gold medalist Olympian Bruce Denton, based on Jack Bacheler. His plan is to compete at the Southeastern Relays against the best miler in the world, John Walton (obviously based on John Walker). Because he is barred from competing at the meet, Denton comes up with a plan to disguise him as a Finnish runner attending a nonexistent university in Ohio.
Cassidy, who has always dreamed of running a sub 4:00 mile, spends many months training for the race of his life, urged on by Denton, who is nearing the end of his running career due to injuries. After completing an agonizing interval workout of 60 quarter miles, Cassidy finally believes he is ready to face Walton. The night before the race, Cassidy performs a ritual of his to prepare himself for the meet—he walks a mile on the Southeastern track, putting all of his "demons" in a symbolic "orb" that will hold them in during the race and allow him to push through the pain.
The next day, Cassidy arrives disguised at the meet but spends more than an hour warming up on the cross-country course near the track. As the race draws nearer, Quenton fights to keep control of his adrenaline and anxiety, waiting until the race starts so he can unleash them. A large part of a chapter is devoted to the race itself, which comes down to a contest between Cassidy and Walton in the final lap. The novel describes the effect lactic acid has on Quenton as he fights to close in on Walton, who has a slight lead. Excruciatingly, Cassidy reels Walton in and outsprints him in the final straight to win the race in a time of 3:52.5.
After the race, the scene changes back to Cassidy standing at the Southeastern track, walking through the last lap of a mile. Quenton reflects upon his running career and realizes that while it is over for him, there is much to be left behind on the track. When he reaches the end of the lap, he reaches into his bag and pulls out a box with a silver Olympic medal inside. Cassidy thinks to himself that he can live with leaving behind his old life, and with a bittersweet feeling walks off into the night.
Once a Runner, while dismissed by some critics as a cult classic that generally appeals only to competitive runners, has received considerable critical praise from Sports Illustrated, Track & Field News,[ citation needed ] and Runner's World. [1]
Sir John George Walker, is a former middle-distance runner from New Zealand who won the gold medal in the men's 1500 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He was also the first person to run the mile in under 3:50. In more recent years, Walker has been active in local government, as an Auckland Councillor and representing the Manurewa-Papakura ward.
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile.
Robert LeRoy Parker, better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West.
Steve Scott is an American former track athlete and one of the greatest mile runners in American history. The silver medalist in the 1500 meters at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in 1983, Scott owns the U.S. indoor record in the 2000 meters (4:58.6-1981). He held the American outdoor mile record for more than 26 years and also is the former American indoor record holder in the same event. Track & Field News ranked Scott #1 in the U.S. on 10 occasions, and 11 times during his career he was ranked in the top ten in the world by T&FN. Additionally, he participated for the US team at the 1984 Olympics. He finished 5th in the 1500 meter run at the 1988 Olympics held in Korea. Scott was also an Olympian on the 1980 Olympics team which was not allowed to go to Moscow. He ran the sub four-minute mile on 136 occasions in his career, more than any other runner in history.
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and was preparing for the 1976 Olympics with the Oregon Track Club at the time of his death in 1975.
John Michael Landy was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre run and the mile race. He was also the 26th Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.
Abel Richard Kiviat was an American track coach, press agent, and highly accomplished middle-distance runner. He won a gold medal in the 3000m team race, and a silver medal in the 1500m at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. He was the oldest living American Olympic medalist at the time of his death. He competed for and coached the Irish American Athletic Club, and was later a member of the New York Athletic Club.
Norman Stephen Taber was an American middle distance runner. He was the first amateur runner to surpass Walter George's professional record in the mile, set nearly 30 years previously. He also won a bronze medal over 1500 m and a gold medal in the team 3000 m at the Olympic Games in Stockholm 1912.
Again to Carthage is a novel by American author John L. Parker Jr. initially published April 1, 2008. It is the sequel to 1978 book Once a Runner.
Thomas Conneff was an amateur Irish runner who held the amateur record for the fastest mile from 1895 to 1911.
William J. Cummings was a Scottish professional runner who held the record for the mile in the 19th century and is perhaps best remembered for a series of races against Walter George, a top amateur runner who turned professional in part to challenge Cummings.
Walter Goodall George was a nineteenth-century British runner from Calne who after setting numerous world records as an amateur, went professional in part to challenge the mile record-holder William Cummings, defeating him in several highly publicized races. In one of those races on 23 August 1886, he set a mile record which was not surpassed for almost 30 years.
John Paul Jones was an American track athlete who set several world records in the mile, including the first mile record to be ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1913.
John L. Parker Jr. is an American writer and the author of the cult classic novel Once A Runner and the more recently published Again to Carthage and Racing the Rain. The trilogy chronicles the struggles of Quenton Cassidy, a middle-distance runner.
Mervyn George "Merv" Lincoln was an Australian middle-distance runner who won a silver medal in the mile run at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and twice competed in the Summer Olympic Games.
The Bill Steers Men's 4-Miler is the only all men's run in the Charlottesville area. The race was rededicated as a tribute to William D. Steers in 2015. It is an annual event hosted by the Charlottesville Track Club. The event has also been sponsored by Panera Bread, BMW of Charlottesville, Starbucks, Pepsi and the City of Charlottesville. The City of Charlottesville also hosts the Women's Four Miler to benefit the UVA Cancer Center Breast Care Program. The event, held continuously since 2004, was conceived by William D. Steers with the purpose of raising awareness on men's health issues; to encourage men to take control of their health, and become more physically active.
Tracy Evans Smith is a former American distance runner. He was a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team, competing in the 10,000 meters. He was ranked multiple times by Track & Field News as the No. 1 U.S. 5,000- and 10,000-meter runner in the mid- to late 1960s, and was a six-time AAU National Champion from 1966 to 1973, winning outdoors in the 3-mile, 6-mile and 10,000 meters, and three times in the indoor 3-mile. He was a three-time world record holder in the indoor 3-mile.
Cristian Soratos is an American professional middle-distance runner. Born in Salinas, California, he first took up competitive running at Salinas High School. He then ran at Hartnell College where he eventually became All-State, after which he was recruited to Montana State University. After running several races at high altitude, Soratos ran his first sub-4 minute mile in 2015, and went on to emerge as one of the fastest collegiate runners in the United States. On June 25, 2015, he became a professional runner when he signed a contract to be sponsored by Adidas.
Racing the Rain is a novel by American author John L. Parker Jr. initially published July 14, 2015. It is the prequel to Parker's 1978 New York Times Bestseller Once a Runner and is part of the Once a Runner Trilogy. Racing the Rain is a coming of age story that tells a story of how Quenton Cassidy, who just so happens to be the main character of the novel: Once a Runner, discovers his exceptional running ability and develops the work ethic to become a great athlete.
Joe Klecker is an American long-distance runner. After a successful collegiate career with the Colorado Buffaloes he turned professional in 2020 joining the On Athletics Club coached by Dathan Ritzenhein. Klecker holds personal bests of 3:37.00 for 1500m, 7:34.14 for 3000m, 12:54.99 for 5000m, and 27:07.57 for 10000m, all set as a part of the On Athletics Club