Book Review: Once A Runner

Hello!

A few weeks back I mentioned that I had bought a copy of Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. to read before the marathon. I pretty much devoured the book within a few short days. This was of course aided by my being on vacation and also having to sit through several hours in the car on the way to the race. But, I also found it difficult to put down the book.

Once a Runner is the story of Quenton Cassidy, a collegiate miler at a university in Florida. The book really describes the life of a competitive distance runner. Quenton is primarily a track athlete, although he also competes less successfully in cross country. Since I am not an elite runner or even a competitive local runner and I never participated in track or cross country, I wasn't sure if I would really identify much with the book. But, I found a lot of the messages rang true. I think this is because although I am a midpacker, I take my training seriously. I get out there when it's windy, when it's raining and when I'm tired. I get my training in whatever is going on and wherever I am. This is the case for a lot of midpackers. We're serious runners despite not being genetically gifted! I think this concept is difficult for a lot of people to understand.

When I tell a nonrunner that I'm going to be racing that weekend, the first question is inevitably "Do you think you'll win?". When I explain to them that, no, I most definitely will not win, the next question is always "So you just do it for fun then?". No! I mean, it is fun, most of the time anyway. But, it's not always fun and I don't only run when it's going to be fun. I don't even run because it is fun. I run because it's my passion and because I can push myself. I run to know what I'm made of and to have some element of unwavering consistancy in my life. I run for PRs and for the satisfying exhaustion of a tough training week. I also run because, more than being "fun" in the amusement park sense, it is joyful. And those are the things that I have in common with the "good" runners of the world.

The book really hones in on some of the key aspects of the distance runner's psyche and experience. It discusses the single mindedness that runners often have and really must have to be very successful. At one point, the author describes the breaking down point where the body is almost to the point of utmost exhuastion and both the body and mind are in a state of malaise. Although not quite to the extent of Cassidy, I have definitely experienced this during marathon training. There is also a portion that discusses the questioning that can occur around that time. Is it worth it? Why do I do this to myself? I've been there. You probably have too.

Once A Runner is a very enjoyable and inspirational read. I would recommend it to any runner. It also is a cult classic, so reading it kind of catches you up with the rest of the global running community. The sequel, Again to Carthage was somewhat recently published. I'm currently listening to it as an audiobook. I don't like it nearly as much as the original so far, but it is really interesting to see the next chapter in Quenton Cassidy's life.

Here are a few quotes that I liked a lot. There are plenty more good ones, but I didn't mark them all down.

Not only to be better than his fellows, but better than himself. To be faster by a tenth of a second, by an inch, by two feet or two yards, than he had been the week or year before. He sought to conquer the physical limitations placed upon him by a three-dimensional world...

Training was a rite of purification; from it came speed, strength. Racing was a rite of death; from it came knowledge. Such rites demand, if they are to be meaningful at all, a certain amount of time spent precisely on the Red Line, where you can lean over the manicured putting green at the edge of the precipice and see exactly nothing.

And probably the best of all:

Running to him was real; the way he did it was the realest thing he knew. It was all joy and woe, hard as diamond; it made him weary beyond comprehension. But it also made him free.

Happy Reading and Running!
Jen