No Category selected Book Review: Once a Runner

    Book Review: Once a Runner

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    I finally got to read Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr.

    It originally came out in 1978, self-published and sold out of the trunk of the author’s car at running events.  It went out of print for years.  I scoured second-hand stores and used book sales thinking I might just get lucky and stumble across a copy that no one but a book dealer would realize was worth a lot.  And I do mean a lot.  I read that they were going on Ebay for over $300!

    Described as a cult-classic for runners, I was feeling left out.  I started to think I would never get to read it!

    Thankfully, a sequel called Again to Carthage was published, so the original was re-released in April of 2009.  I got Again to Carthage for my birthday last year, but patiently wanted to read the first one first.  After all, I didn’t want to miss any important character development and risk not “getting it.”

    I won’t give a synopsis or link to the Wikipedia page because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet.  I will just say that it is worth a read.  The characters that stay with you through the whole story are very intense, yet very real.  I’ll admit, it kind of cracked me up that real-life runner Frank Shorter makes a brief appearance in the book; apparently he was friends with the author.

    Interestingly, my experience reading it was much like a training cycle.  I picked up the book, hard cover and brand new, and it felt fresh and good in my hands.  It started off light, building to some more intense moments and some agonizing lows.   Just like race day, the climax came as nearly the last thing, only a few pages from the end, but it wasn’t over quickly.  Then it dropped off with just a short wrap up; not enough to leave you feeling let down by the ending.  And just like the days following a race, I felt spent, yet satisfied, with no intense need to pick up the sequel right away.  I rode out the high, just like in real-life.

    Now that it’s over, and I have had time to process, I am just about ready to start the next one.  I’ll try to take it easy and not overtrain – er…read it too fast.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

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    A runner for just over four years, Karen has already completed a marathon, two half marathons and a variety of 5k and 10k races. She describes her first marathon - the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last September - as "a nightmare." However, she met a very interesting person in the process - a man named Sydney who was running his 152nd marathon! Although the race didn't go as well as planned for Karen or Sydney, he showed her that no matter how experienced a runner you are, you can still have a bad day. "Does that mean we shouldn't bother to prepare, or maybe just shouldn't bother at all? Of course not!" says Karen. "In the end, it is what we make it." We like her optimism!