22:
141:. 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
157:
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.
152:
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
130:
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
156:
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
160:
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
75:
153:
to face Walton. The night before the race, Cassidy performs a ritual of his to prepare himself for the meetβhe 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.
161:
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.
196:β The protagonist of the book, Cassidy is a collegiate runner whose dedication to the sport forces him to choose to drop out of school and run under the coaching of Bruce Denton (see below).
226:β The world record holder for the mile, and the first person to run a time under 3 minutes and 50 seconds in the mile. His character is based on that of the famous miler
149:). 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.
172:, while dismissed by some critics as a cult classic that generally appeals only to competitive runners, has received considerable critical praise from
102:, 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
137:
is a collegiate runner at fictional
Southeastern University based on the University of Florida. He is a mid-distance runner who specializes in the
95:
220:β The head football coach at Southeastern. He attempts to have Cassidy expelled from the school for disrupting loyalty among his athletes.
236:β A very large thrower on the Southeastern Track and Field team. He is one of the team captains and greatly respects Cassidy.
254:
145:. His plan is to compete at the Southeastern Relays against the best miler in the world, John Walton (obviously based on
61:
307:
43:
39:
138:
297:
32:
302:
177:
146:
282:
227:
8:
173:
119:
109:
91:
181:
104:
134:
114:
291:
202:β A fictional Olympic champion runner who becomes Cassidy's friend and coach.
142:
46: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
74:
21:
230:. Cassidy's race against him is the novel's climactic moment.
255:"John L. Parker, Jr., Pens 'Once a Runner' Prequel"
289:
131:the track and thinks back to four years ago.
62:Learn how and when to remove this message
73:
290:
208:β Cassidy's best friend and teammate.
164:
44:adding citations to reliable sources
15:
94:and was first published in 1978 by
13:
14:
319:
276:
20:
125:
31:needs additional citations for
247:
90:is a novel by American author
1:
240:
187:
7:
10:
324:
214:β Cassidy's girlfriend.
178:Track & Field News
82:
308:Novels set in Florida
77:
298:1978 American novels
40:improve this article
283:LetsRun Discussion
174:Sports Illustrated
165:Critical reception
98:(0915297019). In
92:John L. Parker Jr.
83:
105:Again to Carthage
72:
71:
64:
315:
270:
269:
267:
266:
251:
112:and the prequel
67:
60:
56:
53:
47:
24:
16:
323:
322:
318:
317:
316:
314:
313:
312:
288:
287:
279:
274:
273:
264:
262:
253:
252:
248:
243:
194:Quenton Cassidy
190:
167:
135:Quenton Cassidy
128:
115:Racing the Rain
68:
57:
51:
48:
37:
25:
12:
11:
5:
321:
311:
310:
305:
300:
286:
285:
278:
277:External links
275:
272:
271:
259:Runner's World
245:
244:
242:
239:
238:
237:
231:
221:
215:
212:Andrea Cleland
209:
203:
197:
189:
186:
182:Runner's World
166:
163:
127:
124:
70:
69:
28:
26:
19:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
320:
309:
306:
304:
303:Running books
301:
299:
296:
295:
293:
284:
281:
280:
260:
256:
250:
246:
235:
232:
229:
225:
222:
219:
216:
213:
210:
207:
204:
201:
198:
195:
192:
191:
185:
183:
179:
175:
171:
170:Once a Runner
162:
158:
154:
150:
148:
144:
143:Jack Bacheler
140:
136:
132:
123:
121:
117:
116:
111:
107:
106:
101:
100:Once a Runner
97:
93:
89:
88:
87:Once a Runner
80:
79:Once a Runner
76:
66:
63:
55:
45:
41:
35:
34:
29:This section
27:
23:
18:
17:
263:. Retrieved
261:. 2015-02-03
258:
249:
233:
223:
217:
211:
206:Jerry Mizner
205:
200:Bruce Denton
199:
193:
169:
168:
159:
155:
151:
133:
129:
126:Plot summary
113:
103:
99:
86:
85:
84:
78:
58:
52:October 2023
49:
38:Please help
33:verification
30:
234:Mike Mobley
228:John Walker
224:John Walton
218:Dick Doobey
147:John Walker
292:Categories
265:2023-10-29
241:References
188:Characters
96:Cedarwinds
81:book cover
180:, and
139:Mile
120:2015
110:2008
118:in
108:in
42:by
294::
257:.
184:.
176:,
122:.
268:.
65:)
59:(
54:)
50:(
36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.