Once a Runner: A Novel

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.