Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr.

The undisputed classic of running novels and one of the most beloved sports books ever publishednbspOnce a Runnernbsptells the story of an athletersquos dreams amid the turmoil of the 60s and the Vietnam warInspired by the authorrsquos experience as a collegiate champion the novel follows Quenton Cassidy a competitive runner at fictional Southeastern University whose lifelong dream is to run a fourminute mile He is less than a second away when the turmoil of the Vietnam War era intrudes into the staid recesses of his schoolrsquos athletic department After he becomes involved in an athletesrsquo 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 historyA rare insiderrsquos account of the incredibly intense lives of elite distance runnersnbspOnce a Runnernbspis an inspiring funny and spoton tale of one individualrsquos quest to become a champion