John L. Parker

"What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials."

It does what they say it does. A deft description of the mind of a runner. I felt the plot was a bit thin to truly hold up as a classic novel. It felt more like an extra-long short story where the characters can be a bit thin. Still, the elucidation of the mania and fear that running engenders is spot-on. While I've never run a track race, I identified most with the main character's point that often when running, we reach a point of near unconsciousness. That's a big reason why I run and it show more was great to see it pointed out so well. show less

The long-awaited sequel to Once a Runner picks up on silver medalist Quenton Cassidy's life as a thirty-something practicing law in a small Palm Beach firm. While he still runs recreationally, Cassidy seems content to have traded his years of self-denial for a comfortable Hemingway-esque lifestyle of drinking, boating, and skin diving. A series of personal events lead him to re-examine his life, however, forcing a realization that he will never be completely fulfilled unless he is aspiring show more toward personal improvement, in the way that only a runner committed to serious training can be.

Just as Once a Runner nails the feelings of the competitive schoolboy runner, Again to Carthage captures the mindset of the middle-aged athlete who struggles to come to terms with the inevitability of physical decline. As one would expect, Parker's training and racing scenes are beautifully and convincingly rendered. What's equally impressive, are his descriptions of nature, fishing, and the mountain lifestyle of Cassidy's relatives. If he goes a bit heavy on the details at times, particularly in the middle chapters concerning Cassidy's family, these passages flesh out Cassidy as a person and ultimately reward the patient reader. My only other knocks on the book are the occasional awkwardness of Parker's prose, the inclusion of several plot contrivances, and the penchant for odd, anecdotal humor. Even these shortcomings, though, become kind of welcomely familiar for those of us who love Once a Runner and crave a similar reading experience. show less

An okay novel, but pretty much perfect encapsulation of endurance sport and running in particular. The author grasps the essentially indescribable nature of dedicating your existence to repeating over and over and over again the same basic mechanical actions and somehow believing that it is the greatest thing you could possibly be doing.
Beautifully captures the despair, longing, childish delight, monotony, aching thrill and wild surges of adrenaline that come with trying to get yourself to show more go ever so slightly faster. show less