The book is inspiring but I find the current 'Born to Run' more so (though let me reiterate, the last quarter of this book is amazing!) and of course I love the reference in this book to barefoot running. If you've ever been a runner or desire to know the insanity behind those who go the extreme in this sport - this book gives a very clear picture of that psyche. However, if you can plow through his obscure writing structure (and thoughts) and get a few of the nuggets he gives in the first 3/4 of the book and combine them with the nuggets given in the last quarter, the ending is worth the pain. It nearly handicapped the book as each sentence read as though he used a book of synonyms to replace simpler everyday language to build up his writing? I very nearly gave up and just walked away.

The beginning nearly killed me with the author’s seemingly needful sense to try to impress us with his constant use of obscure words. I am not totally sure how I feel about this book as a whole - but I loved the last quarter of it. It has won Running magazine's award as the best book of the year, and has been highly acclaimed by Runner's World, Running Times, Racing South, and Track & Field News, as well as by writers like Don Kardong, Kenny Moore Tom Jordan and Hal Higdon. Many readers say they learned more about running from this novel than from all the training books they have read. And it's a great source of training inspiration and wisdom as well. Many regard the story of Quenton Cassidy's battle to the top as the most accurate portrayal yet written of the tiny universe of world class runners.

It's been acclaimed over the years by Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar and many other top runners.

It has become a cult classic and our all-time best seller. The Reno Gazette-Journal has also called it 'a book so good, people will steal it.' How often do you hear about someone borrowing a friend's book, then later buying their own copy because they liked it so much? Or a book so treasured that it gets passed from friend to friend until it simply falls apart from so many readings? Once a Runner is such a book. This is the inspirational cult classic that Runner's World (and many others) have called 'the best novel ever written about running'.

John l parker once a runner