Reddit reviews Once a Runner: A Novel

Cliche to people who have been around for a while, but...

> And too there were questions: What did he eat? Did he believe in isometrics? Isotonics? Ice and heat? How about aerobics, est, ESP, STP? What did he have to say about yoga, yogurt, Yogi Berra? What was his pulse rate, his blood pressure, his time for 100-yard dash? 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. How could they be expected to understand that?

• Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr.

The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.
“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.”

“You don't become a runner by winning a morning workout. The only true way is to marshal the ferocity of your ambition over the course of many days, weeks, months, and (if you could finally come to accept it) years.”
[Once a Runner] (http://smile.amazon.com/Once-Runner-John-Parker-Jr/dp/1416597891/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409045564&sr=8-1&keywords=once+a+runner)

If you like reading, here are a few other great books:

• A Walk in the Woods
  
• How Bad do you Want it
  
• Once a Runner
  
• Born to Run

Once a Runner by John Parker is an excellent book about a college miler and his training. By far my favorite book about running.

> If that really is one of your goals, you are bound to fail and to be frustrated.

If, for you, whether or not you succeed depends on whether or not you accomplish your goals, then probably. But I'm all about the process! It's a journey, man. One you need to be a part of to really get.

> And I want some of the stuff OAR is taking, cause he's trippiiiiiing...

OAR is a book. I abbreviated it because I made the fallacious assumption that everyone knows where that quote is from. You should read it. It is the only thing I've ever read that has adequately captured what it means to be a competitive runner.