Still running ...

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In 1978, John L. Parker Jr. found a solid niche audience for his debut novel. Who were they? Runners. His novel, ‘Once a Runner,’ which follows the life of college running star Quenton Cassidy, is considered a classic. Many of today’s marathon stars cite the book as essential to their own development. Success, however, didn’t come easy to the novelist, as Benjamin Cheever relates in a profile of Parker in the current issue of Runner’s World magazine. Parker self-published the book (he even had to set the type himself) and relentlessly peddled it everywhere, including shoe stores and races.

The occasion for Cheever’s piece is the arrival later this month of the long-awaited sequel, ‘Again to Carthage.’ Cheever explores the intimidation factor involved in writing the followup to what is now a cult classic and candidly asks Parker, why did it take so long?

Though Parker admits that his first novel’s success certainly hung over him like a ‘sword of Damocles the whole time,’ he also says the long delay was simply the result of his temperament and age. For many years, he just wasn’t at the right stage in his life to tell readers where Quenton Cassidy went next: ‘[T]he extra time and gnashing of teeth seems appropriate to me now. The first book is all about youth and hormones, winning and losing.... This book is a lot more poignant.’

Cheever seeds his piece with interesting comments about the writing life, including glimpses of his father, a master of the short story, and insights into what writing and running have in common. Both are endurance tests, Cheever writes as he considers Parker’s career, and ‘like the best runners, the best novelists are a little bit insane. However self-effacing, a champion has got to believe in himself.’

Nick Owchar