If I had to sell it one copy at a time out of the trunk of my car, I would. If I had to become a publisher myself, I would. After that, I settled into one mode: grim determination. I suppose I went through a period of anger, naturally, and a trace of that remains to this day. Jim Fixx’s ‘Complete Book of Running’ was a major best-seller, and to my way of thinking it was the blandest, most pedestrian overview of running I could imagine.
Not because it was necessarily that good (though I certainly thought it was), but because when I first submitted it, America was at the very height of the running ‘boom’ and almost anything having to do with running was selling. Describe the range of emotions you felt over time as publishers rejected your novel, it was self-published, you sold it at races or on consignment and then it grew to become a ‘must-read’ for serious distance runners.Īt first I was incredulous that publishers didn’t see the value of the book. Your novel, ‘Once a Runner,’ the fictional account of college runner, Quenton Cassidy, has had a cult following among runners for many years. At Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida he was point guard on the basketball team that made the state’s ‘Final Four,’ Orange County champion in cross country and a ‘4:32 or 4:33 miler.’ John suffered a very serious heart condition in 2007, but has recovered and is pondering writing his next novel. In the early 1970s he trained with Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler and Jeff Galloway as a member of the Florida Track Club. His career has included stints as an attorney, newspaper reporter, speechwriter and editor. Parker was a three-time Southeastern Conference Mile Champion for the University of Florida where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. Before it’s reprinting in 2007, ‘Once a Runner’ was consistently the most requested out-of-print book on websites such as and, fetching prices in excess of $200. is the author of several books, including the cult classic, ‘Once a Runner,’ and its sequel, ‘Again to Carthage,’ which both detail the fictional account of runner Quenton Cassidy.
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