John L. Parker, Jr.

Infobox Writer
name = John L. Parker Jr.

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John L. Parker, Jr. is the writer of the cult classic "Once A Runner" and a more recently published "Again to Carthage". Both books feature the struggles Quenton Cassidy deals with in his running career. [ [http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20071223/NEWS/712230318/1002/NEWS] .] [Cheevers, Benjamin H. 2007. "THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL - It's Been 30 Years Since John L. Parker Jr. Wrote Once a Runner. The Publication of the Sequel Finds Him Facing His Legacy-and His Own Mortality". Runner's World. 92.]

Cassidy, a passionate, obsessive runner, is first introduced in "Once A Runner", published in 1978. Thirty years later Parker follows the career of Cassidy in a second book "Again to Carthage", published in late 2007. In "Once a Runner" Cassidy is an elite college athlete who is suspended from school and prohibited from competing in his university's track meets. He trains in private hoping to compete in disguise. In "Again to Carthage," ten years have passed for Cassidy. After taking a break from running, he begins training again in earnest trying to recapture the feeling and the glory of the past, this time through long distance running. While neither book ever acquired literary acclaim, Parker -- and Quenton Cassidy -- achieved a cult following among readers in the running community.

Parker attended the University of Florida. While enrolled he was a runner on the track team.

Books

Fiction

* "Once a Runner: A Novel. Cedar Mountain, N.C.: Cedarwinds Pub. Co, 1978.
* "Again to Carthage" New York: Breakaway Books, 2007. ISBN 9781891369773

Non-fiction

*Liquori, Marty, and John L. Parker. Marty Liquori's Guide for the Elite Runner. Chicago, Ill: Playboy Press, 1980. ISBN 9780872236257
*Parker, John L. Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot. Tallahassee, Fla: Cedarwinds Pub, 1998 ISBN 9780915297252
*Audain, Anne, and John L. Parker. Uncommon Heart. Tallahassee, Fla: Cedarwinds Pub, 2000.
*Parker, John L. Runners & Other Dreamers. Tallahassee, Fla: Cedarwinds Pub. Co, 1989.

References