Customer Reviews

Runners & Other Dreamers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those who love Parker's "Once a Runner", this book reveals many of the experiences that helped mould the his ideas. Read about Jack Bachelor, see how the fictional Quenton Cassidy's brush with death as a child is in fact based upon Parker's own real life and see what Jim Fixx really meant to running. If you loved "Once a Runner' then you won't be disappointed with 'Runners and Other Dreamers'

John L. Paker Jr. is an elitist, and thank God. Those people who think everything written about running should be aimed at Runner's World readers can stock their shelves with the stuff written from the editors and contributors of that magazine without worry of running out of words. Plenty is written, and will continue to be written for the person who runs for fun, excerise and socialization. For those other people, however, who know what it's like to strive towards fast times, for those people who know what it's like to run 20 quarter mile repeats, and run 100 miles in a week, books by John Parker are for you.
Read "Runner's and Other Dreamers," and read "Once a Runner." These books will haunt you because they sound like they are describing your inner thoughts, dreams and nightmares. These books tell how it really is to be out there on your own, thrashing your guts out on a trail somewhere...read them and know you are not really alone at all.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Parker's writing in both "Once and Runner" and "Heart Monitor Training", I happily looked forward to reading Runners and other Dreamers. This book however, was a letdown. A collection of essays primarily about elite runners known to the author, the tone of the book is somewhat bitter and jaded. Parker seems to focus on the darker aspects of distance racing for elite athletes and is often dismissive of those who do not possess the talent of the elites. Those essays that do have a relatively positive tone basically fawn over certain elite athletes, mostly friends of the author, casting them in an almost reverent light, while glossing over their flaws. The overall effect is to make them a sort of caricature. The lasting impression from the essays was that the author divides the world into two distinct groups, those more talented than himself (these he idolized) and those less talented than himself (for these he could care less). Perhaps, at the time he wrote this book, the writer's own gift of talent was his greatest curse. He had the ability and desire to run a race to win, but in running to win he missed the point that running in an of itself can be a victory. Maybe other elite runner's share Parker's views, but this age grouper has a different perspective, one that allows me to find satifisfaction in a PR, and worth in others seeking the same goal. Finally, based on the humor and understanding evident in his book on "Heart Monitor Training", I'd like to think that Parker "outgrew" his cynicism, and appreciates that those of us running behind the elites have our victories as well. If you want a great read try his other books.

Quite simply,John L Parker is one of the two great authors on the subject of running and related subjects,the other is Kenny Moore. "Runners and Other Dreamers" is a good place to start if you want to see why I say John L Parker is a great writer.

This book is a series of various essays written by John L. Parker from the late 70's to the mid-80's. Most of the essays are about running, races, and various track athletes from that period, but the last few essays are about fishing and hunting, as near as I could tell, and I found them forgettable.

The strength of the writing comes from the fact that Parker was a talented running himself in the early 70's, and clearly understands the subject matter intimately. That he also knows personally many of the subjects of his essays adds to the depth and insights to his work here.

Perhaps the most provocative essay is the dismissive epitaph of Jim Fixx, the famous author of running books, who lacks any real credibility in Parker's eyes. While I found what Parker wrote to be dead on target, he is also guilty of being very disrespectful, written so soon after Fixx's death. One thing you can say about Parker is that he is not afraid of controversy.

As a long time runner who trained and competed in this era, this book brought back a lot of good memories. I would recommend non-runners read a few essays from this book to understand the strange tribe of runners, and would up my recommendation to four stars for any serious runner.