First published 2009
Quenton Cassidy runs for Southeastern University with one burning goal: breaking the four-minute mile barrier. He stands less than a second away from his dream when Vietnam War protests sweep through campus. Cassidy joins an athletes' demonstration and gets suspended from the track team. His scholarship vanishes. His girlfriend leaves. His future crumbles. But Cassidy refuses to quit. Under guidance from Bruce Denton, a former Olympic champion turned graduate student, Cassidy retreats to the countryside for monastic training. He strips away every distraction and comfort, dedicating himself entirely to running. His target becomes clear: a head-to-head race against the world's greatest miler. The training pushes Cassidy beyond normal human limits as he prepares for the most important race of his life. This story captures the obsessive world of elite distance running, where athletes surrender everything for speed.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, war, coming-of-age, sports, academic
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Southeastern University
Period: Vietnam War
272 pages · Hardcover · Scribner