Running After Prefontaine

Like so many young runners in Oregon, Scott Parker came of age under the spell of the Prefontaine legend, which inspired his early understanding of running's purpose as being centered around discipline and will power. In Running After Prefontaine, Parker traces his running back to its roots in Northeast Portland and follows it forward in time as his relationship with running evolves to include a more nuanced approach to the sport. Whether he's literally running in Pre's footsteps in Coos Bay or Eugene, running on the beaches of Asia, or running himself past exhaustion in Portland's Forest Park, Parker is an astute narrator of the running experience. This intimate book, which connects running to the author's process of self-becoming, demonstrates how what we do makes us who we are.

This book is as brave, hypnotic, and oddly absorbing as its subject. Parker is a shrewd and innovative young writer, and no one who runs or thinks about what it means to run can afford to miss what he has to say. -Tom Bissell, The Father of All Things

Every runner will see something of their own running life in Scott Parker's Running After Prefontaine. And more than that, you will be inspired to think about the meaning of running has for your life. Parker tells great stories about his running, from his first marathon experience to training in the land of Prefontaine. This book is an enjoyable journey through the running life with all that it holds: pain, pleasure, disappointment, and joy, along with Vaseline and Band-Aids. -Mike W. Austin, Running and Philosophy

Scott F. Parker is coeditor of Coffee-Philosophy for Everyone: Grounds for Debate and has contributed chapters to Golf and Philosophy, Football and Philosophy, and the forthcoming Olympics and Philosophy. He is a frequent contributor to Rain Taxi Review of Books. His writing has also appeared in Philosophy Now, Fiction Writers Review, The Star Tribune, Oregon Humanities, and Oregon Quarterly, among other publications.