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Run
The novel, Run, is both a love-letter to running and a coming-of-age story that takes place over the course of a high school cross country season. The story revolves around Andy Rasson, the best runner on a powerhouse team in a weak league. Andy has always used running to stay in the moment and keep his OCD and ADHD in check. He has been looking forward to his senior year and leading the team with his pals Chris and Skids. Andy's girlfriend, Tiffany, is also a solid runner who understands and loves him. Everything is in place for a great senior season.
When a talented and troubled transfer student joins the team, the friends are forced to confront issues they were ill-prepared to face. They soon realize that ideals like team and honor — which they had thought were clearly defined — have become gray areas. In an environment where thoughts and actions are dictated by situational ethics, Andy and his teammates increasingly find solace and purity-of-purpose through running.
When a talented and troubled transfer student joins the team, the friends are forced to confront issues they were ill-prepared to face. They soon realize that ideals like team and honor — which they had thought were clearly defined — have become gray areas. In an environment where thoughts and actions are dictated by situational ethics, Andy and his teammates increasingly find solace and purity-of-purpose through running.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Allen Levine
1 book6 followersAllen Levine was born in 1966 in Lawrence, Kansas. Most of his formative years were also spent in Lawrence, except for several years lived in Latin America when his parents were on Fulbright or sabbatical from their positions at the University of Kansas. Allen graduated from KU in 1989 with a degree in English. For the next several years, he toured the US with his college-rock band.
Returning to Lawrence in 1993, Allen worked in the office of William Burroughs Communications, and later served a short stint as membership director for the Spencer Museum of Art on the KU campus. In 1995, he became one of the youngest people ever to be elected as a Lawrence city commissioner. Since 1997, Allen has made a living in the natural products industry.
A major fan of all things running, Allen is a member of two running clubs and spends much of his waking hours thinking, reading, and writing about the sport. While he rarely participates in races (preferring to run for the fun of it), he does do the occasional trail race. In 2016 Allen and two friends planned and completed a 40 mile running traverse of Joshua Tree National Park.
In 2017 Allen began to take serious interest in mountain climbing. In addition to reaching the tops of multiple 14ers in Colorado and California, he has summited Kilimanjaro, Imja Tse (aka Island Peak), Kala Patthar and Aconcagua. Upcoming climbs are Mt Whitney (2021) and a possible return to Aconcagua (2022). He has also done some trad climbing in Colorado and Nevada.
Returning to Lawrence in 1993, Allen worked in the office of William Burroughs Communications, and later served a short stint as membership director for the Spencer Museum of Art on the KU campus. In 1995, he became one of the youngest people ever to be elected as a Lawrence city commissioner. Since 1997, Allen has made a living in the natural products industry.
A major fan of all things running, Allen is a member of two running clubs and spends much of his waking hours thinking, reading, and writing about the sport. While he rarely participates in races (preferring to run for the fun of it), he does do the occasional trail race. In 2016 Allen and two friends planned and completed a 40 mile running traverse of Joshua Tree National Park.
In 2017 Allen began to take serious interest in mountain climbing. In addition to reaching the tops of multiple 14ers in Colorado and California, he has summited Kilimanjaro, Imja Tse (aka Island Peak), Kala Patthar and Aconcagua. Upcoming climbs are Mt Whitney (2021) and a possible return to Aconcagua (2022). He has also done some trad climbing in Colorado and Nevada.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 26, 2014
Thanks a million to the author for sending me a copy of "Run" after winning here it here on Goodreads.
I am a big fan of books about running, and I really prefer fiction novels. This story is a little like Once a Runner, and for those that love running, the training descriptions, and trials and tribulations that the runners experience will be a familiar topic. Andy, the main character is someone anyone can relate to. He is decent, tries to do the right thing, and has his imperfections also. The team is a tight cohesive unit, and readers will laugh at their escapades.
Hopefully the author will write more novels like this one. Andy has a chance to run in college, so maybe a part 2?
I am a big fan of books about running, and I really prefer fiction novels. This story is a little like Once a Runner, and for those that love running, the training descriptions, and trials and tribulations that the runners experience will be a familiar topic. Andy, the main character is someone anyone can relate to. He is decent, tries to do the right thing, and has his imperfections also. The team is a tight cohesive unit, and readers will laugh at their escapades.
Hopefully the author will write more novels like this one. Andy has a chance to run in college, so maybe a part 2?
June 11, 2014
Whether or not you were ever a runner, it is easy to fall in sync with the characters, training and situations that Levine unravels throughout the story. You get an appreciation for what it is to have a passion and the necessary escape that it provides. Accompanying Andy on his journey of devotion and then panic as what was pure and beautiful becomes compromised endears you to his character and resonates with the kid in all of us who had to grow up. Levine has done a wonderful job of providing honesty to the thoughts, behaviors and interactions of Andy and his crew.
I enjoyed reading Run on many levels. As a recreational runner, it is a fun and interesting insight into competitive running, strategy and how individual achievement and team dynamics interplay. As a therapist and parent, viewing the world through Andy's eyes and getting the chance to peek inside the mind of a teen (living with OCD) and experience the chaos of tangential, rapid and obsessive thoughts while making an effort to maintain face with peers and family gives a real appreciation for the invisible experience of so many. I was left pulling for the future of Andy and Tiff and curious as to what life after high school will bring.
I enjoyed reading Run on many levels. As a recreational runner, it is a fun and interesting insight into competitive running, strategy and how individual achievement and team dynamics interplay. As a therapist and parent, viewing the world through Andy's eyes and getting the chance to peek inside the mind of a teen (living with OCD) and experience the chaos of tangential, rapid and obsessive thoughts while making an effort to maintain face with peers and family gives a real appreciation for the invisible experience of so many. I was left pulling for the future of Andy and Tiff and curious as to what life after high school will bring.
May 21, 2014
Run is infused with running -- a tone poem to running -- with all the characters defined via their relation to it. However, this single-minded approach is in no way indicative of subpar description, characterization or facility with language. While it exceeds the merely thematic, veering into the realm of preoccupation, it manages to enthrall the initiated and non-initiated alike due to the infectious enthusiasm of the author.
The opening chapter takes the form of a training run. By the end of the run, we have become familiar with the personalities, backstories and interpersonal dynamic of the primary three characters. Unfortunately, the ostensible fourth main character, the narrator's girlfriend, is only referred to in this opening, and this distance is maintained throughout the entire novel. The author skews towards exposition instead of demonstration, in this respect, since Tiff is always seen through the lens of Andy. She is described as so perfect that she is unable to emerge as a fully-formed person in her own right. The odd thing is that this remains a reality for women -- being defined only in reference to a man -- and one especially prevalent among males of a certain age and maturity. When contrasted with the richly drawn triumvirate and the antagonist, Chad, she pales in comparison.
The narrative contains more than a few surprises, and ultimately defies expectations for a sports-themed novel. Especially welcome was the covert friendship with an opposing team member, Ben, which labors under the strain of deception while simultaneously providing relief from the constantly ratcheting pressure of the cross-country team's interpersonal dynamics. The consistent high points are the chapters relating competitive races. Each course is different, the opposing teams vary, and each race is defined by the "on any given day" nature of competing on that level. Less effective were instances of the narrator breaking the fourth wall, which did not support, and ultimately distracted from the intimacy of the so carefully crafted connection between the protagonist/narrator and the audience.
The importance of this connection cannot be understated. Andy lives with anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but eschews medication. His -- for the most part effective -- self-regulation of the symptoms of mental illness is one aspect of the novel that clearly falls in the Cinderella zone -- not too hot, not too cold, but juuust right. Privilege receives considered treatment: relatively rare in contemporary mainstream literature. Almost as cognizant is the self-assured handling of sexual preference including those out, those closeted, and those mildly homophobic or willing to leverage it. But the crown jewel of the novel is the anomie and sociopathic behavior of Chad, which is spot on and never overplayed. My only reservations revolve around the Deus ex machina elimination of Chad and the missed opportunity of the foreshadowed, and later dropped, backstory hinted at by the events surrounding the punishment of Minten and Henry. Something has clearly "messed him up," and had it been as deftly handled as the rest of Chad, could have provided A Separate Peace level resolution of the central problematic. As it stands, he remains an undeserving enigma.
This well executed and entertaining novel succeeds on many levels and has earned my heartfelt recommendation. Like many first novels, it could benefit from significant trimming. A less hurried ending congruent with the prevalent, careful pacing would have been welcome. I can see this being almost novella length, and in such distilled form, even more powerful in its newfound paucity. However such constructive criticism should not diminish the value of this effort and the enjoyment of this embedded-journalism-esque experience of high school cross country in all of its facets. We can only wait in anticipation of a second novel from Mr. Levine; one that hopefully will explore Andy's post High School running life and the promise it so clearly holds.
The opening chapter takes the form of a training run. By the end of the run, we have become familiar with the personalities, backstories and interpersonal dynamic of the primary three characters. Unfortunately, the ostensible fourth main character, the narrator's girlfriend, is only referred to in this opening, and this distance is maintained throughout the entire novel. The author skews towards exposition instead of demonstration, in this respect, since Tiff is always seen through the lens of Andy. She is described as so perfect that she is unable to emerge as a fully-formed person in her own right. The odd thing is that this remains a reality for women -- being defined only in reference to a man -- and one especially prevalent among males of a certain age and maturity. When contrasted with the richly drawn triumvirate and the antagonist, Chad, she pales in comparison.
The narrative contains more than a few surprises, and ultimately defies expectations for a sports-themed novel. Especially welcome was the covert friendship with an opposing team member, Ben, which labors under the strain of deception while simultaneously providing relief from the constantly ratcheting pressure of the cross-country team's interpersonal dynamics. The consistent high points are the chapters relating competitive races. Each course is different, the opposing teams vary, and each race is defined by the "on any given day" nature of competing on that level. Less effective were instances of the narrator breaking the fourth wall, which did not support, and ultimately distracted from the intimacy of the so carefully crafted connection between the protagonist/narrator and the audience.
The importance of this connection cannot be understated. Andy lives with anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but eschews medication. His -- for the most part effective -- self-regulation of the symptoms of mental illness is one aspect of the novel that clearly falls in the Cinderella zone -- not too hot, not too cold, but juuust right. Privilege receives considered treatment: relatively rare in contemporary mainstream literature. Almost as cognizant is the self-assured handling of sexual preference including those out, those closeted, and those mildly homophobic or willing to leverage it. But the crown jewel of the novel is the anomie and sociopathic behavior of Chad, which is spot on and never overplayed. My only reservations revolve around the Deus ex machina elimination of Chad and the missed opportunity of the foreshadowed, and later dropped, backstory hinted at by the events surrounding the punishment of Minten and Henry. Something has clearly "messed him up," and had it been as deftly handled as the rest of Chad, could have provided A Separate Peace level resolution of the central problematic. As it stands, he remains an undeserving enigma.
This well executed and entertaining novel succeeds on many levels and has earned my heartfelt recommendation. Like many first novels, it could benefit from significant trimming. A less hurried ending congruent with the prevalent, careful pacing would have been welcome. I can see this being almost novella length, and in such distilled form, even more powerful in its newfound paucity. However such constructive criticism should not diminish the value of this effort and the enjoyment of this embedded-journalism-esque experience of high school cross country in all of its facets. We can only wait in anticipation of a second novel from Mr. Levine; one that hopefully will explore Andy's post High School running life and the promise it so clearly holds.
July 24, 2014
First, I want to mention I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway. Second, I have no idea why I entered to win this book considering I haven't been a runner in the past, I am not currently a runner, and considering the fact that I have the knees of an 80 year old, I don't hold out much hope for my future as a runner. I guess I was just desperate to win something, so I entered a bunch of giveaways. I am pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoyed this book. Did I understand all the running jargon? No. Not even close, but this book isn't just about running.
I gave this book 4 stars because the main character, Andy got on my nerves a few times (his inner dialogue really was annoying at some points and I just wanted to say "Get on with it already!")
Anyway, overall this was a good book.
I gave this book 4 stars because the main character, Andy got on my nerves a few times (his inner dialogue really was annoying at some points and I just wanted to say "Get on with it already!")
Anyway, overall this was a good book.
September 8, 2016
You do not have to be a passionate runner to love this book. "Run" speaks to the teenager in all of us, regardless of what drives us. It taps into the insecurities, passions, fears and egos that we all possess and speaks to the demons we fight each day. Levine presents believable, relate-able characters and scenarios in a way that makes you feel you are on the trails right alongside and rooting for them. In a way, it was comforting to see that the mind of a teenager is universal in the way it works. We all want the same things but try to achieve them in ways we know and love best. If you want to relive your salad days, this is the book to get you there.
October 6, 2014
This book surprised me. The story is immersed in running and I don’t care about running, and yet I was on the edge of my seat during each of the book’s major races. I really cared about the narrator, Andy, an OCD high school student on the cross-country team. The author perfectly captures the lives of teen boys: the trash-talking, the angst, the love, the stupidity, the genius, the coarseness, the trying to figure life out. And the ending feels so right, it almost makes you want to relive your teen years so you can be on the cusp of your own future again.
February 1, 2016
I loved the honesty of this book. It does not try to make points or focus on issues - it simply presents the day-to-day life of some high school athletes. I also run regularly (though I have never done it professionally), and the descriptions are nice and relatable. I enjoyed the dynamics between the characters, and it was interesting to read about American high school life.
September 18, 2014
I received it as a free copy from the Goodreads First Read.
Interesting read about teenage male friendship.
Interesting read about teenage male friendship.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews