The Miler

by Hap Cawood

A Kentucky mountain boy in the 1950s is driven by a recurring dream of a Cherokee runner the century before. An unlikely coach finds the lone runner drained by stress over the decline of his father,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965907511
• ISBN13: 9780965907514
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Cimarron Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Runner's Rite of Passage

This coming-of age tale chronicles the physical and emotional maturation of a Kentucky boy, nicknamed JJ, who takes it upon himself to run the mile and half-mile for a high school that has no track team. While running is the common thread that permeates the story, it's much more than simply a fictionalized running journal. The small mining town setting of 1950s Harlan really comes to life, with well-drawn characters, descriptions of the easy camaraderie of schoolboys, touching passages about childhood crushes and first loves, and the challenges of a family coping with a parent's failing health. There is also an interesting subplot involving a mystical connection between JJ and the spirit of an American Indian runner who once resided in Harlan. If you're expecting a running novel in which race times and training details are the focal points, then this story may come across as too literary and introspective for you. And some of the meditation-oriented coaching techniques used by Ms. Mira (a dancing instructor who assumes the role of JJ's personal coach) may strike some hard-core runners as kind of peculiar. But I recommend it for those who are interested in exploring the many emotional connections between running and the human condition. Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"

It was pure enjoyment

I read a lot of books. Primarily for pleasure. First, my opinion about the book then then I'll share the reason I read it. The Miler was not what I expected. I thought it would be more about the physical struggles of training for an event that requires dedication, perseverance, and many, many lonely hours pounding the track or highway. What I got was a sensitive rendition of the major events that affect all of us - life, death, love, competition, winning, losing, happiness, sadness and bunch of other emotions that you'll have to discover for yourself when you read The Miler. There were times when I laughed aloud and moments when I would get tears in my eyes as the full cast of characters created by Hap flowed through this novel. It was pure enjoyment. Now, why did I read it? I learned of The Miler by Hap Cawood when I saw it mentioned in a college monthly newsletter. I met Hap in 1959 when we were college students at a small Methodist school in the rolling hills of Kentucky. We weren't particularly close friends. I ran track. Hap was a swimmer. When I read of Hap's publication, my first thought was "what in the world does he know about running a mile." Well, I found out that he does know something about running, but more importantly, he knows how to weave a story together about life and about living it so that it keeps your interest to the very end. I finished the book hoping that he's working on a second novel. Thanks Hap for the laughter and the tears.

The first true miler that Hap Cawood ever coached.

When I received this book, I was immediately transfered to my youth, to once again run that elusive mile run, the one that brings the body, mind and soul to true center. The author was my first track coach, and that early start in 1962 set the stage for the rest of my life; whether in academics, business, or in my life's trials. The training of mind over body remains with one throughout his entire life, and reading once again the beginnings of my development brought certainty to my being. Everyone should read this story of a mountain boy growing up in the sixties, with only simple freedom to answer to.