{"product_id":"2940169908787","title":"Racing the Rain: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eOnce a Runner\u003c\/i\u003e-“the best novel ever written about running” (\u003ci\u003eRunner's World\u003c\/i\u003e)-comes that novel's prequel, the story of a world-class athlete coming of age in the 1950s and '60s on Florida's Gold Coast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQuenton Cassidy's first foot races are with nature itself: the summer storms that sweep through his subtropical neighborhood. Shirtless, barefoot, and brown as a berry, Cassidy is a skinny, mouthy kid with aspirations to be a great athlete. As he explores his primal surroundings, along the Loxahatchee River and the nearby Atlantic Ocean, he is befriended by Trapper Nelson, “the Tarzan of the Loxahatchee,” a well-known eccentric who lives off the land.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn junior high school, quite by chance, Cassidy discovers an ability to run long distances, but his real dream is to be a basketball star. Still, Cassidy absorbs Nelson's view of running as a way of relating to and interacting with the natural world. Though he is warned of Nelson's checkered past, Cassidy dismisses the stories as superstitious gossip-until his small town is stunned by the disappearance of a prominent judge and his wife. Cassidy's loyalty to his friend is severely tested just as his opportunity to make his mark as a gifted runner comes to fruition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Parker's prequel to the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eOnce a Runner\u003c\/i\u003e vividly captures how a runner is formed and the physical endurance, determination, and mindset he develops on the way to becoming a champion. \u003ci\u003eRacing the Rain\u003c\/i\u003e is an epic coming-of-age classic about the environments and friendships that shape us all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blackstone Audio, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46484118208753,"sku":"2940169908787","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/2940169908787_p0.jpg?v=1777763884","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169908787","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}