Nostrils Heath Character Analysis in Runner

Norman “Nostrils” Heath is Charlie’s best friend, whose nickname comes from his large nose. He meets Charlie at the race Squizzy Taylor holds to determine who will become his runner. Though Charlie beats him in the race, Nostrils bears him no resentment, and the two become fast friends. Nostrils is loyal, funny, and a good listener. He is also an exceptional athlete, and the local football team picks him to play for them. In the early days of their friendship, Charlie and Nostrils play football in the park together and are interrupted by an angry Jimmy Barlow, who they need to run from. Rather than taking advantage of his head start, Nostrils waits for Charlie to catch up to him, and the boys run away together. Later, after Nostrils has been promoted to an exciting new position on the football team, Jimmy Barlow comes after Nostrils and Charlie again. Nostrils trips and tells Charlie to leave him behind, and Charlie does, leaving Nostrils to be beaten so badly by Barlow and his friends that Nostrils spends the next several days in the hospital. Charlie blames himself for ruining Nostril’s chances at becoming a professional athlete, but Nostrils assures Charlie that he shouldn’t feel guilty. When Charlie runs the Ballarat Mile, Nostrils is one of the people he imagines cheering for him at the finish line. To honor their friendship, Charlie makes Nostrils a co-owner of the timber yard he buys at the end of the book.

Nostrils Heath Quotes in Runner

The Runner quotes below are all either spoken by Nostrils Heath or refer to Nostrils Heath. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

I didn’t want what other people wanted. I didn’t want to be like Nostrils, sticking labels on tins of jam at Rosella’s, or like my father, who’d busted his gut down on the wharf for years. I wanted something more than that. I wanted a piece of the action. It didn’t have to be a huge helping, just a slice of it.

Enough to give Ma and Jack a better life.

Related Characters: (speaker), , , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 56

Explanation and Analysis:

I stood next to Nostrils, smiling confidently, almost daring the copper to take it further. Never before would I have had the nerve, but as he looked into my eyes I held his gaze, and it was then that I realized what I loved about working for Squizzy Taylor. It was more than just the money. It was the power I loved as well.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 61

Explanation and Analysis:

I ran during the day and I ran at night. In fact, I ran so much that I didn’t bother changing into my father’s old boots anymore. Ma and I both had our secrets now […]. I avoided her as best I could, preferring to spend my time with Nostrils or Squizzy or Dolly. At least with them I didn’t have to pretend.

Related Characters: (speaker), , , , , ,

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Page Number and Citation: 65

Explanation and Analysis:

Had it been me in his shoes, I daresay the attention would have caused my head to swell the size of a football. But Nostrils wasn’t like that. On the football field, he was as ferocious as anyone I’d seen. You could see it in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to one day fill a spot in the seniors, but come siren time, when he stripped the jumper from his back, Nostrils could not understand what all the fuss was about.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 124

Explanation and Analysis:

In a person’s life, there are some moments that define who you are––miniscule moments where you’re called upon to act, faster than a flip of a coin.

Heads or tails.

Yes or no.

Go or stay.

Perhaps my mind was already made up, but as I turned and saw them on top of him, Nostrils raised his head and screamed. “Run, Charlie! Run!”

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 135

Explanation and Analysis:

Full of rage, I dropped by eyes to the ground and saw my shiny black boots. Right then, something clicked inside my head. Everything became clear. Silently I left the office and made my way to the laundry. After changing into my father’s old boots, I strode back down the hall. I […] placed the boots on the table, right under Squizzy’s nose.

Related Characters: (speaker), , , ,

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Page Number and Citation: 155

Explanation and Analysis:

I went back to that first time I’d ventured out––that time I plotted a course of four main streets to rid myself of the cold, dull ache in my bones. Tomorrow, however, I’d be running for something more. I’d be running for my father, for Ma, for Jack, for Alice, for Nostrils, and for Mr. Redmond. Tomorrow I’d be running the race of my life, and the stakes were high.

Related Characters: (speaker), , , , , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 180

Explanation and Analysis:

Nostrils Heath Character Timeline in Runner

The timeline below shows where the character Nostrils Heath appears in Runner. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...bar’s address. He introduces himself as Norman Heath, but adds that most people call him Nostrils because of his large nose. Nostrils warns Charlie that Barlow comes from a dangerous family... (full context)

...since Mr. Feehan died, wanting to evade pity and stories about the past. He likes Nostrils, though, because Nostrils is “something new, something fresh”—a person who never knew Charlie’s father. As... (full context)

Nostrils knocks on the door, interrupting the awkward visit. Charlie welcomes him and introduces him to... (full context)

Charlie and Nostrils play football in the park, pretending to be famous athletes. Nostrils is a far better... (full context)

...two boys for a job the following night. Charlie suggests he do the job with Nostrils, and Squizzy accepts the idea. (full context)

That Saturday afternoon, Charlie goes to Nostrils’s house. Nostrils’s mother and father are pleased to meet Charlie, and Nostril’s mother has baked... (full context)

It rains that night, but Nostrils is still eager to run when he meets Charlie on the way to the job.... (full context)

A bouncer greets Charlie and Nostrils at the address where they are supposed to pick up the liquor. The bouncer is... (full context)

After the police constable leaves, Charlie and Nostrils deliver the liquor. The man who answers the door reassures them that they don’t need... (full context)

Charlie goes to the timber yard on Saturday morning for wood, bringing Nostrils with him for support. They pass a bandaged Mr. Peacock, and Charlie pretends not to... (full context)

Charlie goes with Nostrils’s parents to watch Nostrils play in his first official football game. As Nostrils walks to... (full context)

When the game resumes, Nostrils is revitalized and quickly scores a goal. Nostrils’s father tells Charlie that he borrowed some... (full context)

...rabbits, and Charlie chases after the dog until he is exhausted. Later, Charlie meets with Nostrils for another two-person liquor run. Nostrils excitedly tells Charlie that he is going to play... (full context)

...snaps that his business can’t afford to give money away. He demands to know if Nostrils had a part in the incident, but Charlie assures him that the whole ordeal was... (full context)

The exchange with Squizzy frightens Charlie, and Nostrils tries to persuade him to stop working for Squizzy. Charlie knows Nostrils is right, but... (full context)

Charlie and Nostrils pick up some liquor from Henry Stokes’s establishment, and an employee advises them to take... (full context)

Charlie and Nostrils progress carefully toward Fitzroy. They reach their destination safely, deliver the liquor, and return to... (full context)

...leave his best friend. He runs back to the garden, where Barlow is brutally beating Nostrils. Nostrils responds by mocking Barlow, who then orders his friends to hold Nostrils down on... (full context)

Nostrils is badly beaten. Charlie pushes him on the cart to the hospital, running desperately through... (full context)

Charlie gives Nostrils’s address to the doctor, leaves the hospital, and vomits on the side of the road.... (full context)

...visit.” He explains that he is training for a footrace, and he appreciates that like Nostrils, Alice listens without pushing matters. As the two part ways, Alice says that she hopes... (full context)

Charlie visits Nostrils in the hospital and apologizes for leaving him in the garden. He says that Nostrils... (full context)

...men’s drive-by shooting of a house in Fitzroy. Charlie tells Squizzy about what happened to Nostrils, but Squizzy suddenly turns cruel. He says that he doesn’t care about Nostrils and orders... (full context)

On the Thursday before the race, Alice and Charlie visit Nostrils in the hospital. Charlie introduces Alice to Nostrils, and the group quickly falls into easy... (full context)

...white running shoes. As he runs, he imagines Mr. Feehan, Mrs. Feehan, Jack, Alice, and Nostrils all on the track cheering him on. Charlie runs toward them desperately, and he wins... (full context)

...the timber yard: Mrs. Feehan, Jack, Mr. Redmond and Mrs. Redmond, Alice, Mr. Cornwall, and Nostrils and his parents, the Heaths. Nobody other than Charlie and Mr. Redmond know why they... (full context)

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Everything you need for every book you read.

Everything you need for every book you read.

Nostrils Heath Character Analysis

Nostrils Heath Quotes in Runner

Nostrils Heath Character Timeline in Runner

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for every book you read.