Monthly Archives: March 2020

Running recollections of a skinny young dad

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

My competitive career as a runner was coming to a close the time by the time I got married at the age of twenty-seven. We conceived our first child in December after a June wedding that year. By then, I’d … Continue reading →

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You’ve heard of TED Talks. Here’s your first FRED talk.

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

I’ve been seriously riding and racing bicycles since 2007. That when I bought the carbon fiber Felt 4C road bike. I showed up to the group ride that first day wearing a bike helmet with the visor still attached. My … Continue reading →

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It's a bad time to be a nail-biter, but welcome to the club

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

I’m not proud of the fact that I’ve been biting my nails since I was a little kid. Even as an adult my fingernails are sometimes a ragged mess if I collapse into the nervous habit of chewing on them. … Continue reading →

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A running experiment that actually seems to be working

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

I’ve worn orthotics in my running shoes for a long time. Probably twenty-five years. The first pair was prescribed by a podiatrist with whom I had a working relationship as a graphic designer and produced the cover and illustrations for … Continue reading →

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Hair today, gone tomorrow

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

While conversing with a teammate from long-ago times at Luther College, I opened up the binder of results from our freshman year in cross country. Those mimeographed sheets are fascinating relics of a different age. But the photograph at the … Continue reading →

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Riding the cusp of Coronavirus reality

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

The black cardinal of reality During an eight-mile bike ride through Saguaro National Forest on a triathlon training trip, I watched a black bird with white “windows” in its wings launch from a branch and flap its way down a … Continue reading →

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Jim Nielsen’s life journey a long run to China and back

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

Recently I received an email form a former Luther College teammate that lives in China. Jim Nielsen and I were cross country runners beginning our freshman year. But we also shared a love of table tennis and despite having tired … Continue reading →

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Six feet under is bad enough, but being twelve feet under feels worse

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

Yesterday during swim training I paused in the middle of the workout to don fins and do some kick work. After a dozen or so lengths swimming on my back, I stopped to remove the fins and one of them … Continue reading →

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Homelessness can be cured, but fixing selfishness comes first

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

Back in 2015 after my father died, I was tasked with cleaning out the home where he lived for forty years. There wasn’t all that much to keep. We sledgehammered several old computer desks and donated or dispensed with furniture … Continue reading →

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Early morning pool brain

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

“You’re too snuggly,” my wife admitted at 4:45 this morning when her cellphone alarm began beeping a third time. Guilty as charged. I had my arm over her warm body under the covers. The sweet smell of her hair in … Continue reading →

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