Monthly Archives: August 2021

50 Years of Running: Fear and Loathing in Cross country

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

I was too young to have read anything by Hunter S. Thompson when I was a freshman in high school. But it would have been good for me to absorb some of the fearless antics of the Gonzo journalist that … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, blood on the highway, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, death, fear, mental health, running | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

50 Years of Running: Competitive instincts

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After the first few days of cross country practice as a freshman in high school, the team began to sort itself into shape. Every member of the Kaneland team had the goal of making the Top 7. After a week … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Hilltop Encounters

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Perhaps a couple weeks into that first cross country season in 1971 at Kaneland High School, our team piled into a yellow school bus and traveled east for ten miles to a park known as Johnson’s Mound Forest Preserve. That … Continue reading →

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50 years of running: The appeal of discipline

Posted on August 25, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As a kid I wasn’t happy about being told what to do. My father was a bit authoritarian in his approach, and something in me always fought back. Classic father-son stuff, really. Nothing that millions of kids in the 60s … Continue reading →

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50 years of running: Finding joy in being tested

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The first few weeks of freshman cross country season in 1971 were rife with tests of many kinds. Building endurance takes time. Yet the days keep coming despite sore legs and a growing sense of overall fatigue. Our coaches Rich … Continue reading →

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50 years of running: An introduction to pain

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

This is the first in a series of articles chronicling fifty years of running since I went out for cross country as a freshman in high school. Some point in the middle of August 1971, my father drove me from … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, cross country, mental health, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

130(+) miles and a great nap to show for it

Posted on August 17, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Last weekend was a great chance to indulge in serious mileage on the bike. While I’m not a mega-mileage kind of guy these days, I still relish the chance to get out there and see the wheels spin beneath the … Continue reading →

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Finding time for workouts

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As a young father in my late 20s and early 30s, I made the decision to back off heavy training to concentrate more on making a living and being a good father. That doesn’t mean I quit running altogether. It … Continue reading →

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All Dressed Up and staying home for the moment

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

I got out the Shop-Vac to clean up the stick shavings our dog left on the living room carpet last night. Somehow she snuck a ten-inch stick into the house without our noticing it, and chewed a big section off … Continue reading →

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My longtime friend the red-tailed hawk

Posted on August 4, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Heading into my senior year at Luther College, my fitness was good and I’d used the summer to clean up my act. I cut off the long, thick hair that shrouded my face. Dumped the thick glasses and got a … Continue reading →

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