Christopher Cudworth
As an athlete, writer and artist from early in life, Christopher Cudworth has pursued all these interests headlong. This blog WeRunAndRide.com combines this diversity in experience with Original Thoughts on running, riding and swimming.
From the get-go, Chris excelled in every sport in which he competed. As a baseball pitcher and basketball player he composed winning records and led the teams he joined.
But his distance running emerged as a primary sport come high school, earning varsity status as a freshmen, leading teams to their first-ever conference and district cross country wins and competing in track and field where he was team captain and MVP.
In college he continued running and ultimately led the Luther College cross country team to a second-place finish in the NCAA D3 national championship, thereby earning Team All-American status.
He also qualified for track nationals three times in the steeplechase, with a career best time of 9:20. He also ran a 4:03 1500 meters and a sub-15 5K.
After college he continued racing on the roads and track. He set his track PR 5000M of 14:47 and road 5K of 14:57. As a member of the Running Unlimited racing team sponsored by Nike, he ran a 31:10 10K, 53:30 10M, 1:10 half marathon and 1:25:25 25K.
He won the Frank Lloyd Wright 10K two times (3K competitors) the Geneva Community Classic (1500 competitors) and the Run for the Money 5K among many other races.
His competitive running career wrapped up in his late 20s with the birth of his children. After raising them through college, he took up cycling and competed in criterium races throughout the Chicago area.
Following the passing of his wife Linda due to cancer in 2013, Chris met Suzanne Astra, a triathlete, through the website Fitnesssingles.com. As a multiple-time Half Ironman finisher and three-time Ironman finisher, Sue got Chris fully involved in triathlon, where he is a successful age-group competitor and podium finisher in races across the Midwest. He is now officially a half-decent swimmer after years of practice.
Chris lives with Sue and their dog Lucy (named after a certain triathlete…) in northern Illinois where the lack of hills is made up with consistent winds.
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Chris is also a published author whose memoir The Right Kind of Pride: A Chronicle of Character, Caregiving and Community is available on Amazon.com. The associated blog is Therightkindofpride.com
Previously he published The Genesis Fix, A Repair Manual for Faith in the Modern Age, How biblical literalism affects politics, culture and the environment. The associated blog is genesisfix.wordpress.com.
His most recent work in the process of publication is titled Rescuing Christianity from the Grip of Tradition: What Jesus’ revolt against religious authority teaches us today. It is a collaborative work with Dr. Richard Simon Hanson of Luther College, Professor Emeritus.
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Chris also earned the distinction of having one of his running posters for the Brazosport Run for the Arts earn a Cream of the Crop Award from Runner’s World Magazine, designating it one of the top five posters in the country.
His writing and illustrations have also been featured in Runner’s World.
“The purity of the moment is made from the absence of time.”
Cheik Hamidou Kane, Ambiguous Adventure
We Run and Ride 