Category Archives: alcohol

Wear and tear and ‘wouldn’t change a thing’

Posted on November 22, 2025 by Christopher Cudworth

While attending a Luther College reunion, I was walking next to my cross-country coach Kent Finanger, who was bent over and limping due to back issues likely related to his years of playing football and basketball during his college career. … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, alcohol, coaching, college, competition, cross country, death, Depression, foregiveness, friendship, healthy aging, healthy senior, injury, life and death, love, mental health, mental illness, running, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Passing the girlfriend test

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

Following Sue’s bike accident in July 2013, she was initially not able to swim due to a torn rotator cuff. When the Naperville Sprint Triathlon rolled around in August, she reached out to a Master’s Swim buddy named Lida to … Continue reading →

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Life in context

Posted on June 3, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

Sue and I rode together consistently in the summer of 2013. I recall it as a warm year, and every time she showed up in her little black cycling shorts and sleeveless kit jersey, I admired her arms and overall … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Condescension and karma

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Karma: The sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future As my relative successes at Aspen Marketing piled up in 1997 and ’98, I allowed a bit of self-confidence … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Desires and distractions

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

By mid-summer of 1984, I’d gotten quite used to life in the City of Chicago. Essentially I was leading a double life, with a girlfriend in the suburbs and one in the city. But that wasn’t the whole story either. … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: And pocketfuls of money

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

While my quasi-job search continued, and freelance work kept trickling in, I mused whether to continue the solo journey or go to grad school. I’d made one inquiry years before about getting a Master’s Degree in Art from Northern Illinois … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Moving experiences

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I felt kind of cheesy being back in the Chicago area after having been given a big sendoff party to hail my departure to Philadelphia just nine months before. Once back in town, I headed downtown to find the apartment … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Closing time

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

All of us who run know the difference between a good race and a bad race. There are empirical factors such as time and place by which we measure our efforts. Yet even these are subjective depending on conditions such … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, competition, cycling, duathlon, God, mental health, nature, race pace, racing peak, running, running shoes, sex, triathlon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

50 Years of Running: Muscleheads and kryptonite

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Always on the lookout for another fitness opportunity, I wandered into a weightlifting club about two blocks from my apartment. I’d heard of the place from a co-worker that had just joined the firm. We rode the train in together … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Head games

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

In March of 1982, I picked up training mileage as the weather slowly improved. February saw a series of thirty-mile weeks, but March jumped to the mid-forties and then the mid-fifties. Then disaster hit. “Took ill at end of March,” … Continue reading →

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