Category Archives: alcohol

50 Years of Running: Condescension and karma

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

Posted in alcohol, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

50 Years of Running: Desires and distractions

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

Posted in alcohol, mental health, sex | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: And pocketfuls of money

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

Posted in alcohol, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, love, mental health, race pace, running, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Moving experiences

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

Posted in alcohol, Christopher Cudworth, climbing, cross country, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Closing time

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

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

Posted in alcohol, anxiety, running | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Head games

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

Posted in 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, alcohol, evangelical Christianity, mental illness, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Pirates in spirit

On a cold January night in 1982, one of my running buddies showed up to have a few beers, talk about training, and shoot the bull about life in general. But that evening, I had a surprise to share with … Continue reading

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, alcohol, anxiety, competition, cross country, cycling, cycling the midwest, running | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Hawaiian getaway

Somewhere during the middle of November, 1981, I received a call from the father of a woman I’d dated earlier in the month. She’d been sweet, and demure, and I was respectful toward her. So I didn’t automatically think the … Continue reading

Posted in alcohol, Christopher Cudworth, death, love, nature, running, sex | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Dark nights and glimpses of light

As October days grew shorter the days at work started and ended in darkness. Fortunately, Van Kampen Merritt uprooted from its Chicago office and moved out to a newly constructed building at the corner of Naper Boulevard and I-88. It … Continue reading

Posted in alcohol, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, God, life and death, love, marathon, mental health, mental illness, nature, running shoes, sex, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment