Category Archives: Christopher Cudworth

A Sprint to Respectability

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

The Naperville Sprint Triathlon is the first real triathlon I participated in ten years ago with my wife Sue. We’d met in July of 2013, gone riding and running together right away, but then she had a bike accident (her … Continue reading →

Posted in 13.1, 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, bike accidents, bike crash, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, friendship, IRONMAN, love, PEAK EXPERIENCES, race pace, racing peak, riding, running, swimming, Tarsnakes, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Burridge over troubled waters

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

I’ve written before about my talented longtime friend Tom Burridge. He’s become one of the top age-group 60+ cyclists in the country and continues his exploration of cycling with gravel races where his endurance base serves him well in distances … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Christopher Cudworth, cross country, cycling, cycling the midwest, half marathon, healthy senior | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An unpleasant start to an ultimately pleasant triathlon

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Open-water swimming is one of life’s acquired joys. Unless one grows up swimming in ponds, lakes, or oceans it takes a bit of practice to get used to the idea of climbing into the water and swimming over whatever depths … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, cycling, Depression, fear, mental health, PEAK EXPERIENCES, race pace, racing peak, riding, running, swimming | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Not “woe is me,” but resiliency

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Following the emotional breakdown of my wife after the cancer returned in 2007 after two years of treatments and remission, I proceeded to lose my new job at the marketing agency. It had taken months to work up the courage … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, Depression, fear, mental health, mental illness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rough landings

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

I was a high jumper during my high school career and first year of college. I jumped 6′ 1/2″ in college, my best ever. Not bad for a distance runner with skinny calves and not much in the thigh area … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, fear, mental health, mental illness | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Cataclysmic convergence

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

My competitive instincts had not abated much in my early forties, but one quickly learns as a caregiver that being competitive is not the answer to every problem. In fact, it constitutes an answer to few problems. It doesn’t help … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, competition, fear, foregiveness, life and death, running, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: coming to grief through soccer

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

In the five years leading up to my late wife’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer, I experienced a period of grief related to my own physical and mental health. During one of the last years my daughter played soccer, her coach … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, coaching, competition, cross country, cycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Going Big Time

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

After the 9/11 tragedy rocked just about everything in American life, people looked for normalcy just about any way they could find it. At the same time, the newspaper industry in which I worked was getting slammed right and left … Continue reading →

Posted in adhd, aging, Christopher Cudworth, coaching, competition, cross country, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: When the shit really did hit the fan

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Back in college days, I became a big Warren Zevon fan. I dug into his albums because I liked the twisted lyrics and sad, crazy, needy, nutso characters he created. Zevon later became friends with Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, one … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, marathon, marathon training, race pace, running, running shoes, training, training for a marathon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Great joys and hard lessons

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

The day-to-day joy of writing full-time for a living was not lost on me. I truly loved writing columns and found it fascinating to edit national columnists’ work from all sorts of political perspectives. As editorial writers, our job was … Continue reading →

Posted in adhd, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, mental health, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment