Category Archives: college

50 Years of Running: The Rain King gets no satisfaction

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

On March 20, 1984, the vernal equinox arrived with typically chilly March weather. But like a maple tree with its sap starting to run, I was eager to start using the fitness I’d built over the winter. After the freezing … 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: Out of my league

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

A good share of my running during the summer of 1983 was done on the lakefront path. I’d run all the way down to the museum campuses from Lincoln Park and back up to North Avenue Beach. One warm morning … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Summer reckoning

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Reckoning: the action or process of calculating or estimating something. August in the City of Chicago is often literally and figuratively exhausting. That was particularly true because our apartment on the second floor faced Clark Street and Lincoln Park. With … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Trying to get a leg up

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I took a week off from racing after the zoo 10K and the Philly 8.4 miler. My brother invited me to come out to Lancaster and compete against his former Millersville classmate Jeff Bradley in a ten-mile road race. As … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Hilarity on the move

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As any runner knows, it is conversations that help make the miles go by in training. The ribbing and joking, the racing tales and discussions about dating, and more. These are the graces that get you through hours on the … Continue reading →

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50 Year of Running: What drives a young man?

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Starting up my new running journal was a strange feeling, but the timing was interesting. New apartment in a new city. All-new running routes. On August 12, 1982 I wrote: “Two nights ago the run went marvelous, physiologically. After having … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Life tectonics

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

By the winter of 1981, I’d completed much of the fictional book Admissions that I’d written on the train while commuting to Chicago. One of the main characters in the book was a professor that invented a concept called Life … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Dark nights and glimpses of light

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

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 →

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50 Years of Running: Wonder Left

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

The running scene in the early 1980s was largely about adapting to the road racing world. During the late 1970s, runners such as Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, and Craig Virgin led the American scene while African and European runners racing … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, 5K, aging, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, healthy aging, mental health, mental illness, race pace, racing peak, running, track and field, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments