Category Archives: competition

From one bag of bones to another

Posted on November 12, 2019 by

Before hopping on the train to Chicago this morning, I slipped into the restroom at the Perk Up! cafe in the Geneva train station. The walls in that room were decorated with skeleton wallpaper. The first image that stood out … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, bike accidents, bike crash, blood on the highway, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, cycling threats, death, Depression, healthy aging | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

History in the making

Posted on November 10, 2019 by

The day after the 2019 Illinois state cross country championship, I turned to the website of my former employer, the Daily Herald, to find a story by Michael Eaken of the record-setting run by a Hersey high school senior Josh … Continue reading →

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The Tar Bubble Chronicles

Posted on September 17, 2019 by

During my run today I looked down and saw a few small bubbles poking up from the surface of the tar at the edge of the road. I stopped and bent down to use the tip of my pointer finger … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Christopher Cudworth, competition, running, training, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A competitive take on 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2019 by

Thinking back to 9/11/2011, I well recall coming into the house after a run to find the television tuned to an image of a World Trade Center tower smoking and burning against a clear blue sky. At that time, America … Continue reading →

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Is it ever okay to be selfish?

Posted on September 10, 2019 by

Back in 1982, I was transferred by my employer from Chicago out to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a consolidation of the marketing department. That situation lasted about eight months before the EVP in charge of the division decided the VP of … Continue reading →

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The high value of red meat and bones

Posted on August 27, 2019 by

We adopted a dog from Safe Haven, the rescue group that brings abandoned pups from Tennessee and Kentucky up to Illinois to find homes for them. We named her Lucy, in part after triathlete Lucy Charles-Barclay, a person we both … Continue reading →

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Not every race is a blessing, but every race holds a lesson

Posted on August 9, 2019 by

The photo above is as old as it looks. It is a snapshot taken by my father with one of his jury-rigged cameras in the late 1970s. My folks had come up to Kenosha, Wisconsin from our home back in … Continue reading →

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My annual ride in the Tour de Chicory

Posted on August 8, 2019 by

America’s roadsides in July and August typically bear a ribbon of bright blue flowers known as chicory. They are tough plants that grow in disturbed soil, often popping up through gravel and grit to unleash their starlike blue blossoms in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, cycling the midwest, race pace, riding | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learning to live with pain

Posted on July 31, 2019 by

Outside of the gates the trucks were unloadin’The weather was hot, a-nearly ninety degreesThe man standin’ next to me, his head was explodingWell, I was prayin’ the pieces wouldn’t fall on me ––Bob Dylan, Day of the Locusts The after … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, cycling, PEAK EXPERIENCES, running, swimming | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A whole series of Finish Lines

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

I signed up for the Wauconda Olympic Triathlon and was excited to have an opportunity to swim a mile in open water for the first time. My time trial in the pool last week saw me finish 1600 yards in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, tri-bikes, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments