Category Archives: cross country

50 Years of Running: Go West Young Man

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Heading into the cross country season of 1976, I elected to join the team training trip out west to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. The previous year’s trip to South Dakota provided compelling accounts of runs in the mountains. It … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: If you can’t stand the heat

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

There is nothing quite like setting personal records at any distance that you run. There’s no better feeling than running faster than you’ve ever run before. Heading into my sophomore year at Luther College, the goal was to achieve continual … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Drawing On Experience

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Once the cross country season was finished that freshman year at Luther College, I experienced dorm and campus life without the daily commitment of early morning runs and afternoon practices. That was liberating, to some degree. It left time open … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A visit to the past, Warts and All

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

This past weekend I traveled to Decorah, Iowa to watch the conference cross country championship held at Luther College, my alma mater. I joined two long-ago teammates, Paul Mullen and Dani Fjelstad, to have dinner on Friday night and watch … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A Perfect Score for the Ages

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The 1975 season saw plenty of jostling among the top ten runners to remain in the Top 7. Everyone had their ups and downs, but one runner in particular, my roommate Keith Ellingson, started coming into his own. At a … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Yin and Yang

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

With several weeks of running in the tank, it was time for the team Intrasquad meet. Everyone knew it was coming because the course was marked out by the loyal campus groundskeeper. There was just one problem. He was a … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Logging miles, swapping tales

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The hours spent running with twenty-four guys proved to be great way to get to know people that freshman year in college. While dorm life was a rush of introductions and a socially manic environment by nature, running cross country … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Big Sendoff

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

With the summer job completed, and college bearing down on our collection of friends, there was only one thing left to do before starting the next important stage of our lives. Hold a The Big Sendoff Party. Our clan was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Full Circle and Football Fantasies

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After eighteen meets during the regular season in 1974, it was time to run in Districts, the first toward going downstate. In my case, that race would bring me full circle to the Kaneland High School cross country course at … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Jousting Knights

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

One of the unique aspects of cross country running in the 1970s is that dual meets were held between every team in the league. The Upstate Eight Conference consisted of St. Charles, Elgin, Elgin Larkin, Wheaton Central, East Aurora, West … Continue reading →

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