Category Archives: cross country

50 Years of Running: Basketball Jones

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Sometime in the school year of 1973, the duo of Cheech and Chong came out with a comedy album featuring a novelty hit song titled Basketball Jones. It was filled with bald-faced cliches and overwrought background singers singing the refrain … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Sectional Wall

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As the cross country season rolled to a close in November1973, our squad ran in a tough sectional in the Chicago suburbs and didn’t advance downstate. That would have been a stretch for a program that was just beginning to … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Forgettable and Unforgettable

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Looking back at a running career is a bit kaleidoscopic. Memories sometimes mix and turn circles in the mind. Others bubble up unintentionally, driven by autumn light or the smell of the air on an October day. While many of … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Where Respect Is Due

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Midway through the 1973 season, I’d run well enough, and our team was doing so well, that we began to gain the attention of some local sportswriters. The newspapers that covered our team included the St. Charles Chronicle, the hometown … Continue reading →

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50 Year of Running: The Maroons Come to Play

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off the St. Charles victory in which we snapped the 60+ dual meet streak of Naperville Central, we faced a squad from Elgin High School that was more than our equal. The afternoon broke cool and slightly overcast. Classic … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Peregrine

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

This morning while walking the dog in late September sun, I thought back to one of the first cross country meets of the season for St. Charles in 1973. Our team was training well, and we knew that there were … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A Force of Nature

Posted on September 23, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Few activities put you more in touch with nature than distance running. That’s especially true in cross country, where the training often takes you into the woods and fields where it’s you, the air you breath and the ground you … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The adidas factor

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The year in which I began my running career were a transitional time in terms of available running shoes. The gum rubber flats we used for training in 1971 and ’72 were not much good for road running. I was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A New Kid In Town

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Johnny-come-latelyThe new kid in townEverybody loves youSo don’t let them down You look in her eyesThe music begins to playHopeless romanticsHere we go again Once the school year ended and my daily commute from St. Charles to Kaneland High School … Continue reading →

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