Category Archives: life and death

50 Years of Running: The cold heart of a Chicago winter

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Our landlord was a cheap bastard when it came to heating our building. At times, the inside temps sank to fifty degrees indoors. I’d struggle to keep painting or writing under those conditions. We complained, but it was no use. … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Jacked around

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Having moved everything I owned east to Philly the previous August, now I was faced with hauling everything back to Chicago the following May. Through a few quick conversations with a close friend living on the north side of the … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The homely hayseed and love

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Finding out from a key player and trusted friend on the management side that the marketing department where I worked in Philadelphia was not fulfilling expectations didn’t surprise me. There were great people on the team, who were doing some … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Green-eyed redemption

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off the Miami weekend in January of 1983, I got caught in the rain during the first run back and came home feeling dragged out, with cold symptoms haunting me all the next day. “I’m resting tonight to see … 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: Why running is life

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The Rails-To-Trails movement in Illinois started in the early 1980s. The most significant development in the Fox Valley where I lived was the conversion of the Great Western railroad tracks to a running and cycling path. Most of the training … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, climbing, college, competition, cross country, healthy aging, it never gets easier you just go faster, life and death, religious liberty, running, running shoes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Detachments

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Once the optometrist found the retinal detachment in my left eye, all the other stuff that occupied my mind fell away. I pushed him for information about how the condition came about. Was it trauma? I’d recently gotten hit in … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Hardest Thing in the World

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the month of November, when traveling for admissions wore me down to a nub of a human being, I ceased trying to keep track of daily runs because it meant nothing. If you’ve ever run a race where you … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Achilles Heel

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

On October 2nd of 1978, our cross country team ran a hill workout in Palisades Park, a bluff reserve on the southeast side of downtown Decorah. That weekend, we were scheduled to race at the St. Olaf Invitational. My former … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: U-Hauling Ass

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Working summer jobs between school years was necessary to pay my way through college. That first summer I worked as a coach for the St. Charles Track Club but only earned $500 for the entire summer. The next year, I … Continue reading →

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