Category Archives: mental health

50 Years of Running: Ringing in 1983

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

After a sweet Christmas in Chicago with Linda, I returned to life in Paoli with an eye on starting the New Year the right way. A long run. “I ran a very relaxed but determined two hours today,” I wrote. … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Breaking barriers

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Running has its barriers for everyone. Until Sir Roger Bannister first broke the 4:00 mile barrier in 1954, people speculated that it could never be done. Now the world record set by in 1999 by Hicham El Guerrouj stands at … 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: Moving stories

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

The first time I moved from one state to another, I was five years old. The night before we left Seneca Falls, New York, I stayed at the home of my kindergarten teacher because the rest of my family was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The winter of my discontent

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

When the temperature hit -26 degrees on January 10 of 1982, I’d already been inside for two or three days, and was getting cabin fever. Even girlfriend company didn’t help. I was stir crazy and needed to get out for … 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

50 Years of Running: Party till you drop

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I had a problem during the summer of 1981. The coach house I was renting became Party Central for my circle friends including my running buddies and a group of co-workers who loved having a place to toke up in … Continue reading →

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