Category Archives: mental health

50 Years of Runner: Let’s rock and roll

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the summer of 1978, I finally bought my first Rolling Stones record. I’d always been a Beatles guy, but of course I knew the Stones’ music, and my favorite songs were Tumbling Dice and Happy, on which Keith Richards … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Rough surfaces and deep dives

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The winter of 1977 was, like so many winters in the late 1970s and early 80s, as cold as hell and frozen over. We trained through the cold by running on snow-packed roads. We’d often leave in the near-dark and … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A Few Jokers and Wild Cards

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The interesting thing about cross country as a sport is that teammates tend to spend enormous amounts of time together. Whereas athletes in track and field tend to split into training groups for mid-distance and long-distance training, in cross country … 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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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: A Bird’s Eye View of Life

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As college cross country season ended in the fall of 1976, I started thinking about what to do during January interim. The previous year I drew nudes for six hours a day. That was enlightening. But my other keen interest … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: First, a flight. Then I woke up dead.

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Following a successful conference meet, our team earned a trip to Nationals out in Boston, Massachusetts. We’d swept the top five spots at the IIAC race and our coach Kent Finanger followed through on getting us an entry to the … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Fear and Loathing in Cross country

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

I was too young to have read anything by Hunter S. Thompson when I was a freshman in high school. But it would have been good for me to absorb some of the fearless antics of the Gonzo journalist that … Continue reading →

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50 years of running: An introduction to pain

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

This is the first in a series of articles chronicling fifty years of running since I went out for cross country as a freshman in high school. Some point in the middle of August 1971, my father drove me from … Continue reading →

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On the flip side, I don’t have to prove myself at the family picnic

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Yesterday I wrote a short lament about the way sports consumes so much of our lives if we let it. That’s not a total regret. I’ve gained quite a bit from sports, including the aptitudes of perseverance when called upon, … Continue reading →

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