Category Archives: running

50 Years of Running: Hawaiian getaway

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Somewhere during the middle of November, 1981, I received a call from the father of a woman I’d dated earlier in the month. She’d been sweet, and demure, and I was respectful toward her. So I didn’t automatically think the … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, Christopher Cudworth, death, love, nature, running, sex | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, alcohol, anxiety, college, competition, cross country, half marathon, love, mental health, mental illness, racing peak, running, running shoes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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: The running rube factor

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

All through college, one of the keys to my self-esteem was running. A large chunk of personal identity was wrapped up on the sport and its year-round commitment to training and racing. Like many runners in those days, when I … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, addiction, alcohol, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, mental health, mental illness, nature, race pace, racing peak, running, running shoes, same sex adults, sex, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: The smell of candles burning at both ends

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As a hormone-driven, partially obsessed early 1980s distance runner in his early 20s, I was constantly seeking partners in crime. One in particular, a best friend you might say, had followed a similar path from the same high school to … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, love, mental health, mental illness, running, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Chicago Time

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

I have an embarrassing confession to make about starting the job with Van Kampen Merritt in the late summer of 1980. On the first day of work, I was scheduled to show up at 208 S. LaSalle, the office headquarters … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Christopher Cudworth, running | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, Depression, God, life and death, love, mental health, mental illness, running, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Road Trippin’

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

On the 17th of September, 1979, I climbed into the beatup Chevy Monza that Luther College assigned me for road trips and drove the 5+ hours to the Chicago market for the first college fair of the fall season. For … Continue reading →

Posted in adhd, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, mental health, running, sex | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: What a fool believes

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Somehow I managed to squeeze in a race back home in Illinois amid all the new obligations with the admissions job. The race raised funds for my high school cross country program, and I ran a solid 25:40 five-mile after … Continue reading →

Posted in fear, foregiveness, love, mental health, race pace, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment