Category Archives: running

50 Years of Running: That First Varsity Win

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the 1972 cross country season, our top runner Bill Creamean fought back problems most of the year. Despite his struggles, he led us in the early meets and at the end of the season. But during the middle, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, running | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Predecessors

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

In writing this biography about 50 years of running experience, I come to points where the story seems to broaden because it occurs to me that the circumstance into which I entered was different than I imagined or understood. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, running, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Turning dreams into reality

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the 1972 cross country season at Kaneland High School, the program started to fulfill its potential in new ways. The Varsity and Sophomore programs both finished with 14-3 records for the year. The schedule of 17 dual and triangular … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Accomplishing something real

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Following each cross country season, Kaneland coach Rich Born put together a results booklet containing training advice, inspirational quotes and––after my freshman year––a cover comprised of newspaper stories about our success. I remember feeling a great sense of pride and … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, race pace, running, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: the anger factor

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As fifteen-year-old kid during the summer of 1972, I was frustrated by the fact that I’d sustained a chipped bone in my elbow that erased the summer baseball season. Neither could I go out and run with the cast on. … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, competition, cross country, Depression, nature, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 years of running: winter track transitions

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Following a freshman basketball season in which the team’s emphasis on court fitness tailed off toward the end, I took a weekend off before turning out for track that following Monday. Their was a ritual in receiving cotton sweats and … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, competition, cross country, running, sex, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Freshman results

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The Kaneland Cross Country team competed in 21 meets in 1971, my freshman year in high school. That wasn’t just the number of teams we competed against during duals and triangulars.That’s the total number of races we ran. The weekly … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, cross country, running, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in anxiety, blood on the highway, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, death, fear, mental health, running | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

50 Years of Running: Competitive instincts

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After the first few days of cross country practice as a freshman in high school, the team began to sort itself into shape. Every member of the Kaneland team had the goal of making the Top 7. After a week … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, cross country, running | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Hilltop Encounters

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Perhaps a couple weeks into that first cross country season in 1971 at Kaneland High School, our team piled into a yellow school bus and traveled east for ten miles to a park known as Johnson’s Mound Forest Preserve. That … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, aging, Christopher Cudworth, climbing, college, cross country, nature, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment