Category Archives: running

50 Years of Running: Becoming a Midwestern boy

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As our family drove west through Ohio and Indiana toward our new home in Illinois, the land flattened out and the trees disappeared into distant blue clumps dotting the horizon. I’d been to Chicago once as a small child, but … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: It’s about time I raced again, and what fun!

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Standing in the sand at the beach next to Bang’s Lake in Wauconda, I felt one small tremor of nerves. Then I remembered that these days competition is more about the experience than the result. I swung my arms a … Continue reading →

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50 years of running: Saying goodbyes and taking on a new life

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As the school year wore down in 1970, the time for our family to move to Illinois soon arrived. My father moved out to Illinois after taking a job with an electronics company in rural Geneva. He lived in an … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Formative youth experiences

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

By the time I reached sixth grade, I’d earned a reputation as one of the better athletes in the grade. I recall being invited to a basketball clinic at the high school where the coaches took a first look at … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Competition’s Son, Part 6

Posted on July 6, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Navigating childhood is a wandering path of growing friendships, responding to parental influence, and engaging in varying degrees of imagination. My best memories of childhood all center around playing in the yard of our Pennsylvania home. For starters, there were … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Competition’s Son, Part 2

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

The town of Seneca Falls, New York, is well-known as the cinematic source for the town of Bedford Falls as depicted in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Even at the age of 60+ years old, I can well recall … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: BSA Blues

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming from the world I’d inhabited in the City of Chicago, where there were few rules and fewer people to enforce them, the culture shock of working at the Boy Scouts of America was profound. I’d enjoyed being in Cub … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Transition time

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Forty years after my 1984 engagement as an essentially ‘full-time runner,’ I got interested in triathlon and started competing in Sprint and Olympic distance events. I quickly learned that the most awkward part of triathlons are the transitions, those moments … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Escape from prisons

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

From the age of twelve through the time I reached twenty-seven years old, I dedicated myself largely to the sport of running. At times, that commitment constituted total immersion. An endurance athlete is both reduced and enlarged through a lifestyle … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Return engagement

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Moving back into your parent’s house after six or seven years of self-sustaining independence is an odd but sometimes inevitable choice. With Linda crammed into a single room sharing expenses with a fellow teacher, there was no space to join … Continue reading →

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