Category Archives: running

50 Years of Running: Summer reckoning

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Reckoning: the action or process of calculating or estimating something. August in the City of Chicago is often literally and figuratively exhausting. That was particularly true because our apartment on the second floor faced Clark Street and Lincoln Park. With … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: What is my real job?

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As the Traveler’s Cheques slowly disappeared, I kept up the hunt for a job in the summer of 1983. Meanwhile, small freelance jobs kept coming my way. I drew up some ads for Vertel’s Running store, but the process was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Moving experiences

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I felt kind of cheesy being back in the Chicago area after having been given a big sendoff party to hail my departure to Philadelphia just nine months before. Once back in town, I headed downtown to find the apartment … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Closing time

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

All of us who run know the difference between a good race and a bad race. There are empirical factors such as time and place by which we measure our efforts. Yet even these are subjective depending on conditions such … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, competition, cycling, duathlon, God, mental health, nature, race pace, racing peak, running, running shoes, sex, triathlon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

50 Years of Running: Love letters and tell-alls

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

During all those weeks and months away in Philadelphia, I kept up a steady stream of correspondence with Linda back in Geneva. She kept all those letters, and I found them in our house years later. In the week after … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Marching on

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

By March 6, 1983, the weather in southeastern Pennsylvania was beginning to moderate. I ran a sixteen-miler in 1:43 on a route that I now knew well enough to do with confidence. No more getting lost in horse country. I … Continue reading →

Posted in blood on the highway, Christopher Cudworth, competition, death, fear, mental health, mental illness, race pace, racing peak, running, running shoes, sex, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Green-eyed redemption

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off the Miami weekend in January of 1983, I got caught in the rain during the first run back and came home feeling dragged out, with cold symptoms haunting me all the next day. “I’m resting tonight to see … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, competition, mental health, race pace, racing peak, running, training, training for a marathon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Muscleheads and kryptonite

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Always on the lookout for another fitness opportunity, I wandered into a weightlifting club about two blocks from my apartment. I’d heard of the place from a co-worker that had just joined the firm. We rode the train in together … Continue reading →

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