Category Archives: track and field

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: 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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50 Years of Running: Exhaust fumes and lane changes

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

By November of 1984, I’d raced enough that by the 17th of November when I ran a 20:17 four-mile… that should have been enough to call it quits. But then my former coach and then-business associate Trent Richards got involved … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: You had me in stitches

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

You’ve heard the phrase “Curiosity kills the cat?” Well, here’s a new one. “Overeagerness flattens the frog.” Heading into the Prairie State Games in July of 1984, I was way overeager to hop to it. The week prior to the … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Qualifying time

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off a less-than-stellar race like the one I had in Elgin, where a side stitch slowed me down, is tough on the short-term confidence. But while I was second-guessing the ten-mile race in Elgin, I heard that there was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Tears for Fears

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

All around me are familiar facesWorn out places, worn out facesBright and early for the daily racesGoing nowhere, going nowhere Lyrics to Mad World by Tears for Fears, later recorded by Gary Jules As I continued working hopefully for Trent … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The singular nature of a double life

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

In late October of 1983, with the racing season nearing its end, I was still attending workouts with the Tom Brunick crew at both University of Illinois-Chicago as well as the odd little cinder track at Northwestern in the upper … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Trying to get a leg up

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I took a week off from racing after the zoo 10K and the Philly 8.4 miler. My brother invited me to come out to Lancaster and compete against his former Millersville classmate Jeff Bradley in a ten-mile road race. As … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Dark nights and glimpses of light

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As October days grew shorter the days at work started and ended in darkness. Fortunately, Van Kampen Merritt uprooted from its Chicago office and moved out to a newly constructed building at the corner of Naper Boulevard and I-88. It … Continue reading →

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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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment