Category Archives: track and field

You never know what a little cheerleading can do

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

A cross country meet is not the place where one normally expects to see cheerleaders. That tradition is more closely associated with football and basketball games where crowds fill the bleachers. Yet there were cheerleaders assigned to our cross country … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, running, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On April and track and field

Posted on April 14, 2020 by

Ever since 1970, when I was an immensely skinny 8th-grader competing in track and field for the first time, April has been a vexation on my body and my soul. I too-well recall stripping off sweatpants to stand shivering in … Continue reading →

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A Burning Man of a different kind

Posted on April 6, 2020 by

My son Evan Cudworth was planning on attending The Burning Man event in August again this year. But it likely won’t happen. Even that brand of social distancing––rocking out in the Black Rock Desert–– is not enough social distance to … Continue reading →

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It's a bad time to be a nail-biter, but welcome to the club

Posted on March 24, 2020 by

I’m not proud of the fact that I’ve been biting my nails since I was a little kid. Even as an adult my fingernails are sometimes a ragged mess if I collapse into the nervous habit of chewing on them. … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, cycling, running, swimming, Tarsnakes, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Old School is New School. Never forget it.

Posted on February 20, 2020 by

This morning on the way to drop off our dog at daycare, I drove past the building that was the only high school in town back when I was a student in St. Charles, Illinois. By the time I was … Continue reading →

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The glory days are not always what you think they are

Posted on December 30, 2019 by

I got my gripe session about the travails of 2019 out of the way yesterday. Now it’s time to look ahead to 2020. Let’s spare each other the obvious cliches about “vision” and “seeing clearly.” I’m sure we’ll find plenty … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, healthy aging, IRONMAN, swimming, Tarsnakes, track and field, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, trolls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Menstruation chronicles

Posted on November 29, 2019 by

As a young runner living in the City of Chicago during the early 1980s, I met a woman through track workouts at the downtown Northwestern University cinder track next to Lake Shore Drive. After scoping her out the entire workout, … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 400 meter intervals, bike accidents, bike crash, blood on the highway, Christopher Cudworth, running, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

History in the making

Posted on November 10, 2019 by

The day after the 2019 Illinois state cross country championship, I turned to the website of my former employer, the Daily Herald, to find a story by Michael Eaken of the record-setting run by a Hersey high school senior Josh … Continue reading →

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We need more liberal arts majors in this country, not less

Posted on July 16, 2019 by

This past weekend was spent at Luther College in the company of more than 100 alumni from a track and field program that won Iowa conference track championship titles 26 out of 30 years. The event was illuminating on many … Continue reading →

Posted in running, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Reunion of Champions

Posted on July 10, 2019 by

Last evening I received a call from Paul Mullen, a college roommate and teammate from both cross country and track. He works in Development for my alma mater Luther College. He wanted to reach out because he is super excited … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, aging, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, track and field | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment