Category Archives: track and field

50 Years of Running: Sorting through a box of slides

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

One of the most challenging aspects of life on the road doing admissions work was feeling disconnected from the core mission of Luther College. It all seemed abstract out there in the field; showing photos ins a binder, talking with … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Hardest Thing in the World

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the month of November, when traveling for admissions wore me down to a nub of a human being, I ceased trying to keep track of daily runs because it meant nothing. If you’ve ever run a race where you … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Snake Eyes

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During four years of college in Decorah, Iowa, I got to know the landscape pretty well. It helped to be enrolled in a field biology class, where we explored native prairies, caught frogs in cold freshwater springs, did duck surveys … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Graduation Blues

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

With nothing left but nationals in the 1979 track season, I walked across the stage to pick up my degree with my parents present during graduation. I’d earned a precious “D” in that horrifically dry and accounting-based marketing class that … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: On the Runway to Life

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

At the end of January Term, with a mere197 miles under my belt, it was time to get serious about training. But there was also the question of a serious relationship going on, and I didn’t mind that one bit. … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Wonder Left

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After the 800-mile season in cross country in the fall of ’78, it felt good to back off running twice-a-day. But then I sprained an ankle playing pickup basketball. So I was out of action completely for four days. I … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Alternative Realities

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The circumstances by which I wound up running for Luther College were serendipitous. By the end of senior year in high school, I’d applied and was accepted to Augustana College in Rock Island. During my visit out there, I ran … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: First steps to clarity

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off the two semesters that my friends called “Cud’s weird year,” I arrived home at the farmhouse where our family lived for a year and took a hard look in the mirror. My hair was so thick and long … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Rough surfaces and deep dives

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The winter of 1977 was, like so many winters in the late 1970s and early 80s, as cold as hell and frozen over. We trained through the cold by running on snow-packed roads. We’d often leave in the near-dark and … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A Bird’s Eye View of Life

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As college cross country season ended in the fall of 1976, I started thinking about what to do during January interim. The previous year I drew nudes for six hours a day. That was enlightening. But my other keen interest … Continue reading →

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