Category Archives: we run and ride

50 Years of Running: Cataclysmic convergence

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

My competitive instincts had not abated much in my early forties, but one quickly learns as a caregiver that being competitive is not the answer to every problem. In fact, it constitutes an answer to few problems. It doesn’t help … Continue reading →

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Racing along with ease and joy

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Yesterday on October 16, I competed in the Frank Lloyd Wright Races in Oak Park, Illinois. This was a return adventure to an event I won twice back in ’83 and ’84. That was 39 years ago. I ran 32:00 … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, aging, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, cycling the midwest, healthy aging, healthy senior, race pace, racing peak, running, running shoes, track and field, training, TRAINING PEAKS, triathlon, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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: 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: The Villanova Factor

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Adjusting to life in the Philly suburbs took some doing. With rare exception, I took the train downtown because driving into the city was a manic experiment in age-old expressways and traffic backups right and left. The main route into … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Predecessors

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

In writing this biography about 50 years of running experience, I come to points where the story seems to broaden because it occurs to me that the circumstance into which I entered was different than I imagined or understood. That … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Accomplishing something real

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Following each cross country season, Kaneland coach Rich Born put together a results booklet containing training advice, inspirational quotes and––after my freshman year––a cover comprised of newspaper stories about our success. I remember feeling a great sense of pride and … Continue reading →

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Summer road trips

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

It is officially summertime. Covid is at least partially on the run. Time for a road trip. We have a busy race calendar in this household this summer. My wife has a race in Des Moines in a weekend or … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, Share the Road, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In races with our own faces

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As an artist, I’ve never been one to paint or draw many self portraits. I prefer to look out at the world rather than constantly looking at myself for some hint about the universe. But yesterday, while sitting on a … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, we run and ride, We Run and Ride Every Day, werunandride | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment