Tag Archives: Luther College

50 Years of Running: What a fool believes

Posted on December 16, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Somehow I managed to squeeze in a race back home in Illinois amid all the new obligations with the admissions job. The race raised funds for my high school cross country program, and I ran a solid 25:40 five-mile after … 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: 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: Performance time

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As the last two weeks of cross country season wound down, there was little time for looking backward as all our focus came down to one thing: getting through the Regional Championships to make Nationals. That was our whole goal … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Take Nothing For Granted

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After team members circulated rumors about feeling “burnout,” our coach Kent Finanager turned on the motivational jets. What coach wants to hear their runners bitching and whining their way into failure? The season was already marked by success. But it … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Petrified into silence

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Coming off our narrow 28-29 dual meet win over LaCrosse, our team traveled east across Wisconsin to compete in the Carthage Invitational at Petrifying Springs State Park in Kenosha. We’d always performed well in that meet, and our pack was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The Achilles Heel

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

On October 2nd of 1978, our cross country team ran a hill workout in Palisades Park, a bluff reserve on the southeast side of downtown Decorah. That weekend, we were scheduled to race at the St. Olaf Invitational. My former … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Runner: Let’s rock and roll

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the summer of 1978, I finally bought my first Rolling Stones record. I’d always been a Beatles guy, but of course I knew the Stones’ music, and my favorite songs were Tumbling Dice and Happy, on which Keith Richards … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A New Me

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

My parents both drove back with me to Luther College in the fall of 1978. We took the back roads through southwestern Wisconsin to enjoy the scenery, stopping at times to get out and stretch while gazing at the hazy … Continue reading →

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