Tag Archives: Luther College

50 Years of Running: Sophomoric self-perception

One of the most challenging aspects of being a runner is building a self-perception conducive to improvement. For starters, you must believe that it is possible to improve. Secondly, you must do the work necessary to improve. And finally, you … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: If you can’t stand the heat

There is nothing quite like setting personal records at any distance that you run. There’s no better feeling than running faster than you’ve ever run before. Heading into my sophomore year at Luther College, the goal was to achieve continual … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: A visit to the past, Warts and All

This past weekend I traveled to Decorah, Iowa to watch the conference cross country championship held at Luther College, my alma mater. I joined two long-ago teammates, Paul Mullen and Dani Fjelstad, to have dinner on Friday night and watch … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: A Perfect Score for the Ages

The 1975 season saw plenty of jostling among the top ten runners to remain in the Top 7. Everyone had their ups and downs, but one runner in particular, my roommate Keith Ellingson, started coming into his own. At a … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Logging miles, swapping tales

The hours spent running with twenty-four guys proved to be great way to get to know people that freshman year in college. While dorm life was a rush of introductions and a socially manic environment by nature, running cross country … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Freshman Blues

On equipment day for the cross country season at Luther College, I was handed my first set of Luther Blues for training. I loved the simple dark blue tee shirt with the big number on the front. We got some … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: The Big Sendoff

With the summer job completed, and college bearing down on our collection of friends, there was only one thing left to do before starting the next important stage of our lives. Hold a The Big Sendoff Party. Our clan was … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Sweet summer sweat

Following high school graduation, the pressure to find a summer job and earn “money for college” entered the picture for the first time. I stumbled around the first few weeks looking for who-knows-what kind of job, then got offered a … Continue reading

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My longtime friend the red-tailed hawk

Heading into my senior year at Luther College, my fitness was good and I’d used the summer to clean up my act. I cut off the long, thick hair that shrouded my face. Dumped the thick glasses and got a … Continue reading

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Life is a long letter being written one day at a time

The letter was written seven weeks into my senior year in college, the season in which our cross country team would go on to place second in the NCAA Division III championships. Continue reading

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