Tag Archives: North Central College

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: National Ambitions

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The first time our Luther cross country team traveled to the national cross country meet, we flew to Boston, Massachusetts and finished in 20th place with 441 points. North Central College, led by its perennial All-American Bruce Fischer in 4th … 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: 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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Making it happen

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Christopher Cudworth

This past summer while shopping for running shoes at Naperville Running Company, I met a young man that worked at the shop during breaks between school years at North Central College. We talked about running for a bit and one … Continue reading →

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A bit bent but not broken

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Christopher Cudworth

In the last few weeks, there have been some good stories about David Walters, a distance runner from Illinois. At age 60, Dave ran 2:45 in the Chicago Marathon, then went out to New York this past weekend and polished off … Continue reading →

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An inside look at an elite collegiate runner

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Christopher Cudworth

Zach Plank is a central Illinois boy living in the suburbs of Chicago. That’s where he attends school at North Central College studying actuarial science, and where he continues a successful running career that included a cross country team victory … Continue reading →

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You can’t worry your way to success

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Christopher Cudworth

By Christopher Cudworth Insecurity is not the friend of any endurance athlete. When we’re fit we worry that we’re not fit enough. When we’re unfit we worry if we can get fit in time for the next big events. When … Continue reading →

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Running parallel with tradition of North Central College

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Christopher Cudworth

By Christopher Cudworth At times one must accept that personal history is both a direct and parallel consequence of having lived. We all construct narratives around who we are and how we got here. As runners, we create an additional … Continue reading →

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On running and riding for a school, a team or a cause

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Christopher Cudworth

Looking back at your career in athletics, it is interesting to consider how many labels one adopts and discards along the way. Schools For example, as an athlete competing for school teams, I have been–in order from middle school through … Continue reading →

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