Tag Archives: racing

50 Years of Running: Great joys and hard lessons

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

The day-to-day joy of writing full-time for a living was not lost on me. I truly loved writing columns and found it fascinating to edit national columnists’ work from all sorts of political perspectives. As editorial writers, our job was … Continue reading →

Posted in adhd, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, mental health, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Race after race

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

On June 27, a day or two after the big win at the Geneva Community Classic, I dropped by to visit my former coach and business buddy Trent Richards. His partner Marietta was a lovely Jewish woman with hair that … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 5K, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, healthy aging, running, sex, steeplechase, training | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: I got the news

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Broadway Duchess…darling if you only knew…Half as much as, everybody thinks you do “I Got the News,” by Steely Dan, from the album Aja During my nightly runs in the City of Geneva where I lived, I’d often glance at … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, running | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Party till you drop

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I had a problem during the summer of 1981. The coach house I was renting became Party Central for my circle friends including my running buddies and a group of co-workers who loved having a place to toke up in … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, alcohol, anxiety, college, competition, cross country, half marathon, love, mental health, mental illness, racing peak, running, running shoes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

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 →

Posted in college, competition, cross country, race pace, racing peak, running, steeplechase | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted on November 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

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 →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Freshman results

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The Kaneland Cross Country team competed in 21 meets in 1971, my freshman year in high school. That wasn’t just the number of teams we competed against during duals and triangulars.That’s the total number of races we ran. The weekly … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, cross country, running, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Winning means different things to different people

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

On a chilly October day in October, 1983, I stood on the starting line of a race in downtown Oak Park, Illinois. It was fifty degrees outside. Rain had fallen the night before and the clouds still formed a low, … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, 5K, competition, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maybe fireworks aren’t what really matters

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

For several decades our family tradition was spending the 4th of July in my in-laws’ back yard. We’d light small fireworks all day until everyone smelled like smoke and gunpowder. My son grew to love the pyrotechnics and his uncle … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There is still some Wonder Left

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

One of the most difficult tasks in life is sustaining a sense of wonder about the world and daily experiences. So much of our existence is taken up by routine and obligations that finding a thrill can be tough as … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, Depression, running, sex | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment