Tag Archives: relationships

Erections come with a cost

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Christopher Cudworth

When my daughter was just into junior high, we sat watching together TV when a Viagra commercial appeared on the air, concluding with a warning that users should “seek help” for an erection lasting longer than four hours.

“Four hours!” she burst out laughing. “Oh my God!” Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, friendship, healthy aging, healthy senior, mental health, mental illness, running, sex, track and field, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Passing the girlfriend test

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

Following Sue’s bike accident in July 2013, she was initially not able to swim due to a torn rotator cuff. When the Naperville Sprint Triathlon rolled around in August, she reached out to a Master’s Swim buddy named Lida to … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, bike accidents, bike crash, Christopher Cudworth, competition, friendship, IRONMAN, running, training, tri-bikes, triathlete, triathlon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life in context

Posted on June 3, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

Sue and I rode together consistently in the summer of 2013. I recall it as a warm year, and every time she showed up in her little black cycling shorts and sleeveless kit jersey, I admired her arms and overall … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, alcohol, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, Depression, fear, foregiveness, healthy aging, life and death, love, triathlete | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dating as a widower

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

The term “widower” seems so loaded with tradition and history, it deserves a definition right here and now. I looked it up and this is what it says: If anything I was a garden widower before my late wife Linda … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, death, Depression, foregiveness, life and death, love, track and field, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A trip back east in search of a sense of hope

Posted on October 11, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Following a departure from an audio-visual company reeling from its inability to finish a new product for which they never completed the software, I engaged in full-time caregiving for my wife as she sank into another recurrence of the ovarian … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, fear, foregiveness, friendship, mental health, mental illness, PEAK EXPERIENCES, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Escape from prisons

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

From the age of twelve through the time I reached twenty-seven years old, I dedicated myself largely to the sport of running. At times, that commitment constituted total immersion. An endurance athlete is both reduced and enlarged through a lifestyle … Continue reading →

Posted in race pace, racing peak, running | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: An end to the city experiment

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

For almost two years my roommate and I made the best of our city life together. But both our lives were starting to change. His graduate work in exercise physiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago was winding down, and my … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, mental health, running, running shoes, sex | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Dark nights and glimpses of light

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As October days grew shorter the days at work started and ended in darkness. Fortunately, Van Kampen Merritt uprooted from its Chicago office and moved out to a newly constructed building at the corner of Naper Boulevard and I-88. It … Continue reading →

Posted in alcohol, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, God, life and death, love, marathon, mental health, mental illness, nature, running shoes, sex, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in fear, foregiveness, love, mental health, race pace, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, running, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment