Tag Archives: runner

50 Years of Running: The Hardest Thing in the World

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

During the month of November, when traveling for admissions wore me down to a nub of a human being, I ceased trying to keep track of daily runs because it meant nothing. If you’ve ever run a race where you … 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: Let’s steeple people.

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The spring track season in 1976 broke typically cool, windy, and wet. Not great weather for any type of runner. The sprinters sought to avoid muscle pulls while the distance runners suffered in shorts through cold winds, puddles on the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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50 Years of Running: Full Circle and Football Fantasies

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

After eighteen meets during the regular season in 1974, it was time to run in Districts, the first toward going downstate. In my case, that race would bring me full circle to the Kaneland High School cross country course at … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Jousting Knights

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

One of the unique aspects of cross country running in the 1970s is that dual meets were held between every team in the league. The Upstate Eight Conference consisted of St. Charles, Elgin, Elgin Larkin, Wheaton Central, East Aurora, West … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: Where Respect Is Due

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Midway through the 1973 season, I’d run well enough, and our team was doing so well, that we began to gain the attention of some local sportswriters. The newspapers that covered our team included the St. Charles Chronicle, the hometown … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: The adidas factor

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

The year in which I began my running career were a transitional time in terms of available running shoes. The gum rubber flats we used for training in 1971 and ’72 were not much good for road running. I was … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: No Man’s Land

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

As summer proceeded in 1973, I spent many days playing golf at Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles. My new friend Rob Walker and I were members at the park district course, which probably cost $35 for the entire season. We’d … Continue reading →

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50 Years of Running: A Coach is Born

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

For closing insights on a fun and meaningful two years of cross country at Kaneland High School, I called up Coach Richard Born to discuss his coaching career with the program. He started coaching Kaneland cross country in 1968. He … Continue reading →

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