Tag Archives: track and field

In honor of Keith Ellingson, one of the greatest runners and best guys I know in this world

Posted on September 4, 2020 by

Converging lives My freshman year at Luther College was some years ago. I entered college as a marginal student in high school with a high C average thanks to laziness in subjects that I disdained. But Luther saw potential in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How much do you value your college experience?

Posted on May 28, 2020 by

I’m leading off today’s original thoughts on running, riding and swimming by asking readers to consider a question: How much do you value your college experience? And then I’ll follow up with a confession. Perhaps I’m one of those people … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, healthy aging | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Living between two worlds

Posted on April 21, 2020 by

Yesterday I wrote about what it’s like when two apparently divergent worlds collide. My relationship with an older woman ultimately dissolved when our interests simply did not meld. Yet I’ve also been caught between two worlds as well. As a … Continue reading →

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On April and track and field

Posted on April 14, 2020 by

Ever since 1970, when I was an immensely skinny 8th-grader competing in track and field for the first time, April has been a vexation on my body and my soul. I too-well recall stripping off sweatpants to stand shivering in … Continue reading →

Posted in track and field | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Posted on March 19, 2020 by

While conversing with a teammate from long-ago times at Luther College, I opened up the binder of results from our freshman year in cross country. Those mimeographed sheets are fascinating relics of a different age. But the photograph at the … Continue reading →

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Old School is New School. Never forget it.

Posted on February 20, 2020 by

This morning on the way to drop off our dog at daycare, I drove past the building that was the only high school in town back when I was a student in St. Charles, Illinois. By the time I was … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 workouts, competition, running, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The sensation of running

Posted on January 22, 2020 by

I’ve written previously about a 1973 newspaper article in which a local sports journalist branded me a “junior sensation” for leading our high school cross country team to a few early-season victories. That pulp fiction title cost me dearly the … Continue reading →

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We need more liberal arts majors in this country, not less

Posted on July 16, 2019 by

This past weekend was spent at Luther College in the company of more than 100 alumni from a track and field program that won Iowa conference track championship titles 26 out of 30 years. The event was illuminating on many … Continue reading →

Posted in running, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Reunion of Champions

Posted on July 10, 2019 by

Last evening I received a call from Paul Mullen, a college roommate and teammate from both cross country and track. He works in Development for my alma mater Luther College. He wanted to reach out because he is super excited … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, aging, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cross country, track and field | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

I never made the state track meet, but still scored

Posted on May 24, 2019 by

The events I’m about to share happened quite a long time ago. But like a good Bob Seger song, some things never quite fade from memory. It was May of 1975. As a senior in high school I was gunning … Continue reading →

Posted in running, track and field, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment