JFK 50 Mile
Join JFK 50 Mile
Although open to the public, the JFK 50 Mile is in spirit a military race. The JFK 50 Mile was first held in the spring of 1963. In 1963, the initial inspiration behind the event came from then President John F. Kennedy challenging his military officers to meet the requirements that Teddy Roosevelt had set for his own military officers at the dawn of the 20th Century. That Roosevelt requirement was for all military officers to be able to cover 50 miles on foot in 20 hours to maintain their commissions. When word got out about the “Kennedy Challenge”, non-commissioned military personnel also wanted to take the test themselves as did certain robust members of the civilian population.
Course highlights
The JFK 50 Mile course is a point-to-point “horse-shoe” configuration. The race starts in the town of Boonsboro, Maryland, and heads east out of town toward the South Mountain Inn. The first 2.3 miles are on a hardball road, which leads to the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail piece is approximately 13 miles. The trail then continues on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal for 26.3 miles, following the canal to Dam on the Potomac River. The final leg of the Race follows 8.4 miles of hardball roads to Williamsport, Maryland.
Route map
directions_runStart address: Washington County,us
flagFinish address: Washington County,us
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The race information has been found on the official website of the event or through publicly available sources. Always refer to the official website the latest race information. Please let us know if any data is wrong or missing, by emailing us.
