JFK 50 Mile Memorial Run
Nov. 22, 2008
45th Anniversary Run, Hagerstown, Maryland
by Jan Ross
Fifty mile ultra marathons were held all over the U.S. in the spring of 1963 in answer to John F. Kennedy’s “Call to Fitness”. Today, only the JFK 50 Mile Memorial Run, organized by the Cumberland Valley Athletic Club, remains active and an annual event. Originally a military exercise, it was later opened to the public. The overall course record is 5:46:22 and the women’s course record is 6:29:42. The event has attracted an average of just over 1000 starters the last three years and a surprising ~90% finish. The time limit is 14:00:00 hours. The route travels by many historic areas and keeps your interest during the long run.
While I have run more than 15 marathons like Boston, New York, Honolulu, Marine Corps and Grandma’s, I’ve never run an Ultra. I decided to sign up for the JFK for three (3) reasons. First, “I’ve never run an Ultra”. Second, I was motivated by my co-worker at Runner’s Depot, Diego Pavlo, who went on and on about his experiences running the “50 mile Key’s Run” last May. That sounded like a lot of fun. Third, co-worker Lou Espesito informed me that he was going to run the JFK 50 miler and that part of the run was on the Appalachian Trail. I’ve been intrigued with the Appalachians since reading about Christina Wiesberg’s hiking experiences in the Running Forum.
I sent in the application and began my training regimen. I planned on using a cycle consisting of “run 2 , walk 1”. I gradually worked my way up to 25 miles over several months, then jumped 5 miles on each successive run until achieving 40 miles a few weeks before the trip north. I started the 40 mile run at midnight and it took until 8:30am. Dan, my husband, and Daisy, our Golden Retriever, tagged along behind in the car all night for support and protection. At sunrise, a lady in her car stopped me and informed me that I was being stalked and offered to call 911. I thanked her and told her the sinister looking man with the dog was my husband and was looking after me.
I did experience a problem during the long runs. My right foot was swelling up. I put a “Total Support” insert into my “Brooks Cascadia Trail Shoes”. I also, changed over to elastic shoe laces. These two changes solved the swelling problem and I was ready to go.
We drove to Hagerstown, arriving on Thursday, the 19th. Brrrrrr, are you kidding me? It was snowing and the prediction for race day morning was 15 degrees. Hey, I’m from Florida! This is just wrong. Can’t go home now, will have to deal with it. Go to expo and look for warm clothes. That’s what I did. My race day wardrobe consisted of four layers that included CWX tights, Nike long sleeve top with hood and face cover and finally a complete Gore-Tex running suit. OK, bring it on…
It was 4:20 am race day when we met at Boonsboro H.S. for last minute instructions, e.g., run the flats and downhills, but walk the inclines to save your legs. Start time was 5:00 am and one thing was abundantly clear, brrrrrrrrr, it was really cold. It was inspiring to meet Leo Lightner who was celebrating his 80th birthday and running his 18th JFK! I thought, “If he can do it, why can’t I?” Pumped up, we all headed for the start line. It was really dark at the foot of the Appalachians. Everyone had LED lights to light the way. It was an odd sight to see all the lights bobbing up and down as we approached the start. And then, the time arrived and the sound of “runner’s ready, beeeeeeeeep”. We’re off.
The darkness increased as we left Boonsboro. The runners’ lights appeared brighter and began to spread out and ascend as we traveled the 2.5 miles up and onto the Trail. The Trail was illuminated by plastic pumpkins with lights in them. The Trail was covered with fallen leaves and sometimes it was hard to discern from the surrounding hills. Trees along the Trail were marked with yellow tape at the switchbacks to help keep the runners on trail. Some areas of the Trail were very rocky, making it difficult to stay balanced while maintaining a pace. The switchbacks during descent were especially hard and every so often, there were sudden drops of 2-3 feet that challenged your ability to negotiate them and stay upright. This was very unfamiliar terrain for me. We’re not in the Florida flatlands anymore, Toto…
The first of five checkpoints came at 9.3 miles. We came down out of the hills and the sun was just starting to rise. What a welcome sight. Another welcome sight was Dan and Daisy. It lifted my spirits to see someone I knew. I told Dan that I was having trouble getting water from my bottles. We looked at them found that the water was frozen! We broke up the ice and got the water to flow again and I was back on my way. The elite runners started at 7:00 am. We had been instructed to stay to the right to allow passing us on the trail. They seemed to know where all the rocks were and glided past by taaking long strides from rock to rock. Military runners swished by wearing only tank tops and shorts. Their skin was red and they had icicles hanging from their hair and mustaches. The only thing that kept them warm, if indeed they were warm, was the calories they were burning. These runners were targeting less than 6 hours. Awesome!
The second checkpoint was at 16 miles where we transitioned from the Trail to the canal tow path. The tow path runs the canal and the Potomac River and was used by mules to pull lines attached to river barges/boats. Later, the real mules were replaced by steam driven “mules” as technologies advanced. The route along the tow path was 26 miles long and passed by damns, locks, no longer in service, and many historic sites, e.g., Harper’s Ferry, Fort Duncan, Packhorse Ford, James Rumsey Monument, Killiansburg Cave and Williamsport. I’ll leave it to you to learn more via the magic of “Google”.
I left the tow path at 42 miles and headed for the finish line in Williamsport. It was starting to get dark. I got some really bad advice from a runner that I could not use my head light as it might blind drivers in oncoming car traffic. I guess my brain was not working too well at this point and left my light off. As it got to be pitch black, it became difficult to see the white line along the edge of the road. It was impossible when the headlights from oncoming traffic came close. I was blinded and stepped off the road. When I tried to step back onto the road, I tripped and went down hard. I hurt my knee and bruised my thigh. I gathered myself together and started down the road again. I really wanted that finishing medal. A little later I heard a voice call my name from the darkness. It was Dan (and Daisy). He scolded me a little bit and turned on my head light. He pointed out that there was two-way car traffic on the road and my little light was no match for the 2 headlights on the cars heading the same direction as me. I should not worry about blinding the drivers of oncoming cars. Hmmm, makes sense now.
My Garmin’s battery died at about 25 miles on the tow path. I kept checking the time at the aid stations to see if I had a shot at beating the clock and the 14 hour time limit. With just four miles left I was physically and mentally drained. But, I was driven to receive that finishing medal. My outlook improved dramatically as I turned a corner and saw the flood lights at the finish line. I began hearing a race official on a loudspeaker prodding the late finishers to beat the clock. I think I picked it up a bit; at least in my mind. The body, that’s another story.
I DID IT!!!!! Not with a lot of margin, but, I did it. I beat the clock. My time was 13:54:30 hours. I was really worried those last 10 miles. I was happy to see 80 year old Leo Lightner successfully finished his 18th run a minute+ behind me. That was very special. Oh, it was good to see Dan and Daisy again, too.
Back home again I learned that I had a severe sprain. I spent the next ten days on crutches. I received notice from the Cumberland Valley Athletic Club that I was the only one to finish in my age group. How-a-bout that! I got first place in my age group (60-69). I will remember this JFK 50 Miler as one of my most memorable achievements.
For more info on the JFK 50 Mile, go to www.jfk50mile.org/