How Far We Can Go

JFK, RFK and where trails can take us

In the not too distant future, I am going on a trip to the D.C. area to visit my folks. Not wanting to pass up a bit of nostalgia, I was looking at doing one of my old running routes while I was in town. I used to frequent The Four Mile Run Trail, The Custis Trail along 66, The C & O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal Trail/Towpath and The W & OD (Washington and Old Dominion) Trail. Needing to get a better sense of when, where and how long things would take so my boys wouldn’t be hanging around waiting for mom, I pulled up Map My Run to check everything out.

Map My Run image of the C and O Canal on the DC/Maryland border.

First off, how lucky are we to have tools like Strava, Map My Run, etc.??? I remember pulling out my paper map and a post-it with the scale markings on it so I could get a semi-accurate gauge of how far I was going to go. If there weren’t any trails involved, I might even drive the route in my car. Now we almost have too much information about our routes! Anyway, I digress…

I think it would be lots of fun to run to D.C. and then Metro or Uber back, or vice versa. I check out The Four Mile Run and Custis Trails, but then the two biggies catch my eye. I think to myself, where does the W & OD Trail end again? Purcellville, VA. How long is it? Just short of 45 miles. Hmmmm. That could be fun one day. What about the C & O canal? It ends in Cumberland, Maryland and is about 185 miles long. That could be even cooler! I multi-day adventure!!

Now my curiosity and imagination are starting to take hold. I am focusing on speed in my training right now, but as soon as I hit my goal, I am going back to distance. What should I do then? What about a run from D.C. to Cumberland? During the spring and fall, the weather is pretty good and you are pretty close to civilization for most of the route. A water view most of the way, too. Not bad! I investigate a little more…jackpot!

C and O Canal Tow Path, 2017 at Great Falls

It turns out there are two ultras on the C & O (at least that I could find for now) and one 50 mile walk. One race is the C & O 100. The vast majority of it takes place on the canal itself. It is pretty flat, scenic and as an April race in the Mid-Atlantic, the weather is usually quite nice. The other two are the JFK 50, known as “America’s Oldest Ultramarathon,” and the 50-Mile Kennedy walk, both of which were created directly and indirectly as a result of John F. Kennedy’s pursuit for a fitter and more prepared America, as displayed in his article, “The Soft American,” published in Sports Illustrated (Dec. 1960) just prior to his inauguration (link to article below).

The article is a great read seeing as it replicates many of the thoughts we have today about physical fitness and also because of the insight it gives us into the type of person JFK was. There is also an amusing line about when we will no longer have a need to use our hands. I’ll give you a hint…they got the prediction wrong.

In any case, JFK was pretty passionate about this. So much so, when he came across a directive by President Theodore Roosevelt (a very active man himself) to his Marines, he went all out. In this directive, President Roosevelt insisted that the officers of the U.S. Marines be able to traverse 50 miles in 20 hours. JFK stated that he had the same expectation of the Marines of his time and even put the challenge to his staff. His brother, Robert F. Kennedy, took up the task head on, in his oxfords no less, through snow and slush (I love this story) along the C & O Canal all the way to Harper’s Ferry , WV. His trek inspired others across the country, and the world, to carry out their own 50 mile challenges. One could also argue it was one of the lights that struck the fire for the ultramarathon movement we see today.

Many of these 50 mile challenges died out following the assignation of JFK later than year. However, the JFK 50 miler continues to this day, changing its name from The JFK 50-Mile Challenge to the JFK 50-Mile Memorial. The 50-Mile Kennedy Walk is a memorial walk started in 2013 and since has been completed annually along the same route as RFK.

So, there are definitely options when it comes to traveling along the C & O, but guess what? There’s more! I had no idea that this trail even existed until today – the Great Allegheny Passage, which hooks right up with the C & O Canal. It goes from Cumberland, MD all the way to Pittsburgh, PA and is 150 miles long. So, if you are super extra motivated, you can cover 335 miles in one stretch. There’s even a cool tunnel that is over 3000 ft long that you can go through. Talk about an adventure!

Now I am going to sound like an Oxyclean commercial…but wait, there’s more! You may not have heard of it but the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is going all out to create a coast to coast trail, and they are pretty much there with the Great American Trail. I watch the efforts of Pete Kostelnick and his Alaska to Key West trek in complete awe. I am amazed and inspired, but I would definitely prefer the safety of a rail trail to the shoulder of a double yellow line road. There are quite a few long distance trails out there and ways that we can really explore our world. How lucky are we to have this available to us!?!

I am definitely starting to get excited about my next long distance adventure. Whether it be by foot or bike, there are a lot of options out there. But, in the meantime, speed work calls my name. As for my DC trip, I’m reminded to scale back. Two hours max, so no 50 miler for me;-)

For more info on any of the races or trails, see the links below.

Happy exploring!