The night before the 40th annual JFK 50M run, I found myself standing in front of a big crowd at the pasta dinner. Race director Mike Spinnler had asked me to regale the runners with a few stories about what happened here way back in 1977, when I’d run this race and amazed myself by actually winning. I warned Mike—at my age, I’m doing well to remember what I did 25 days ago, say nothing of 25 years!
One thing I did remember, though, turned out to have an unexpected significance. In ’77, I had been 36-years-old and soon realized that one of the most formidable opponents in the field of some 500 runners was an 18-year-old kid. His name was Karsten Schultz. He had just won the Maryland high school cross country championship and was said to be running awesome times. As it had turned out, his reputation was warranted. The kid kept the heat on me all the way that year, finishing second in 6:16:25—still the all-time JFK 19-and-under record.
I also recalled the curious fact that Schultz has never returned to the race in the quarter-century since. Noting that if he were here now he’d be running as a 43-year-old—peak age for an ultrarunner—I wondered, out loud, whether one of these years this legendary kid might indeed come back and run this granddaddy of the ultras again. "It’s never too late," I told the pasta-people.
The next day’s course of events made me look like a soothsayer. Among the thousand-plus entrants was four-time winner and course record-holder Eric Clifton and a score of other elite trail runners. Almost unnoticed was a guy named Jim Hage, who had run this race only once before—as a 16-year-old. In 1974, the teenage Hage had run the JFK on a day that was cursed by icy rain, and had dropped out at 30 miles. Ever since, he had dreamed of coming back and finishing. He was now 44.
Like Karsten Schultz, Hage had leg speed of a kind rarely seen in races of this distance. Unlike Schultz, he had not stopped running in his 20’s; he’d simply focused on shorter distances. He was a familiar front-runner in Washington-area 10K’s, and had won the Marine Corps Marathon twice. And now, by the time a bare majority of the field had reached the 30 mile point, Jim Hage had not only finished but had outrun Clifton by more than six minutes, with a time of 6:13:10.
For most of us, it wasn’t so easy. The temperature at the start was around 34 degrees. The course includes 13 rugged and rocky miles along the Appalachian Trail, followed by 26 miles on the flat C&O Canal towpath. On the trail section, we were preoccupied with trying not to do face-plants. On the towpath, we found ourselves running into a bone-chilling headwind.
Along with its usual gathering of world-class runners, the 2002 JFK celebrated its 40th anniversary by reaching back to its roots. The race originated when president John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to get fit enough to hike 50 miles, and in 1963 a group of Maryland men decided to up the ante and do a really rugged 50 miles, fast. In the early years, the event was called the JFK 50-mile "hike-run." This year, to once again accommodate people who need to walk a good part of the distance, an early-start option was offered—allowing those who anticipated times over 11 hours to get a two-hour head start. Partly as a result of that added time allowance, there were 862 finishers—the largest number ever to finish an ultramarathon in the United States.
As for me, I’m hoping for milder weather next year, along with a good tail wind all the way around the horseshoe-shaped course. And, I’d like to see Karsten Schultz return. If Hage can come back after 28 years, Schultz ought to be able to do it after a mere 26. Of course, if he does, I won’t have a snowball’s chance.
Results:
MEN
1 Jim Hage (MD) 6:13:10
2 Eric Clifton (NM) 6:19:43
3 Ian Torrence (UT) 6:27:21
4 Matt Mcdonald (MD) 6:32:06
5 Serge Arbona (MD) 6:33:26
6 Courtney Campbell (VA) 6:39:06
7 Jeff Tiegs (NC) 6:41:20
8 Blake Benke (NC) 6:45:11
9 Andrew Bartle (NC) 6:51:55
10 Sean Andrish (VA) 6:53:21
40 to 49—1. Jim Hage, 6:13:10; 2. Eric Clifton, 6:19:43; 3. Tim Hewitt, 6:54:50; 50 to 59—David Horton, 7:33:25; 60 to 69—Ed Ayres, 8:48:25; 70 to 79—Louis Joline, 9:47:45
WOMEN
1 Connie Gardner (OH) 7:11:47
2 Bethany Hunter (VA) 7:35:21
3 Laura Nelson (VA) 7:41:25
4 Sue Johnston (VT) 8:07:54
5 Linda Barhorst (OH) 8:13:18
6 Michele Burr (MD) 8:19:49
7 Kim Martin (OH) 8:34:20
8 Loretta Malander (VA) 8:34:35
9 Diana Finkel (MN) 8:36:24
10 Jodi Kartes-Heino (NY) 8:41:29
40 to 49—1. Linda Barhorst, 8:13:18; 2. Loretta Malander, 8:34:35; 3. Julie Gerke, 9:08:32; 50 to 59—Jody Bol, 10:19:56; 60 to 69—Celeste Fondago, 10:36:44
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