JFK 50 Mile, live.

America's oldest ultramarathon, Boonsboro to Williamsport

The 64th annual JFK 50 Mile starts in downtown Boonsboro, Maryland at 6:30 am on Saturday 21 November 2026.

The JFK 50 Mile was first held in the spring of 1963 as part of President Kennedy's push for physical fitness, and it has been run every year since, which makes it America's oldest ultramarathon according to the organiser. It is open to all but is in spirit a military event, and its top award, the Kennedy Cup, goes to the best military team.

The race is 50.2 miles point to point across Washington County. One mass start leaves downtown Boonsboro at 6:30 am sharp, across from the Historic Boonsboro Inn, and the line closes at 6:35. The first 5.5 miles climb 1,172 feet to the Appalachian Trail, which gives rocky ridge running before the Weverton Cliffs switchbacks drop about 1,000 feet to the Potomac.

From there the course follows 26.3 flat miles of the C&O Canal towpath, past Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown, before leaving the towpath at Dam #4 for 8.4 miles of rolling farm roads into Williamsport. The finish is at Springfield Middle School, and every finisher inside the 13 hour limit earns the finisher's medallion. Cutoffs apply at mile 2.5, mile 15.5 and mile 41.8.

Registration for 2026 is sold out. Spectators can see the start in Boonsboro and the finish in Williamsport, and a minimum of 14 aid stations support the field along the way.

On Livebib you can follow a participant who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and official results come from the JFK 50 Mile.