Tough day at JFK 50-miler, but Canadians strong nonetheless

The 56th annual JFK 50 Miler took place in Boonsboro, Maryland yesterday, with some upsets and some strong results by Canadians. Conditions on the course were “extremely snowy and muddy,” according to Seth Marcaccio, 23, of London, Ont., who finished fifth overall, despite having some serious issues towards the end, with a time of 6:09:52. Vicki Zandbergen, 39, of Kitchener, Ont. was 17th female, with a time of 8:44:49.

RELATED: Canada’s Ellie Greenwood sets record at U.S. ultra

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“Yeah, it was a bit of a rough day,” said Marcaccio. “I was on pace to run under 5:50 through 34 miles [54K] and blew out both of my Achilles.”

The oldest ultramarathon in the U.S., the JFK 50, as it’s known, was one of several 50-mile races held around the country, according to the race website, as part of President John F. Kennedy’s effort to promote physical fitness. It was first held in March 1963 (Kennedy was assassinated in November), and after JFK’s death, most such events were never held again. 

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Kate Pallardy, 33, of New York, N.Y. was the first woman across the line, in 6:40:36. Kaci Lickteig, 32, of Omaha, Nebraska was second, in 6:53:47, and Riley Brady, 23, of New Hope, Penn. was third, in 7:09:45. In the men’s race, Jared Hazen, 23, of Flagstaff, Ariz. won handily, with a time of 5:34:21, seven minutes ahead of Zach Miller, 30,of Manitou Springs, Colo., who finished second, in 5:41:01, and the second-fastest time in the race’s history. Allan Spangler, 31, of Anchorage, Alaska was third, in 6:00:48. 

If you’re suffering from a #JFK50 hangover, here’s your hair-of-the-dog replete with reflection from the contenders and some wonderful words from @Andrew_M_Mason https://t.co/HvBwcDFR9g

— Geoff Burns (@geoffreyburns) November 18, 2018

Miller headed to JFK at the last minute after the cancellation of The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships in northern California, which had been scheduled to race, due to smoke from the wildfires that have devastated the area.

Zach Miller drives it home for 2nd in 5:41. That’s an actual tough mudder. #JFK50 pic.twitter.com/vWaOg9nxyy

— Geoff Burns (@geoffreyburns) November 17, 2018

The course is a horseshoe-shaped point-to-point combining road and trail running. It joins a very rocky portion of the Appalachian Trail after 4K on the road, with 357m of climb in the first 9K. Around 23K in, the course then drops 300m via a series of switchbacks before joining the completely flat C&O Canal Towpath for the next 42K. The final 13.4K are on gently rolling paved roads.

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Jacob Puzey, who is American but lives in Canmore, Alta. and very much a part of the Canadian trail running scene, was disappointed with his 46th place finish and 7:35:38 time, after battling delayed travel, fuelling issues and fatigue on the course. Puzey is sponsored by Altra.