History of the JFK
50 Mile Challenge
"The need for increased attention to physical fitness is clearly
established. The Government cannot compel us to act, but freedom
demands it. A nation is merely a sum of all its citizens, and its
strength, energy and resourcefulness can be no greater than theirs." -
John F. Kennedy
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was concerned about
the fitness of the nation and got the idea for a 50 mile (80km)
hike from an 1908 Executive Order of then President Theodore
Roosevelt, that tested the fitness of U.S. Marine officers by
marching 50 miles. In turn, President JFK coyly challenged his
staff to hike 50 miles in a day.
As JFK had thrown down the gauntlet, his brother, Attorney General
Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy (RFK) decided not to wait
for the military test results and he and four aides immediately
took up the challenge the very next Saturday, February 9th. RFK
said to his last surviving aide before he dropped out at mile
35, "You're lucky your brother isn't president of the United
States." RFK hiked the 50 miles in 17 hours and 50 minutes
in freezing weather, through snow and slush, without any preparation
at all and in a pair of leather oxford dress shoes! In his oddly
heroic feat, he had proved the "vigour" of the White
House team and immediately elevated the publicity about the walking
challenge.
Much of a willing and eager public saw JFK's order as a personal
request and a challenge, although it was not meant to be. Within
weeks, thousands around the country laced up whatever they could
and began to walk. They literally walked like they had never
walked before. By February 16, the peak of the craze, hiking
stories appeared everywhere.
The Kennedy march became a fad in the UK shortly after American
people took up Kennedy's challenge. After Dutch television showed
images of the Kennedy march, some Dutch people decided to make
an attempt at finishing the 80 kilometres within 20 hours. In
the city of Sittard, four young people decided to walk the march
during their Easter holidays. So in April 1963 along with some
friends they took up the challenge and finished it in 19 hours.
They immediately decided to try to do the march again, one year
after and thus a tradition was born that has been repeated every
year, except one, since. In 2007 the number of participants was
3,326 in this the largest of "Kennedy marches".
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