By Davy Crockett 
Both a podcast and a full article
The fifty-mile race is a distance most of today's ultrarunners eventually run. In 2017 there were about 300 50-mile races held in America with about 16,000 unique finishers. At nearly twice the distance of a marathon, it truly involves a different approach than running a marathon both mentally and physically. Ultrarunning legend, David Horton once wrote, “Most ultra-runners, me included, consider that real ultras are 50 miles or longer.” Since the 1960s, the shorter distances (50K, etc.) were typically used by aspiring ultrarunners to train for completing at the 50-mile distance.

When did the 50-mile race begin? Early classic American 50-milers include: the JFK 50 starting in 1963 in Maryland, the Metropolitan 50 starting in 1971 in Central Park, New York City, the Lake Waramaug 50 starting in 1974 in Connecticut, and the American River 50 started in 1980 in California. But just as 100-mile races in America did not originate with Western States in the 1970s, the 50-miler did not originate with the JFK 50 in 1963. In all began much earlier than that.



50-milers From Long Ago

"Anciently" in 1592 a footrace of just over 50 miles was held in northern France. It was won in twelve hours by a runner from what now is southern Netherlands. In 1787, Reed, of Hampshire, England, walked 50-miles on the sands of Weymouth in a little more than nine hours. Also around that time it was said that Foster Powell, from England ran 50 miles in seven hours.

Worldwide, competing for 50 miles on foot had been around, as far back as the 1820s. But it wasn’t until around 1870 that 50-mile races started to be held regularly. They were conducted in various circumstances, indoors, outdoors, tracks, roads, in loops, and point-to-point. Most of the early races were competed indoors on small tracks by professional pedestrian walkers who also competed in six-day events. Challenges and wagers were a key reason these 50-mile events were put on, along with the profits to be gained from spectator gate proceeds. Many times gifted walkers or runners would post challenges in newspapers to specific runners or all-comers to race 50-miles for large amounts of money.

50-mile walking races

The 50-mile races conducted in the 1880s were walking events with strict walking "heel and toe" rules. In America the earliest 50-mile walking competition that could be found was held in 1870. James Adams of New York won a “50 Miles Champion’s Cup of the United States.” Several head-to-head races between two walkers were also held. For many of these 50-mile matches, once a walker quit, the other walker was declared the winner and didn't go on for the full 50 miles.

Agricultural Hall

How fast could they strictly walk 50 miles? In 1877, pedestrian legend, Daniel O’Leary (1841-1933), in a 100-mile challenge match against John Ennis for $500, walked 50 miles in 8:41:30 in the Exposition Building in Chicago for an American best time. In 1878 that time was improved when William McCann of Albany New York walked a 8:36 in a solo trial walk to get ready for a high stakes challenge race. The world walking best around that time was set in 1878 by British walker, William Howes, with an amazing walking time of 7:57:41 in the Agricultural Hall in London. Buffalo, New York was the home of many walking contests including an amateur 50-miler in 1879 with seven starters. The second-place walker protested the race, claiming that the winner was seen running.

Go-as-you-please 50-milers

In 1879 “Go as you please” 50-mile events were established that allowed the competitors to run. Amateurs entered the sport around that time started to dominate 50-mile competitions. Distance "records" were divided into professional and amateur records. Races of twenty-five miles were much more common, but over the years, the 50-miles distance in England and the United States became recognized as an ultradistance standard,