In 1908, U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt wanted to make sure that his military officers were in good shape, so he issued an executive order — make ‘em walk 50 miles, he said, “and for the last half-mile double-time 200 yards, rest 30 seconds; double time 200 yards, rest 30 seconds and sprint the last 200 years to the finish line as proof of their fitness.”

Roosevelt, according to this research, gave them three days to finish the course, but some completed it in as little as a day. Some 55 years later, in 1963, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy was trying to bump up the country’s fitness as well. He found the old executive order and sent it to a military adviser:

Kennedy’s memo to Shoup stated, “Why don’t you send this back to me as your own discovery? You might want to add a comment that today’s Marine Corps officers are just as fit as those of 1908, and are willing to prove it. I, in turn, will ask Mr. Salinger for a report on the fitness of the While House staff.” (link)

For some reason, the press story about the discovery seized the public’s imagination, and lots of just regular folks attempted the challenge. And, for some reason, the 20-hour limit became the time to beat.

(For the first time ever, I’ve found more — and better — information on a Google Knol about the subject than on Wikipedia)

Anyway, the one-year fad, um, died out after Kennedy’s assassination, but there’s at least one 50-mile hike/race that’s been organized every year since 1963 — the JFK Memorial 50-mile in Maryland.

I first heard about it while flipping through vintage Life magazines in a used bookstore near Riding Mountain National Park. The magazine had loads of photos from nation-wide 50-mile hikes, and lots of clever captions. I was intrigued, and I really should have bought the magazine. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of bucks, but I put it back. Luckily, Google Images has Life archives on their search, and you can see some of the pictures here. (I included one at the top: “Chester, IL youths who beat the US Marine 50-mile walking record by 1 hr. and 15 min”)

The writer of the Google Knol, Paul Kiczek, theorizes that people got caught up in the phenomenon because 50 miles in 20 hours sounded like an achievable goal. And, once a few “everyday people” started completing it (housewives, postmen, children) it looked even more so.

I’m moderately fit. I think I could do it. Could you? Wanna join me?

I’m thinking about taking a day in September, maybe, and trying to hike 50 miles. I was also thinking that from my home in Brandon to the bookstore in Onanole where I found the Life magazine, it’s about 55 miles. That’s longer than the 50 miles, but I’ll bet I could do it. It’s also slightly longer than a double-marathon (which would be 52.4 miles) but I haven’t accurately mapped out the distance and there might be shortcuts where cars have to go around.

In driving to and from Riding Mountain, I’ve seen several old railbeds that might make good hiking trails, so we could stay off the main highway. If that fails, there are a lot of gravel mile roads that don’t get much traffic. So, who’s in?

(Full disclosure: I’ve been semi-obsessed with long-distance walking for several years, and I’d love to do some cross-continental hikes, but can’t afford the time. This may sate my appetite.)