Fifteen Long Islanders Complete JFK Memorial 50 Kilometer Run In Maryland

By Mike Polansky

The Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862 ranks as the single bloodiest day in American history, with a total of more than 32,000 casualties suffered by General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and General McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Fifteen Long Islanders were among the intrepid ultramarathoners who revisited the site of that battle to compete in the 35th Annual John F. Kennedy Memorial 50 Mile Run on Nov. 22.

The total of 719 finishers (out of 815 starters) marked the event as the largest ultramarathon ever held in the United States. The run attracted 252 first time starters, 198 of whom survived to cross the finish line prior to the 14 hour deadline.

The JFK 50 Miler was initiated back in 1963 by a small group of robust individuals answering President Kennedy's call for a fitter and stronger America. There were only 11 starters and four finishers in the inaugural run, but in the past 35 years the JFK has grown into one of the nation's truly great participatory sports traditions.

The run is absolutely incredible from every standpoint -- a little bit of everything, including a 12.7 mile stretch over South Mountain on the Appalachian Trail, 26.2 miles on the tow path of the old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, with the Potomac River on your left the entire way, and the rest on local roads.

For a Civil War buff, the race is even more special, since it encompasses virtually all the key ground of the Army of Northern Virginia's September 1862 Maryland campaign, including the sites of the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, and a stretch directly across the Potomac from Harper's Ferry, which was besieged and captured by Stonewall Jackson's troops on Sept. 15, two days before the Sept. 17 Battle of Antietam, the single bloodiest day in American history, with a total of 32,000 casualties between Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and McClellan's Army of the Potomac.

As an aside, somewhere about three miles after the start, I was giving a fellow runner something of a history lesson about Lee's "Lost Order", and explaining how General Lee's Order detailing the entire strategic campaign plan of the Army of Northern Virginia fell into McClellan's hands. I mentioned that McClellan was so bad a general, that even with Lee's plans in his hands, giving him an incredible opportunity to destroy in detail an Army that Lee had split into two parts (sending Jackson with half the Army to capture Harper's Ferry), the best that McClellan could accomplish was a bloody draw at Antietam. A gal running nearby overheard me, and said that I had better be careful what I said, because General McClellan's great-great-grandson was in the race. (She also added, however, that both she and the general's descendant agreed with my assessment of the general's capabilities).

The run started in Boonsboro at 7 a.m. and traversed a horseshoe shaped route to finish in Williamsport. The toughest part of the run for me was the 12.7 miles on the Appalachian Trail. I am considerably less than sure-footed, and the climb up and down South Mountain on the trail was extremely rocky, covered with leaves that left some doubt as to what was underneath, and featured three miles of steep downhill that threatened at every turn to catapult the unsteady directly down to the bottom. Although I was pretty much near the back of the pack coming off the trial, I recovered sufficiently over the following miles of smooth, flat dirt pathway on the canal tow path to cross the finish line in a respectable 613th place out of 719 finishers. My total time was 12 hours, 20 minutes, considerably behind my more sure-footed (and faster) Long Island buddies, led by Rudy Afanador of Shirley, who coasted through the finish line in 7th place overall with a time of six hours, 44 minutes.

The full results of the Long Island contingent in what has been characterized as America's Ultramarathon are as follows:

7. Rodolfo "Rudy" Afanador, 39 Shirley 6:44:14

8. David Luljak, 42 Huntington 6:44:14

90. Nick Palazzo, 50 Lindenhurst 8:37:37

102. John Bruno, 48 Centereach 8:44:18

109. Fred Graygor, 43 Islip Terrace 8:49:28

118. Rob Graygor, 31 Bohemia 8:53:40

273. Tom Moore, 53 Valley Stream 9:50:39

285. Juan Oliveras, 46 North Babylon 9:54:37

332. Lisa Kovesdy, 43 East Northport 10:17:06

389. Dennis Howe, 54 Islip 10:38:18

420. Tim Kourounis, 59 Rosedale 10:46:25

432. Vincent Croce, 54 East Norwich 10:49:38

525. Karl Von Der Heydt, 53 West Islip 11:27:23

533. Carolyn Ciccone, 56 West Islip 11:30:57

613. Mike Polansky, 56 Plainview 12:20:32