The route
Next edition21 November 2026
Rocky Appalachian Trail into flat C&O Canal towpath and rolling country roads, with 1,052 m of climbing over 81.9 km.
Drawn with a pen, line by line
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Indicative figures computed by Plotrek on its illustrative route, with altitudes from a terrain model. They may differ from the organiser's.
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The JFK 50 Mile runs from Boonsboro to Williamsport as a single point-to-point course, crossing three distinct terrains: rocky mountain trail, flat towpath, then rolling country roads. You start at 6:30, from the Historic Boonsboro Inn.
The day's longest sustained climb comes right at the start, from Boonsboro up to the summit of Lambs Knoll, on the Appalachian Trail through South Mountain State Park. The rocky trail then drops back down through Crampton Gap before reaching Weverton, where the course leaves the Appalachian Trail.
From there, the long flat stretch of the C&O Canal Towpath begins, inside the C&O Canal National Historical Park along the Potomac River: dozens of nearly flat kilometers, past Antietam Creek around the midpoint, then a stretch by Ferry Hill.
The route leaves the towpath near Horseshoe Bend, crosses Downsville and picks up rolling country roads into the finish at Williamsport's Springfield Middle School — inside a 13-hour cutoff.
Paths and places: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Altitudes measured on the route.
03 · Your poster
The relief of the course, from Boonsboro to Williamsport, takes shape as contour lines: our pen plotter draws it with a pen, line by line. Your finisher name and time go in the title block, in A4, A3 or A2.
Shipped from our workshop in Le Bouscat
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Updated Route and text: Plotrek workshop (Fabrice Jolivet)
Plotrek's illustrative route, redrawn on OpenStreetMap paths, measures 81.9 km and 1,052 m of elevation gain. Start: Boonsboro; finish: Williamsport; on the way, Antietam Creek Campsite at km 45.7. The elevation loss measured on this route is 1,096 m. These figures are indicative; the organiser's rules prevail.
Lambs Knoll, at 528 m, at km 9.7 of Plotrek's route. The high point lies between two landmarks of the course: Boonsboro (167 m, km 0) and Crampton Gap (285 m, km 15.2). The start is at 167 m, the finish at 123 m. Altitudes measured on the route, with a terrain model.
361 m of elevation gain in one go, from km 0 to km 9.7 of Plotrek's route. It starts at Boonsboro (167 m). Landmark on the way: Lambs Knoll (528 m, km 9.7). No other climb on the 81.9 km course is as long. Average gradient of this section: 3.7%.
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