On a quintessential late-fall day on the U.S. East Coast, through the wet trails and undulating pavement, Hans Troyer and Jade Belzberg (Canada) took home wins in blazing times in the 2025 JFK 50 Mile, one of the oldest and most historic ultramarathons in the U.S. Troyer ran the second-fastest time in race history, finishing in 5:10:24, less than two minutes off David Sinclair’s course record of 5:08:27 set in 2024, and Belzberg won in 6:07:53, the fourth-fastest women’s time ever.
They were among the 1,208 runners who toed the start line in Boonsboro, Maryland, at 6:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, November 22, beginning a 50-mile journey to Williamsport for the race’s 63rd edition. An overnight rain shower had let up before the start but left the course damp throughout, and there was plenty of fog around. The storied course, which every November attracts some of the top ultrarunners hunting fast 50-mile times, starts with 2.5 miles of pavement before connecting with the Appalachian Trail. Runners traverse a notoriously rocky and root-filled 13-mile section of trail before running a marathon on the mostly flat C&O Canal Towpath. They finish with eight miles on rolling and paved country roads. Outside of the section on the Appalachian Trail, the course is fast, with runners routinely running closer to road-marathon pace than a typical ultramarathon.
Jade Belzberg, the 2025 JFK 50 Mile women’s winner. Photo: Greg Holder/H3 Photography
The race, which attracts elite and everyday runners alike, is steeped in American history, with the first one taking place in 1963 amid former President John F. Kennedy’s push to improve the fitness of his military officers and the American public. Inspired by former President Theodore Roosevelt, who required his military officers to be able to cover 50 miles on foot in 20 hours in the early 1900s, Kennedy established a series of 50-mile races around the country for his own officers and any willing civilians to challenge themselves. The JFK 50 Mile is the only event from Kennedy’s series that is still held annually, and it emphasizes its military roots with the most prestigious award, the Kennedy Cup, going to the fastest military team.
Read on for full race details.
2025 JFK 50 Mile Women’s Race
Taking off in the dark from Boonsboro, Jade Belzberg (Canada) and Shea Aquilano led the women’s field. It would stay that way for most of the next six-plus hours.
Entering the Appalachian Trail section at mile 2.5, Belzberg, the 33-year-old Canadian runner who finished seventh at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and second at the Gorge Waterfalls 100k this year, had a three-second lead on Aquilano, the 24-year-old rising American star who beat Belzberg at the 2025 Gorge Waterfalls 100k before finishing 14th at the 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail.
But the trail section is famously unpredictable, and when they reemerged 13 miles later, Aquilano had passed Belzberg and led by over a minute with 2:02:34 on the clock. Hannah Allgood — whose 2025 season featured a win at the Canyons 50k, a seventh-place finish at the Western States 100, and 13th at OCC — was still in contention. She came out from the trail section in 2:04:59 elapsed, just over two minutes off the lead.
Twelve miles later at Antietam at mile 27.1, the three women were separated by a mere 16 seconds, with Allgood technically a single second up on Belzberg with 3:26:37 elapsed. More than halfway through the race, it was clear there was going to be a three-woman battle for the win.
By Taylor’s Landing at mile 38.4, Aquilano had made up ground and came through at nearly the exact same time as Belzberg in 4:46:14. Allgood faded slightly but was still less than 90 seconds off the lead.
The race was there for the taking, and Belzberg took it. By the end of the C&O Canal Towpath section and start of the eight miles of pavement to the finish, Belzberg had opened a slight but meaningful 12-second gap on Aquilano, while Allgood had fallen more than two minutes further back.
If you have the legs to run fast, the final eight miles on the rolling country roads can be where the race is won. Belzberg began to pull away from Aquilano, gradually building a gap that she maintained all the way to the finish. Jade Belzberg won the 2025 JFK 50 Mile in 6:07:53 in the fourth-fastest time ever. Shea Aquilano finished in second, less than two minutes off the lead, in 6:09:32 and in the fifth-fastest time ever.
Hannah Allgood continued to fade from the top two women but held on for third in 6:15:09, for the seventh-fastest time in race history.
2025 JFK 50 Mile Women’s Results
- Jade Belzberg (Canada) – 6:07:53
- Shea Aquilano – 6:09:32
- Hannah Allgood – 6:15:09
- Sarah Morrison – 6:21:44
- Jeanne Mack – 6:46:38
- Maïka Lamoureux (Canada) – 6:52:19
- Laurie Knowles – 6:54:10
- Marisa Deichert – 6:56:46
- Anna Balouris – 6:58:25
- Reese Ruland – 6:59:01
2025 JFK 50 Mile Men’s Race
Hans Troyer flexed, screamed, and tore down the finishing tape as he crossed the line. He had just run the course faster than all but one person in the long history of the race.
Minutes later, Troyer — the budding star from Newnan, Georgia, whose social media presence and catchphrases like “Young and fit” and “These are the times” have made him a fan favorite — was taking a bite from a baguette, a nod to his well-publicized love of cheap loaves of bread.
“The carbs per dollar are just ridiculous,” Troyer said in a post-race interview with the race production company.
Similarly ridiculous was his performance. Troyer burst onto the scene last year by running with Hayden Hawks at the front of the 2024 Black Canyon 100k as a relative unknown, but faded to 10th due to severe rhabdomyolysis. He made his move at the end of the Appalachian Trail section around mile 15 and led for the last 35 miles of the race. At the trail-to-towpath transition, where many athletes switch from trail shoes to road super shoes these days, Troyer opted not to change his shoes in an attempt to make a gap.
“Just decided to try and get out of eyesight,” Troyer said in the post-race interview at the finish line. “That was the big move. And I just ran as fast as I could for the next 35 miles, and here we are.”
Wearing a conspicuous orange singlet, Troyer glided along the towpath in the lead and by mile 41.8 was 23 seconds ahead of course-record pace. He looked smooth and unbothered throughout, at one point simply trotting around an emergency vehicle parked in the middle of the course with no panic.
On the final eight miles of rolling country roads, Troyer began to look slightly fatigued for the first time all day. Hans Troyer gradually fell off course-record pace but still finished strong, winning the 2025 JFK 50 Mile in 5:10:24. Troyer’s performance capped a stellar year for the 25-year-old, who placed second at this year’s Black Canyon 100k and eighth in his Western States 100 debut.
Hans Troyer winning the 2025 JFK 50 Mile. Photo: Greg Holder/H3 Photography
Troyer could have been forgiven, though, for looking back, because behind him was David Sinclair, who blazed the fastest time in race history by nearly 10 minutes last year. At mile 15, in fact, Sinclair had a small lead on Troyer but couldn’t match his move. By Antietam at mile 27.1, Troyer had opened up a more than two-minute lead that he didn’t relinquish.
Cade Michael ran through Antietam right with Sinclair, and it looked to be a battle for second place between them. Michael dropped at mile 38.4, his Strava activity indicating he was struggling with cramps. Meanwhile, Stephen Kersh, who was about two minutes behind Sinclair at Antietam, closed the gap in the subsequent 12 miles to run with Sinclair into Taylor’s Landing at mile 38.4.
By the paved roads in the last eight miles, Kersh and Sinclair were running within 10 seconds of each other. David Sinclair soon made a move, though, building a small gap that he held to finish second in 5:18:06. Stephen Kersh hung on for third in 5:18:31.
2025 JFK 50 Mile Men’s Results
- Hans Troyer – 5:10:24
- David Sinclair – 5:18:06
- Stephen Kersh – 5:18:31
- Josh Park – 5:34:31
- Ferdinand-Clovis Airault (France) – 5:34:50
- Anthony Fagundes – 5:41:05
- Andrew Hutchinson – 5:45:59
- Jamie Hunyor – 5:50:05
- Eric Kennedy – 5:51:28
- Matthew Farquharson (Canada) – 5:53:35
