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Editor's note: This is the fourth story in a five-part series about some of the people who will compete in the JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon Saturday in Washington County. Waylan Showe's approach to running long distances is far from regimented. A few years ago, he was so impressed with people who can run a 50-mile race in one day, he decided to try it himself. He had only run short distances, such as in gym class, but he wasn't intimidated. He signed up for the JFK 50 Mile and started running - whenever he could, however far he felt he could go that day. He didn't set a specific training schedule or goal.

Sometimes, love hurts. Max King can attest to that. He was in pain on Saturday and loving every minute of it. “Wow! That hurt!” he exclaimed as he crossed the finish line of his first JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon, just in front of Williamsport's Springfield Middle School. His agony was ecstasy. What wasn't there to love? King won the race. It wasn't just any race, run on just any course to achieve just any accomplishment. He covered the 50.2-mile course in a record 5 hours, 34 minutes and 58 seconds to win the milestone 50th edition of “America's Ultramarathon,” the largest, oldest and quite possibly most prestigious such event in the country.

This year's 50th running of the JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon will still include a 13-mile section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, but organizers will look at ways to expand the field of entrants in future years while maintaining a limit of 1,000 runners on that portion of the course. The Cumberland Valley Athletic Club, which organizes the race, and the National Park Service reached an agreement last month to allow continued use of the trail for this year's race on Nov. 17 and in subsequent races, JFK co-Director Mike Spinnler said Monday.

Results of the JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon, which was run Nov. 20 in Washington County. Runners are listed in order of finish, followed by age, hometown and time. 6-7 hours 1 Paul South, 31, Superior, Colo., 6:11:49; 2 Ian Torrence, 32, Boulder City, Nev., 6:12:50; 3 Martin Tighe, 46, Providence, R.I., 6:14:47; 4 Mark Lundblad, 35, Asheville, N.C., 6:20:38; 5 Tim Hewitt, 50, Greensburg, Pa., 6:29:30; 6 Serge England-Arbon, 39, Baltimore, 6:36:38; 7 Jim Hage, 46, Kensington, Md., 6:37:32; 8 Sean Andrish, 35, Leesburg, Va., 6:40:28; 9 Andrew Bartle, 28, San Diego, 6:43:28; 10 Michael Wedemyer, 29, Alexandria, Va., 6:47:36; 11 Timothy Clement, 44, Solon, Ohio, 6:52:20; 12 Blake Benke, 28, Camp LeJeune, N.C., 6:54:35; 13 Michael Schuster, 31, Ashburn, Va., 6:56:34; 14 Steven Winters, 33, Lonaconing, Md., 6:59:51.

"Good morning. " "Thanks for being out here. " "Have a great day. " If I heard those comments once, I heard them a hundred times - or more - from the 1,000 or so runners in last weekend's JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon. As a race volunteer, I was positioned at the White Rocks overlook atop South Mountain. I had awakened at 4:30 a.m., driven to the top of Lamb's Knoll and hiked about a half-mile into the woods along the Appalachian Trail to reach my assigned post.

Ultramarathon runner Dink Taylor's time of 7 hours, 40 minutes in the 50th annual JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon on Saturday was 41 minutes slower than his performance in last year's event. Pretty remarkable considering that just three months ago, he was fighting for his life. The 47-year-old from Huntsville, Ala., came down with a severe headache Aug. 29 and it landed him in the hospital for 10 days. While there, doctors told Taylor that he had suffered a stroke and had a 40 percent chance of death or paralysis, and a 70 percent chance of death if he experienced any further brain hemorrhaging.

Hagerstown residents Mike Hennesy and Dick Martin weren't in Washington, D.C., Monday for the inauguration of President Obama, but they played a role in an inaugural parade more than 50 years ago. Hennesy and Martin were members of the South Hagerstown High School band that marched in the Jan. 20, 1961, inaugural parade for John F. Kennedy. One of their memories of that day is the weather. “I can't ever remember it being that cold, and it just wouldn't go away,” Martin, 67, said.

For those who like to go the extra distance, the JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon has become a wildly popular way to do it. The 47th annual edition of the race, which will be held Nov. 21 in Washington County, reached its maximum number of entries in record time. The entry period opened July 1, and by July 13 it was closed. Last year, it filled in a then-record 23 days. It's the third straight year the race has sold out. "We're four months out, and people have JFK fever already," race director Mike Spinnler said.

Jesse Garrant's goal in his first ultramarathon isn't just to cross the finish line at the JFK 50 Mile, but to finish the rigorous test of human endurance with a smile. The 39-year-old native of Plattsburgh, N.Y., said he's ready for what he described as “the next challenge” in his life after running several marathons, including the Pittsburgh Marathon and the local Freedom's Run this year. “I like to set goals, I like to set challenges, and this one will be exciting,” said Garrant, who learned of the race after moving to Berkeley County about two years ago. Garrant, a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, said one of his colleagues at the National Maritime Center in Martinsburg had run the JFK 50 Mile and had a bib number from the race at the office.

WILLIAMSPORT - As Americans look back 35 years, we remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as one of the darkest times in our nation's history. On Saturday, Washington County did its best to remember its fallen leader in a positive way. Nearly 900 people braved the cold to run in the 36th annual JFK 50-mile, the kind of event Kennedy hoped would catch on throughout the country. "I think he (Kennedy) would be absolutely thrilled," race director Mike Spinnler said.