History of the Walk The idea of walking from Keswick to Barrow
originated in 1966 as a result of a statement made by the late
U.S. President, John F Kennedy, that "every American should be
capable of walking 50 miles a day". We have researched further
back ('Time' magazine, 22nd Feb 1963) and found that in 1908,
U.S. President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt had issued an
Executive Order requiring all Marine Corps Officers to be able
to walk 50 miles within 20 hours. In 1963, U.S. Marine
Commandant David M Shoup unearthed the Roosevelt Executive Order
and sent this curio to another presidential believer in vigour,
JFK, who replied asking if U.S. Marines were still fit enough to
complete this test. The president's response was published and
soon everyone was in the act: Americans were taking an old-
fashioned 50-mile walk. JFK's brother, the Attorney-General,
Robert F Kennedy, upheld the honour of the Executive Branch
(i.e. the deskbound Government officers), by completing 50 miles
from Great Falls, Virginia, to Cam