Jim Walmsley has been one of many prime ultrarunners on the planet since he gained the JFK 50 in 2015. The Hoka-sponsored runner has gained the Western States 100 thrice (2018, 2019, 2021) and holds the course document (14 hours 9 minutes) on the 100.2-mile run from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California. Since then, he’s gained a number of worldwide races—the Extremely Path Cape City 100K in South Africa, the Madeira Island Extremely Path 115K in Portugal, and Endurance Path des Templiers 80K in France—however the one race he has but to grasp is the Extremely-Path du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), a 106-mile race across the Mont Blanc massif that begins and finishes in in Chamonix, France. He’s run it 4 occasions with two robust finishes (fifth in 2017, fourth in 2022) and two DNFs (2018, 2021), however admits he’s by no means had the optimum race by which every little thing comes collectively.
The 33-year-old runner from Flagstaff, Arizona, is without doubt one of the prime contenders within the males’s discipline at this 12 months’s UTMB, which begins September 1 at 6 P.M. native time (12:00 P.M. ET). He moved to Arêches, France, along with his spouse, Jess, 32, in Could 2022, shortly after they have been married to completely immerse in dwelling and coaching as a neighborhood to optimally put together for UTMB. Whereas he ran higher final 12 months than he had previously, he had a giant lead late within the race however was caught by the hard-charging Spanish runner Kilian Jornet, who went on to win (in a course-record 19:49) for a record-tying fourth time whereas Walmsley slowed and completed fourth 80 minutes later.
Listed below are 10 issues you need to learn about among the best ultrarunners on the planet.
1. He’s Been Residing in a Small Ski Resort City in France for 16 Months
Jim and Jess have been renting a home adjoining to a small ski resort within the city of Arêches, which is positioned within the Beaufortain Valley southwest of the western portion of the UTMB race course loop. They stay about 300 meters up the street from four-time UTMB winner and good good friend Francois D’Haene, and his household. Arêches is a two-hour drive to Chamonix, however the Walmsleys’ journeys to Chamonix have been rare, besides when Jim has been coaching on the course or they’ve been visiting pals.
The Walmsleys aren’t fluent in French, however they’ve been studying the language slowly by taking on-line lessons and speaking with pals, coaching companions, acquaintances, and native retailers.
“It’s been gradual, however there’s no method to velocity it up,” he mentioned. “In my huge block of coaching, my French has gotten worse. We really feel snug sufficient to go in all places and do errands and stuff, and a whole lot of the those that work on the native shops know that our French isn’t the most effective, in order that they’ve been good and spoke English to us.”
2. He’s Recovered from an Ankle Damage He Suffered within the Spring
In early Could, about two weeks after successful the Istria 100 by UTMB in Croatia, Walmsley was on a simple restoration run on a dust street close to Annecy, France, when he rolled his proper ankle and suffered a foul sprain that resulted in two partially torn ligaments and one absolutely torn ligament. Though he didn’t want surgical procedure, he needed to take a few month off of working and miss the chance to compete for Group USA within the World Mountain and Path Operating Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, in early June. (He was imagined to compete in each the 7.5K vertical mountain working race and the 85K lengthy path working race.)
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It occurred simply earlier than he and Jess returned to the U.S. for the primary time in a 12 months in Could, which meant he was capable of do bodily remedy classes in Flagstaff. He spent a whole lot of time driving indoors on a Wahoo bike coach earlier than progressing to driving outdoors and ultimately working once more by mid-June.
“All issues thought-about, it healed up fairly good and fast,” Walmsley mentioned. “I feel initially it was taking a little bit longer than I believed as a result of it was simply worse than I’d hoped, however then I used to be fairly affected person with it and it improved. I simply needed to have the self-discipline to verify I didn’t do an excessive amount of and hoped it was the most effective case situation and that I may keep on monitor. So yeah, I acquired fortunate as a result of I used to be capable of keep on monitor and do all that I needed to do coaching sensible as soon as it was healed.”
3. Getting Immigration Paperwork Wasn’t Simple
The Walmsleys knew in early 2022 they meant to maneuver to France so Jim may give attention to coaching for UTMB. They began the paperwork course of in April of that 12 months, filling out a packet of kinds after which visiting the French embassy in Los Angeles to take fingerprints and images. However the course of to get residency standing finalized wound up taking greater than 13 months and wasn’t finalized till late April of this 12 months. As a result of they’d overstayed 90-day restrict that Individuals are allowed to go to France with out a visa, they weren’t allowed to depart the nation till their paperwork was finalized. As soon as they’d the French-issued long-stay visa certificates in hand, they returned to the U.S. and spent a busy month within the U.S. from late Could to late June.
“It was slower than it ought to have been, however Hoka helped out by hiring an company to talk with them and get us by means of the method,” Walmsley mentioned.
4. He’s Educated with Locals, and He’s Educated Alone
Not lengthy after successful final October’s Pageant Des Templiers, a 51-mile race with 12,000 ft of vertical achieve, Walmsley took a number of months off from working and solely educated on alpine touring skis and indoors on his Wahoo bike coach. He did a whole lot of ski mountaineering with D’Haene for coaching final winter and ran quite a bit with him by means of the spring, nonetheless they haven’t linked a lot in the course of the summer time as a result of they’ve each been busy and touring. He’s educated much more with Simon Gosselin, a 28-year-old French mountain runner who moved to the Beaufort area final fall, in addition to small teams of different native French athletes.
Walmsley has additionally executed a whole lot of coaching on his personal, together with throughout his current UTMB buildup in July and August. Though he educated on particular sections of the UTMB course, he additionally created many new routes. For instance, in early August he ran a 39-mile route with 15,000 ft of vertical achieve from his home in Arêches to Courmayeur, Italy. Throughout the greatest a part of his coaching block, he averaged about 200K (or 125 miles) of working with huge quantities of vertical achieve and descents.
“I feel I most likely have executed higher coaching than final 12 months,” he says. “I really feel like I’ve nailed my coaching block as finest as I might need, and from now till (the race) it’s nearly making an attempt to time the fitting sensations within the legs, since you don’t need to end up with flat legs after placing in a lot work, which is one thing that has occurred earlier than. I don’t assume there’s something I’d change with coaching going into this or that I didn’t have any hiccups with accidents by means of the coaching block. With some foresight, earlier than I acquired my mileage up, I put a cap on my quantity and just about caught to it so I wouldn’t do an excessive amount of, however simply the correct amount.”
5. He’s Improved His Ski-Mountaineering Expertise
Walmsley moved to France as a relative novice as a ski mountaineer, however he was on skis for almost 100 days final winter and have become a powerful uphiller and proficient snowboarding reasonable downhill sections. He has raced in just a few ski mountaineering races, though he says he’s nonetheless not an expert-level skier going downhill on variable snow and terrain. He didn’t take part within the high-profile five-day Pierra Menta ski-mo race that’s held close to his home in March, however he has skied all the native peaks included within the course.
“I improved quite a bit all through the season and by the top of the season I’d say I’m aggressive going uphill on a world scale, which is fascinating,” he says. “However so far as with the ability to do a race, I’ll by no means have the contact to race on skis, and I don’t assume I need to. I don’t assume it might be good for me to attempt to push on skis like that, however to have the aptitude to do issues inside my consolation, I feel that might be nice.”
6. He’s Excited to Race a Sturdy UTMB Area As soon as Once more
In final 12 months’s race, Walmsley made an aggressive transfer in Italy at concerning the 85K level (roughly 53 miles) between Courmayeur and Arnouvaz to open up a spot on Jornet and continued pushing the tempo over the 8,300-foot excessive level on Grand Col Ferret (102K/63.4 miles) on the way in which into Switzerland. Walmsley led by about quarter-hour by the point he reached the Champex-Lac support station (125K/77.6 miles), however after that he started to fade barely on the following 3,000-foot climb and was caught by Jornet earlier than the Trient support station (143K/88.5 miles). From there, Walmsley didn’t have the vitality and light to fourth place.
Though Jornet is sidelined with an harm this 12 months, the remainder of final 12 months’s prime 10 males’s finishers look like wholesome and returning to this 12 months’s race. That features runner-up Mathieu Blanchard (France), third-place finisher and 2023 Western States 100 champion Tom Evans (UK), in addition to Zach Miller (U.S.) and Beñat Marmissolle (France), the fifth- and sixth-place finishers, respectively, and extra top-10 finishers Arthur Joyeux-Bouillon (France), Jonas Russi (Switzerland), Robert Hajnal (Romania), and Thibaut Garrivier (France).
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Sweden’s Petter Engdahl, who gained the CCC 100K in record-setting trend, is within the discipline, as are skilled stalwarts Pau Capell (Spain), Tim Tollefson (U.S.), Daniel Jones (New Zealand), Ludovic Pommeret (France), and Jean-Philippe Tschumi (Switzerland). “You might have the sphere that you simply all the time anticipate at UTMB, which form of makes it the race that it’s,” Walmsley says. “That’s why I like to compete in UTMB.”
And what about not with the ability to race in opposition to Jornet? “I imply, I don’t have a lot management about it, so, yeah, it simply form of is what it’s,” he says.
7. He’s Tailored His Fueling Technique
Ultimately 12 months’s UTMB, Walmsley admits he may not have fueled as successfully as he ought to have in the course of the center part of the course.
“Final 12 months was shut however not fairly and I ran my very own legs out on my own,” he says. “I imply, there’s takeaway that it didn’t really feel like anybody else rang my legs out. I felt like in some unspecified time in the future within the race I broke away from everybody, however finally my abdomen didn’t maintain up, which implies my vitality didn’t maintain up, which implies my legs didn’t maintain up. And having that vitality at that time within the race is extra essential than being probably the most match man on the road.”
Throughout this 12 months’s race, Walmsley plans to devour By no means Second ardour fruit vitality gels and endurance/vitality drinks, in addition to consuming quite a lot of mini rice truffles popularized by Dr. Allen Lim, writer of Feed Zone Portables and founding father of Skratch Labs. Walmsley can have quite a lot of candy and savory race cake choices that Jess has been experimenting with of their kitchen. Apart from that, he plans to remove all sweet and junk meals this 12 months, though he might need just a few crunchy chocolate cookies alongside the way in which.
Walmsley admits vitamin is all the time a little bit of a shifting goal for him, however he says he feels extra assured than ever about his fueling plan, particularly after he did a protracted exercise by which Jess manned an impromptu support station with rice truffles and glowing water.
“There’s positively going to be an even bigger give attention to being fast by means of the help stations,” he says. “It should all be based mostly on the race state of affairs, however it is advisable to be able to be fast as a result of among the guys within the entrance are going proper by means of support stations. And who is aware of if the race breaks open or if I break it open, then possibly there would be the luxurious of getting a while. However plan A might be to be out and in between most likely one to 2 minutes or much less.”
8. He’s Racing in Personalized Hoka Prototype Sneakers
Walmsley has two totally different all-black Hoka prototype sneakers that he’s been coaching in for UTMB. Each are custom-made variations of Hoka Tecton X 2 sneakers that embody Peba foam midsoles and twin/parallel carbon-fiber propulsion plates, however every has totally different plate, foam and higher componentry and traits. The first pair that he thinks he may run the entire course in is lighter than the prototype he wore final 12 months, has a distinct outsole with larger lugs and has extra inside padding. The secondary pair of sneakers seems similar however it’s even lighter and extra responsive. He’s undecided if he’ll become that pair in the course of the latter levels of the race or not. (He rolled his ankle in a distinct pair of sneakers when he was injured in June, not the racing prototypes.)
“We’re working a little bit bit inside the field as a result of it’s nonetheless the identical mildew because the Tecton X, however these sneakers have totally different foams, totally different plates, totally different uppers,” he says. “There are some issues that make this shoe actually distinctive and superior, however I’m undecided it’s a shoe that everybody would love. It’s actually gentle and it’s nimble, however it takes some getting used to and figuring out the way it reacts and what it appears like. Nevertheless it’s as near a supershoe as you possibly can have on the paths.”
9. He Plans to Proceed Residing in France
Walmsley says he and Jess will most likely spend extra time within the U.S. in 2024, but in addition says, regardless of how UTMB goes for him this 12 months, he’s fairly positive they’ll proceed to stay in France on and off into 2025. Now that he’s working UTMB for the fifth time, he says he’s realized quite a bit concerning the mountains and the tradition of the occasion and appreciates it much more. Whereas he used to indicate up a lot nearer to the race, the extra time immersing within the native terrain final 12 months and particularly this 12 months, has modified his perspective totally and helped him really feel higher ready and assured than ever earlier than.
“Trying again, was it immature to say the primary time coming into the race my objective was to attempt to win it?” he ponders. “It form of makes me want I had taken extra steps in direction of doing it so I may study extra. As a result of simply form of going straight into the fireplace, you don’t essentially have the toolbox to do every little thing as you need to most likely. So yeah, at this level it most likely would’ve been higher off progressing ahead and possibly I’m nonetheless on that development. I feel annually I come again and I make much less errors from the 12 months earlier than. Hopefully that claims I’m on an bettering trajectory.
However for now, I’m actually pleased with the extent of dedication that I’ve put in direction of it, how preparation has gone, mainly what’s been in my management. So now it’s simply time to race…and if it really works out, it makes for a very nice story. If it doesn’t, it goes on.”
10. He’s Hoping to Run the Western States 100 in 2024
If all goes nicely, Walmsley says he’ll run the Good Côte d’Azur by UTMB 100-mile race on September 29—lower than a month after UTMB—with the hopes of getting a Golden Ticket qualifier for the 2024 Western States 100. If he runs Western States subsequent summer time, he’d be making an attempt to change into solely the fourth runner to win at the very least 4 occasions—behind Scott Jurek (seven), Tim Twietmeyer (5), and Ann Transon (fourteen). He’s additionally strongly contemplating working the Transgrancanaria 126K race within the Canary Island or the Black Canyon 100K in Arizona late subsequent winter.
However, as a lot as he’s centered on UTMB since dwelling in France, the Western States 100 is close to and expensive to his coronary heart. After that, who is aware of?
“I haven’t been there shortly, so it might be good to return,” Walmsley says. “After that, I’m undecided what is going to occur subsequent. Perhaps I’ll apply to Hardrock or simply come again to UTMB or CCC. I’ve by no means utilized to Hardrock and I don’t know if the race is a objective or simply that I’m impressed as a result of it’s a prestigious race differently. I get pleasure from working in Silverton and I feel I may run the entire thing with out a map, like tomorrow.”
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