I've run on some of the Chamonix (and Flagstaff/Silverton) trails he's been on the past few weeks. The terrain is no joke. It's not like he's doing marathon distance hilly road runs in three hours. These runs are 4:30-6 hours almost daily and involve thousands of feet of climbing and descending.
If you've never run downhill for more than an hour straight, it's something special. In great shape, I am beat up for days. He's doing this daily. Supernatural.
Goucher Needles wrote:
P.s. Let somebody else lead for the first 70 miles. Just because Zach Miller is going to run 15:50 for the first 5k doesn't mean you have to.
joke's on you, Zach Miller probably couldn't run a 15:50 5k right now
He ran a sub 16 minute 5k for the last 3.1 miles of a 50 miler last fall. I think he'd be fine.
12 minute pace will get you the course record. Jim ran 1/3rd the distance and elevation 1:20/mile faster. That is comparable to Galen Rupp doing an 8 mile run at 3:34 pace before a marathon.
I'm predicting Jim will HIKE the first 50 miles in 12.5 hours and then throw down a 7 hour run the last 50.
Stastikal analysys..... wrote:
12 minute pace will get you the course record. Jim ran 1/3rd the distance and elevation 1:20/mile faster. That is comparable to Galen Rupp doing an 8 mile run at 3:34 pace before a marathon.
I'm predicting Jim will HIKE the first 50 miles in 12.5 hours and then throw down a 7 hour run the last 50.
Literally laughing out loud right now. (Ok maybe not literally, but on the inside)
This is one of the most absurd things I have ever seen on this site. Walmsley doesn't produce results when it counts, he will surely DNF.
He is not a superhuman like Kilian.
You know what, WHO CARES!?
It's ENTERTAINMENT.
I want Walmsley to be on CR pace at 80km and then have the wheels start falling off only to be caught at Mile 94 and reduced to walk, but it will have been amazing.
That's inspiring to me. Not like Lukas's race last season. I want more Zach Miller and Jim Walmsley than Lukas and Francois of the worlds just "pacing" themselves.
Lukas? Do you mean Ludovic? The guy who had stomach issues early in the race, dropped to 50th losing 1.5 hours to the leader, iirc, to then recover and tear through to field to a solid win?
Nothing inspiring about that, sure.
Jim is a splash in the pan type for a few years..he'll dominate the 50k, 50 m, hell even some 100ks, I just don't see him evolving into one of the greats though. Look at somebody like Jeff Browning, easily one of the greatest ultra runners ever. Dude is just an absolute animal, watch every single documented 100 he's in and I swear he looks like he is just on a harder training run during these elite 100 milers, it's just surreal to me. Honestly, I see somebody like Avery Collins having more of a standing legacy a decade from now than Jim will. We shall see though.
Goucher Needles wrote:
I've heard that you check Letsrun.com daily, so I'm writing to you to ask you if you'd please rest the next 4 days before UTMB. 50k was too much yesterday young man. If I see another 27 mile with 9000 feet of climbing on your Strava tomorrow, I may have to come to Chamonix and take you behind the woodshed. I have you picked to win in my UTMB fantasy pool, and I'd really like to win a hundred bucks and bragging rights over my homeboys.
P.s. Let somebody else lead for the first 70 miles. Just because Zach Miller is going to run 15:50 for the first 5k doesn't mean you have to. If you run silly, Killian will come from a little off the pace and snatch your (my) victory.
Thank you in advance for your compliance with my polite (but stern) request.
Today:
26,5mi 9.260ft 10:55/mi
His week so far:
88,1mi 15h 29m 29.216ft
I hope his sponsors give him $ for strava KOMs, he clearly likes suicidal tactics
I'm torn with my thoughts on Jim.
Don't know the guy at all other than what I see his training (and results) are like, as well as some interviews. Dude just seems like he loves to run. Realizes he might not be able to do this forever, so why not just do it while he can. More of a "live for today because tomorrow is uncertain" type runner. I respect that because it's true. Maximize what talent you have.
At the same time, given his recent history in the 100 mile distance, I can't help but think of another "prodigy", Anton Krupicka. Same type of runner. Logged HUGE weekly mileage with elevation in the mountains. A few really good race results but then got hurt. Coming back from injury it was back to the same routine of huge weekly mileage and elevation. Got hurt again. Comes back, huge miles again. Hurt again.
What makes Walmsley "great" is the hard, mega-miles/elevation in training. What made Krupicka "great" was the hard, mega miles/elevation training. What caused his downfall was the hard, mega miles/elevation training.
Stra wrote:
Today:
26,5mi 9.260ft 10:55/mi
His week so far:
88,1mi 15h 29m 29.216ft
I hope his sponsors give him $ for strava KOMs, he clearly likes suicidal tactics
And Tollefson's weekly so far:
Activities for Aug 21, 2017 - Aug 27, 2017
34.8mi 4h 43m 7,424ft
If I was Walmsley I would seriously pay Browning to coach me. Then he could just focus on the running and let Jeff guide him to the top, especially for these 100s, which Browning has down pat. Talent without brains to back it up is just a waste.
88 miles with 30k vertical gain in three days this week. That shows he is capable of crushing this race. Per my initial plea to Jim----I hope that's not his race.
Why would Walmsley need a coach? His fitness is up there with the best of them, I doubt his training is lacking in any significant way. What's cost him Western States wasn't overtraining, there were no signs of overtraining, but a suicidal pace due to all the hype he's surrounded with and his inexperience in the distance.
What he needs is to learn from his mistakes and be a little patient with his goals. His training seems pretty dialed in.
Stra wrote:
Today:
26,5mi 9.260ft 10:55/mi
His week so far:
88,1mi 15h 29m 29.216ft
I hope his sponsors give him $ for strava KOMs, he clearly likes suicidal tactics
Looks like he ran an extra 10 minutes in the afternoon. Which makes it 90 miles total, for the first 3 days this week.
Old Man Runner wrote:
Anton Krupicka. Same type of runner.
lol
With all due respect, Browning is a participant in these things, not a champion or record setter. Two different runners. Browning is like Karl Meltzer, old and slow, but will finish all 100s.
I'll respectfully disagree with that. He's damn near podium'd or been in top 10 at major 100's even at 46 y/o. Maybe a few years down the road that's the case, but I still put him as one of the GOATs still running strong. Jim is nearly 20 years younger too. Walmsley has a huge ceiling if he can put it all together, but for him it's about records atm. Maybe that changes, idk. It's clear he has a lot of learning to do at the 100 before we champion him in the obnoxious way we have the last year. It'll be interesting to see how Zach Miller and Hayden Hawks progress towards the 100 distance. Hayden is a track guy so he might fall in line with more Walmsley and Sage as up to 100k specialists.
Lol I'm all for the talk about jim flopping at not one but two western states. But come on "low key" "non-competitive"
Tarawera CR, Triple JFK wins back to back and BURIED the max kind CR
Lake Sonoma 2016 CR, Bandera 100k, Gorge 100k CR, I mean even if there wasnt any competition (there was) he still got the course records!
Even if we look in the past month he DOMINATED speedgoat! With Tim Tollefson there (3rd UTMB 16, 2nd CCC 15) and Sage Canaday 3 (4?) time winner at speedgoat?
Plus we just toss in a R2R2R FKT somewhere in there. He is a beast end of story, even if he forever flops at the 100 mile distance. We still talk about guys like Anton Krupicka who did less than Walms has.
Browning is ultra consistent, but he's not in the same league as Walmsley or the top contenders. He runs conservatively and picks off guy's who blow up. He doesn't have the genetic make up to compete with the most talented guys when they run well.
I'm a big ultra fan, and I think the top guys get poor treatment in this message board. What they're doing is absurd. But.....trail ultra races aren't fully races. The top guys don't get preferential treatment to (even) gain entry into most races. It's all about lotteries, hard caps of 100-300 total racers with little or no concern for elites. This is what makes UTMB so cool. There's a clean process for the best guys to get in.
Races like Hardrock or Western States are non-competitive beyond 3-5 guys. Walmsley might not even get in next year. Can you imagine Mo Farah wanting to go to a top marathon and the races says no, or you're in the same lottery as the 5 hour runner, or you have to "qualify."
Browning seems like an awesome guy, but he finishes top ten in every races he runs because he races super smart and because of who's not there---not because he's ultra-elite.