JIM WALMLSEY’S TRAINING WEEK - WOW

pnw_runner wrote:

My objective, non-hater/non-fanboy opinion:

Uli Steidl and Jim Walmsley have very similar track PRs (Jim's are just a bit faster except for Uli has a faster 10,000 m PR) and Uli has run sub 2:14 for the marathon. While Uli and Jim haven't run any of the same ultras, Sage Canaday did break Uli's CR at White River and Max King broke Uli's Chuckanut CR - both runners that Jim has been faster than in recent years. So by this reasoning, I believe Jim to be capable of running a marathon at least as fast as Uli, if not faster. That being said, the problem for Jim is that there are other runners who 1) specialize in the marathon and 2) are faster than him - Rupp, Fauble, Ward, Parker, etc. Being capable of a 2:12 doesn't help when others are capable of running several minutes faster.

Ever heard of Leonard Korir? Dude has to be the favorite to win the trials at this point. I'm going with Korir, Rupp, Ward in spots 1-3, with Fauble in 4th. I think Stinson will sneak into the top 10, but he's got one decent marathon at this point. Those other 4 are currently way beyond even what he ran at his best this fall. Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised to see Stinson crumble with all the hills and get passed by Walmsley near the end.

Freddy M. wrote:

Jim is such a good friend of Elton John.

And Elton has such a good shoe collection.

Please, wrote:

Zlatan wrote:

I have seen many mediocre runners go sub 2:15 this year. I would expect Jim to be at least 3 minutes up the road on these guys.

Please. A 2:15 ish Marathon runner is not a mediocre runner.

Well that just depends on you're pedantic definition of mediocre. In the context of elite men's marathon running if you're only running the women's WR then you're mediocre in my book.

Ever heard of Leonard Korir? wrote:

Ever heard of Leonard Korir? Dude has to be the favorite to win the trials at this point. I'm going with Korir, Rupp, Ward in spots 1-3, with Fauble in 4th. I think Stinson will sneak into the top 10, but he's got one decent marathon at this point. Those other 4 are currently way beyond even what he ran at his best this fall. Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised to see Stinson crumble with all the hills and get passed by Walmsley near the end.

No, you're right - I forgot about Korir. He definitely has to be among the favorites to make the team.

This is what makes it more interesting with Jim being there imo. If anything, I think he'll be the guy making moves and surges, especially on the hills, trying to drop people that are faster than him. I think a tough course/conditions suits someone like Jim way more than an even pace time trial would. Think Yuki at Boston, albeit an extreme example,

I've said from the beginning that Jim will almost certainly not make the team. But I do hope he runs the race and makes it interesting. I think he'd end up fairing better than a lot of people give him credit for.

And fwiw; this is from an 800m runner who follows almost no ultra running.

calling out the BS wrote:

loql wrote:

The mileage is high but the amount of quality lacks in his training in my opinion.

20 mi at 6:17 pace is nothing impressive for a 1:04 runner. I am 1:15 runner and I am doing long runs of 17 miles at 6:20 pace and they are just moderate pace.

Also running hills every day is not the best way to train as it just impairs super compensation unless you are going extremely slow.

a 17 miler at 6:20 is moderate pace?! And you have only ran 1:15? that's horrendous. I ran 1:15 off 40 mpw and a 10 miler at 6:20 felt hard.

To be fair that 1:15 came on a hilly course with 700+ feet total climb over 13.1 miles.

But, yes, 6:20 pace is moderate pace for me and when rested it feels quite easy.

J-dawg had a chance to take the trials seriously and he’s blowing it. The training he’s doing is not conducive to running a fast marathon

No marathon race in there. The guy says he runs a lot of miles, Dave Bedford and Derek Clayton ran upwards of 200 miles a week with some intervals.

The US marathon field is so weak compared to Africa, Japan and even Europe that anything could happen.

Diluted wrote:

The US marathon field is so weak compared to Africa, Japan and even Europe that anything could happen.

No, not anything will happen. Some of the best US runners will get the ticket for Olympia. Walmsley won't be one of them, that's for sure.

I didn't really want to weigh in, and I guess I'm still not - I'll just make the following observation.

The very fact that people are debating just how good (or not) Jim may be; whether he's a 2:11 or 2:14 talent, how much specificity in training is necessary for the OTs, etc is precisely what makes him interesting. I don't think he has any delusions of making the Olympic team, he's an avid running fan and some level of student of the subject. Yes, it would take something along the lines of Yuki winning Boston.

Forget what his career may look like when he's finished or even if he comes close to winning either race, the fact that an athlete like Jim is running (and seriously training for) ultras in his athletic prime, and is a threat to win races as diverse UTMB and Comrades, is a marvel in and of itself. The OTs are a nice change of pace.

I don't think Jim would say he can hang with, say Korir and Co in all of their workouts, but I don't think they can hang with him in all of his. It's probably not worth acknowledging those trying to dismiss the quality and volume of his training. Something to consider, Jim always trains with his next race in mind - so "vert" (cumulative elevation gain in a week) at the moment is still an important factor in his training as he has Comrades in early June.

I suspect that whatever Jim does in the OTs, those who love him will lose no adulation, and those who dismiss him will continue in such fashion.

Walmsley is getting paid to get attention to Hoka. Hoka doesn't care how well he does as long as he delivers fanboys who buy overpriced shoes.

Hoka brand manager wrote:

Walmsley is getting paid to get attention to Hoka. Hoka doesn't care how well he does as long as he delivers fanboys who buy overpriced shoes.

I wish more people realized this. Same with Tinman, Sage, and whoever is self promoting themselves. It isn't a bad thing.

I wish some more of these sub elite runners opened up like this instead of pretending their training is top secret and racing once per year. Its better for the sport, and they would probably make a lot more money if people knew who they were.

God damnit Steeltown Runner, how dare you speak so rational on LRC..

What you said is 1000% spot on. What people (or a few on here) love to throw shade at, is "he barely qualified," yes true, but that makes his ability to pace to the second even more incredible. His build up for his one and only attempt was relatively short, and he stated his interest in the HM was because it was so different than any training he's done, likely since college. Thus far, no other runner has come close to displaying the amount of range Jim has. **awaiting the yeah buts*

He's in his athletic prime now, no doubt @ 29 y/o. It's exciting to watch this all unfold, and I for one can't wait to see what does on 2/29.

Hoka brand manager wrote:

Walmsley is getting paid to get attention to Hoka. Hoka doesn't care how well he does as long as he delivers fanboys who buy overpriced shoes.

As much as I can appreciate Jim's dedication, I will never purchase a hoka product.

Hoka brand manager wrote:

Walmsley is getting paid to get attention to Hoka. Hoka doesn't care how well he does as long as he delivers fanboys who buy overpriced shoes.

What a ridiculous statement. Obviously the better he does the more attention he gets

Sir Donald Draper wrote:

What a ridiculous statement. Obviously the better he does the more attention he gets

Jim was 25 minutes behind the Japanese winner in the Hoka event this spring. It's all about selling shoes.

the question people should be asking is how fast Jim could run in vaporflies. 2:11? seems like the consensus is that he's about a 2:13 guy.

who people should be talking about is CJ Albertson. does 50k training runs under 5:30 pace during marathon training and only got beat by 4 or 5 seconds at CIM by Elisha Barno, a 2:09 guy who went to the well to stay ahead of CJ.

in novemebr he ran 30 miles at 5:15 pace as a training run. that would be a 2:43 50k, and the world record is...2:43

Bordin went 2:37 for 50K in training... I think Walmsley is a sub-2:12 guy, I wish he'd specifically train for it.