Walmsley finished one ultra last year, which was Western States. Seems like he has been dealing with injuries for the last two years… which, is typically how an ultra career starts to taper. Are we at this point with Walmsley? It also seems like he isn’t pushing real hard the last few years - almost like he is losing his speed which made him legit unstoppable if he executed well.
anyone have any insider info on Walmsley or thoughts on where he’s at in his career?
Walmsley finished one ultra last year, which was Western States. Seems like he has been dealing with injuries for the last two years… which, is typically how an ultra career starts to taper. Are we at this point with Walmsley? It also seems like he isn’t pushing real hard the last few years - almost like he is losing his speed which made him legit unstoppable if he executed well.
anyone have any insider info on Walmsley or thoughts on where he’s at in his career?
He basically did the impossible... something Europeans and Americans said could never be done and crushed it.. I would lose motivation as well.
Last year western states win was his toughest in terms of second place being on his heels for so long. This year western states will have even tougher competition looking at the returning top ten and the golden ticket winners. The other thing about western states/utmb double is that it's hard to turn around for utmb later in the summer for a few reasons. Primarily is that western states is a running race and it's hot. Western states is very taxing on the body. Utmb involves a lot more hiking and time on feet. So that switch in training is really hard if you're already taxed from a hot hundred miler. The western states/CCC double makes a lot more sense in my opinion. The time on feet is much more similar and the vert is similar. And lastly there's not much incentive for pros to finish utmb if they're not going win it. Jim walmsley wasn't the only one to DNF utmb last year. Many of the professional men's field dropped last year, leaving at the time an amateur runner to win it.
I agree that the 2024 WSER was his toughest/closest, but I also think he had the race well in hand. From what I read he was dealing with a shoe issue most of the day and stopped to change to a fresh pair 4-5 times. Even in those moments he never looked stressed.
I have to imagine that it’s easy to lose motivation just showing up and solo time trialing WSER, which is what his other wins have been. Having Rod that close raised the stakes, but when it was time to go, Jim had no problem opening up a gap to the finish.
What other races would have liked to see Walmsley run last year?
My take is that at this point in his career his is only focused on running races where he stands to receive a large bonus from his sponsor if he wins/sets the CR.
I don't think he's lost motivation, guessing he still wants to set a record at Hardrock if he can ever get in. And I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for Leadville though after they didn't let him in he might not care about that race anymore.
What other races would have liked to see Walmsley run last year?
My take is that at this point in his career his is only focused on running races where he stands to receive a large bonus from his sponsor if he wins/sets the CR.
I don't think he's lost motivation, guessing he still wants to set a record at Hardrock if he can ever get in. And I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for Leadville though after they didn't let him in he might not care about that race anymore.
If Jim wanted to do Hardrock, he would. I am certain he would be one of the 5 freebie picks. He has done a supported attempt of the course before and didnt finish. I believe he has also gone out and volunteered, so it would be an easy one to give an auto entry to.
Walmsley finished one ultra last year, which was Western States. Seems like he has been dealing with injuries for the last two years… which, is typically how an ultra career starts to taper. Are we at this point with Walmsley? It also seems like he isn’t pushing real hard the last few years - almost like he is losing his speed which made him legit unstoppable if he executed well.
anyone have any insider info on Walmsley or thoughts on where he’s at in his career?
With David Roche putting everything he can into WSER this year, and Kilian hoping to make it, too, you'll probably get an answer in a few months. It's a bit of a bizarre time of year to be asking this question.
He takes around 4 months - 5 months off from running and focuses on cross skiing etc. So won't hear much right now. Now previously he wasn't a fan of treadmills, but apparently we bought one of the real high tec ones lately. So he will be back
What other races would have liked to see Walmsley run last year?
My take is that at this point in his career his is only focused on running races where he stands to receive a large bonus from his sponsor if he wins/sets the CR.
I don't think he's lost motivation, guessing he still wants to set a record at Hardrock if he can ever get in. And I wouldn't be surprised if he goes for Leadville though after they didn't let him in he might not care about that race anymore.
If Jim wanted to do Hardrock, he would. I am certain he would be one of the 5 freebie picks. He has done a supported attempt of the course before and didnt finish. I believe he has also gone out and volunteered, so it would be an easy one to give an auto entry to.
Didn't he do that supported attempt because the race was canceled so he couldn't run it but wanted to see if it was possible to set a CR there? Pretty sure his involvement in the race is precisely because he wants to run it. Perhaps he could get in any time he wants as one of the Dale's picks and maybe it just hasn't lined up with his schedule yet since he's been focused on UTMB, but my point remains that he likely wants to run it and set a CR there.