Jim Walmsley needs no introduction. But for the uninitiated, let’s do one anyway. The American ultra runner has won some of the world’s most legendary trail races, including Western States on four occasions and the UTMB in 2023. He holds men’s course records for both and held the fastest time for a 50-mile run in history between 2019 and 2023, plus more besides.
As well as these stratospheric highs, he’s also experienced some crushing lows. In 2016, he was all set to win his first 100-miler at Western States, breaking the course record into the bargain, only to take a wrong turn. The next year, he DNFed in the blistering heat. However, these experiences have only made him stronger in the long run (no pun intended). His motivation and drive are such that he relocated to the Alps with his wife, Jessica Brazeau, just to prime himself to achieve his obsession of winning the UTMB. He thrives on “isolating other runners”, getting to be one-on-one with competitors and then finding that extra edge that takes him to victory.
In this feature, one of our trail running experts looks at Walmsley’s incredible career and the moments that have shaped him into the all-conquering champion he is today.
Early life
Walmsley was born in Phoenix, Arizona on January 17, 1990. His talent for running was obvious during his teens. At the age of 17, he won every race on his way to becoming Arizona’s cross country state champion. He attended the Air Force Academy between 2008 and 2012, graduated, but was then discharged and relocated to Flagstaff.
At that stage in his life, running was critical to both his mental health – he had struggles with depression – but also his financial health. Walmsley would use his race winnings to help pay the rent and, as he continued to dominate events, he took ultra running more and more seriously.
Meet the expert
Alex is a qualified Mountain Leader and avid upland runner who follows the world of mountain ultra running with great interest. He's originally from Cumbria, home to the English Lake District, the spiritual home of fell running and loves nothing more than a fast-paced adventure in the hills.
Podiums and speed records
Walmsley started winning ultras in the years that followed his graduation from the Air Force Academy, notably winning the JFK 50 Mile Memorial ultra three years on the bounce, in 2014, 2015 and 2016. It wouldn’t be until 2018 that he won his first 100-miler, with Walmsley’s aggressive, split-chasing approach at the time meaning he was perhaps better suited to the 50-mile and 100k distances.
In October 2016, he set an unprecedented fastest known time on the Grand Canyon’s Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R), a brutal 42-mile route entailing over 10,000 feet of elevation gain. He’d smashed the previous record, set by neighbor Rob Krar by over 25 minutes, becoming the first person to run the route in less than 6 hours with his time of 5 hours, 55 minutes and 20 seconds. Of the hikers that could have potentially blocked his progress, he said that: “I think the people who saw me thought: this guy looks like he’s gonna die – let’s get out of his way.” Being from Arizona, it was a special achievement on a very personal level.
Between his famous Western States attempts (more on these in a mo) in 2016 and 2017, Walmsley secured sponsorship with running shoe giant Hoka. In 2019, at the Hoka One One Project Carbon X 100k race, he stunned the running world by breaking the 50-mile speed record, which had previously stood for 36 years. He managed the feat in 4 hours, 50 minutes and 8 seconds, though it’s since been bested by fellow American Charlie Lawrence who managed 4 hours, 48 minutes and 21 seconds at the Tunnel Hill 50 Mile in Vienna, Illinois.
Walmsley at Western States
Along with Colorado’s Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run and the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, the Western States Endurance Run is one of the world’s greatest 100-mile races, as well as it’s oldest. Walmsley has written his name into its folklore by winning four of the last six men’s races, joining the likes of Ann Trason, Tim Twietmeyer and Scott Jurek in its hall of fame.
In 2016, two years before his first Western States triumph, Walmsley came agonizingly close to winning the race. That year, he arrived in California in bullish mood, announcing that he was aiming to break the course record at the first time of asking. At mile 93, he was 17 minutes within the record pace and way out in front.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
He took a devastating wrong turn, relinquishing his lead and losing all hope of breaking the record, eventually finishing in 20th place. He was back in 2017 but pushed far too hard in the 100-degree heat, pulling out with digestion issues. His all-guns-blazing approach would have to be tempered. Walmsley figured out that, to win 100-mile races, his tactic of chasing down record splits would have to be ditched.
He took his ’revenge’ on the Western States by winning and setting new course records in both 2018 and 2019. He went on to win the historic race again in 2021 and 2024, though he neglected to take part in the 2022 and 2023 editions to focus on the UTMB. Watch this space, we’re betting he’s not done yet either.
First American man to win UTMB
On Saturday September 2, 2023, history was made on the hallowed streets of Chamonix in the French Alps. Beating a stacked field of ultra running’s elite, Walmsley became the first American man to win the famous Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. He beat fellow American Zach Miller into second, setting a new course record of 19:37:43 in the process. Later that same day, fellow American Courtney Dauwalter won the women’s race to claim an unprecedented Triple Crown of Hardrock, Western States and UTMB victories in one year.
The UTMB is widely regarded as the holy grail of mountain ultra running. It takes on a 171-kilometer loop of the Mont Blanc massif, the highest mountain range in the Alps, and entails around 10,000 meters of elevation gain to boot. The 2023 edition was Walmsley’s fifth attempt at the race, having “completely destroyed” himself during his first attempt in 2017 when he’d led for around 110 kilometers only to drop off and finish in fifth place. He DNFed in 2018 and 2021, while the Covid pandemic put paid to the 2020 edition. Solving the UTMB problem was becoming an obsession and, to achieve the goal of finally winning the UTMB, Walmsley moved to nearby Arêches in May 2022 in order to mould himself into an alpine skyrunner – it was a move that paid off handsomely.
On that fateful day in 2023, Walmsley had been in the leading pack from around Les Contamines, at the 32-kilometer mark. Despite dropping to second place for much of the race, he managing hold on to the coattails of race leader Zach Miller through the night, eventually overtaking him by Trient after about 145 kilometers. He held off the challenge of his compatriot all the way to the finish line in Chamonix.
His determination to stay at the top was summed up the day after the race when he said: “If you’re not going to put in the work and train hard, then there’s a lot of guys doing that that are going to take those spots ahead of you.” Walmsley was back on the UTMB start line in 2024 but pulled out in Courmayeur, at around the halfway stage, having struggled to recover after his Western States win earlier in the year.
We await the 2025 season with bated breath...
