Can Jim Walmsley Defend His Title? (2024 UTMB Interview)

Jim Walmsley returns to the Singletrack Podcast to talk with Finn Melanson about his upcoming title defense at Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB), final takeaways from his win at the Western States 100 in June, observations from spectating this year's Hardrock 100, whether he would ever do a full season on the Golden Trail series circuit, and how his career in ultrarunning has progressed to date both from training and race standpoints.

Timestamps:

00:00 The Increasing Competitiveness of Western States
09:02 The Importance of Mental Strength in Racing
13:19 Considering the Golden Trail Series
16:22 Adjusting Strategies for Future Races
20:50 The Challenges of the UTMB Course
25:56 Keeping Training Private for Focus
29:25 Approaching UTMB with Caution
32:30 Considering the World Trail Championships
35:31 The Longevity of a Successful Career
45:29 Finding Inspiration in Other Sports

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[runsingletrack]

Thanks for watching! What do you think - can Jim defend his title at UTMB? Will anyone in the field challenge him? What's it going to take?

[FINcLoAk]

Well formed questions, really enjoyed the conversation. Thank you. Keep up the good work Finn!

[PS-]

Tom Evans is focusing on this race too. Interesting to see them go head to head.

[christopherorman]

I've heard people (maybe even you Finn during WSER) talk about Walmsley having a bit of the "mamba mentality" -- a bit like Kobe Bryant. His responses to a few of your questions here certainly suggests he has that mentality. What I like about this interview is that: (1) Walmsley is already thinking about longevity -- meaning does he ultimately go the Jeff Browning route here, doing 200s and things as he gets older? and (2) Walmsley is always tinkering and thinking about ways to improve his time. On the latter, it is clear he knows he left time on that WSER course and can be faster. As far as UTMB predictions, I don't bet against Walmsley, but I will say the fact he has some injury issues and his recovery since WSER has been slow, it certainly isn't a slam dunk. I like Evans a lot.

[Arisafari]

I cannot wait Love you Jim you're a bad ass ! LfG!!

[mtnrnnr]

Would love to hear his take on doing Cocodona. I paced Jeff this year for the final push and Jim greeted us at Buffalo Park and seemed curious and excited about it. Hometown race for him too - would be sick.

[MarkGriffith]

I haven't reviewed the field yet to have opinions - BUT - he seems to have things dialed lately - will be interesting to watch. I am disappointed that you didn't ask about the "UTMB controversy" over Gary Robbins episode.... I remember his Strava post shortly after it all came out, something like : "So where are we going to run next August?" - I am not accusing him or anyone else from flip flopping - it is interesting to see how emotion and perspective changes over time and as more details have come

[narisevansangynriivaama]

The audio could be better; I could only watch for a short time. In the future, when bandwidth limitations exist, you can always ask the interviewee to record their audio, send it to you, and splice that to improve the experience.

[obsidiantain]

It’s hard to see past Jim in current form, obviously anything can happen on the day with fuelling etc, but he’s been so dialled in the last year, year and a half.

[PS-]

Ludo is also a beast. He killed Hardrock. I’d watch him too.

[johnborton]

I always find it interesting that Western doesn't allow poles due to a prohibition on "mechanical aids", and yet they allow the use of stunning amounts of ice which is produced through entirely mechanical (and often fossil fuel) means. I would argue that on that course, ice is far more of a 'mechanical' advantage than poles.

Great interview as usual.

[JaySizz]

Does Jim actually believe all the BS excuses UTMB put out this last year? With all due respect to his simple running prowess and nothing else... shame on him. Push us in the right direction, Jim, have some integrity.