Ultrarunning star Jim Walmsley placed 22nd in 2:15:05 at today’s Races - Places in Atlanta. The race was his debut at the distance.
Trials 3rd Finisher Looks Set for Olympic Marathon since 2016. The Emotion of the Olympic Trials 50-mile world record in May and, the following month, crushed his own course record at the mile world record with a time of 14:09:28—an 8:29 per mile pace over 100 miles.
“Top 10 would’ve been a really good day, but I thought I competed my best today. I knew I didn’t want to not be in the front pack,” Walmsley told Runner’s World after the race. “I wanted to try to cover early moves but not really go out in front.”
His most surprising result in 2019, though, was his Trials qualifier at the Houston Half Marathon where he just snuck in with a 1:04:00, the exact cutoff time to achieve the “B” standard. On February 29, Walmsley split just a minute slower than that time for his first half of Trials.
“We came through at 1:05 and I put my foot forward in there,” he said. “The men’s field is really deep right now and it was a hell of a race by a ton of guys today.”
Walmsley hung with the lead pack through mile 15, but once eventual winner Rupp pulled away, the group strung out and Walmsley fell behind. “I tried to be patient and was hoping that on some of the descents I could kind of squeeze back into that pack, but I just didn’t quite close the gap once I dropped off. And then the wind started taking care of me after that,” he said.
For the accomplished ultrarunner, the marathon is a relatively short-distance race. But that didnt make it any less challenging. “It’s an intense two hours. You definitely go through the ringer. The marathon is still pretty brutal, so even though it’s shorter, it’s hell.”
Before the Trials, Walmsley told Runner’s World, “In a lot of ways I feel like I’m bearing a torch for ultrarunners. The stereotype of most trail or ultra races is that it’s all really slow and you can either take them on for fun or after you’re really done running. [Training for the Trials] feels like a responsibility [to show] we work pretty hard and we can hold our own as well.”
Over the past year, the Flagstaff, Arizona, native raced a variety of distances, mostly beyond 26.2 miles. Without a coach, he embraced unconventional marathon training, consisting of high-mileage—175-mile weeks—and Japanese-style training. Your First Marathon: 8 Tips from Fiona OKeeffe Comrades Marathon Health - Injuries The Best Shoes at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials on August 24.
The Best and Worst of the Trials Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
