Jim Walmsley (born January 17, 1990) is an American long-distance runner. An ultra-trail specialist, his wins include the JFK 50 Mile in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the

Lake Sonoma 50 Lake Sonoma 50 is a 50-mile ultra marathon race held near Healdsburg, California. The course circumnavigates the Warm Springs arm of Lake Sonoma on hiking trails. It takes place annually on the second Saturday in April. The race was first run in 20 ...

in 2016 and 2018, the Tarawera Ultramarathon in 2017, and the

Western States 100 The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100, is a 100.2-mile (161 km) ultramarathon that takes place on California's Sierra Nevada Mountains trails each year on the last full weekend of June. The race starts a ...

in 2018, 2019, and 2021. He holds several course records and

fastest known time A fastest known time (FKT) is the speed record for a running or hiking route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long trails ...

s, including the Western States 100, set in 2018 and further improved by 21 minutes in 2019. Sponsored by Hoka One One, Walmsley was named UltraRunner of the Year for four years in a row - 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. In addition, he qualified and ran in the 2020

Olympic trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

in the marathon with his 2019 qualifying performance at the Houston half-marathon. While competing in the Hoka One One Project Carbon X 100K Challenge on May 5, 2019 he set a new world best for the 50 mile distance, completing it in 4:50:07 (besting

Bruce Fordyce Bruce Noel Stevenson Fordyce (born 3 December 1955 in Hong Kong) is a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. He is best known for having won the South African Comrades Marathon a record nine times, of which eight wins were consecut ...

's previous 36-year old record by 14 seconds). Walmsley won the

World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships The World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships (from 2004 up to 2014 the name was World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge), is an annual international mountain running competition organised by the World Mountain Running Association ( ...

in 2019.World Athletics: Walmsley and Simion take Long Course Titles at World Mountain Running Championships.
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Career

High school

Walmsley attended Horizon High School in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. In his senior year in 2007, he became Arizona's Division 5A-II

cross country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

state champion, winning every race he ran in, and was named Runner of the Year. He finished 23rd in the national championships that year.

College

He considered attending Arizona State, Georgetown, Iona College, Washington,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

, eventually choosing the latter. During his 4 years there, from 2008 to 2012, he ran cross country and also took part in the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

10,000 meters The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ...

, and steeplechase. In 2012, as the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the cross country and long-distance running teams, his best times were 4:04 for the mile, 13:52 for 5000m, 29:08 for 10000m and 8:41 for the 3000m steeplechase.

Achievements

Records

References

External links

Jim Walmsley Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walmsley, Jim 1990 births Living people American male long-distance runners American male ultramarathon runners Track and field athletes from Arizona World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships winners Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Sportspeople from Scottsdale, Arizona