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Written by RT Meig
Jim Walmsley is the greatest American runner of his generation. Four-time Western States Champion, the only American man to win a UTMB race, and former 50-mile world record holder. But before all that, he was a discharged Air Force officer battling depression and suicidal ideation, looking for a reason to keep moving forward.
The missile
Walmsley’s path to ultrarunning greatness has never been linear. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, where he competed in track and cross country, the young officer was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana. Its mission: a nuclear missile, operating 24 hours a day in a small underground room.
It was a difficult and isolated lifestyle. Running, which defined his identity through high school and college, felt like a closed chapter.
“When I had to join the Air Force, I felt like my running career was over,” Walmsley said. “I thought it was just on the right track. I wasn’t familiar with the whole world of running.”
When he could find time during his shifts, Walmsley would go on hikes in the Montana wilderness. He didn’t know it yet, but those runs were planting the seed.
Falling
Walmsley’s military career ended suddenly. His involvement in Malmstrom’s proficiency test cheating scandal, as well as a previous DUI charge, led to his discharge from the Air Force.
What followed was the darkest period of his life. His mental health deteriorated. Depression started. Suicidal thoughts prevailed. Even now, nearly a decade later, Walmsley finds it difficult to come back.
“I haven’t looked back much,” he says. “I think sometimes it’s still an exciting time and I like to be more in the present. Mentally, it’s easier for me to not revisit it as much.”
The bright spot
After seeking professional help, Walmsley got a job at a bike shop in Flagstaff, Arizona. Slowly, running came back into his life. Not as a profession. Not as a competition. Just as I felt relieved.
He built a routine around it. After each round, he would plan the next round. Day after day, the structure brought stability.
“Life was starting to get kind of more settled, and I was recovering from getting kicked out of the Air Force and things weren’t going well in life,” Walmsley recalls. “We identified running as a bright spot and something that made me happy and something I liked to talk about, mainly the fact that I was getting positive feedback from running, as most of life wasn’t positive at the time.”
The key, he says, is “not to make vacation days contagious.” Eventually, this daily discipline became addictive.
“Obviously I probably should have taken up ultra running, as we tend to overdo everything. I just leaned into it and went back to making training part of my routine again.”
Ascension
Walmsley’s entry into the world of ultrarunning has been explosive. His background in track, road and cross country gave him a unique physical toolkit in a sport dominated by self-taught mountain runners. He can run fast. He just needed to learn to run for a long time.
His debut in the Western States 100 Miler Championship in 2016 became an instant legend, but not for the reason he had hoped. Nearly seven miles from the finish and at record speed, Walmsley made a wrong turn. He ran several miles off the track before realizing that he eventually finished in twentieth place. It was the kind of stunning failure that either breaks a feud or forges it.
Walmsley chose the latter. He came back and won Western States four times, setting the state record in the process. His dominance of the famous 100-mile race through California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains made him the face of American ultra-racing.
Unusual numbers:
Western countries 100: Four-time champion, course record holder
UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc): Champion and course record holder. The first and only American man to win what Walmsley calls “the biggest prize you can win in running.” The approximately 108-mile race loops around Mont Blanc through France, Switzerland and Italy, with an elevation gain of 9,900 metres, more than the height of Mount Everest.
The best 50 miles in the world: Previous record holder at 4:50:08
Olympic Marathon Trials: He placed 22nd at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials, stepping out of the world of ultra running to test himself on the road
Hoka Sports: He was signed in July 2016, becoming one of the most prominent faces in global running
Learn a different sport
The transition from Track to Ultra was not smooth. Walmsley has been frank about the lessons he had to unlearn.
“Growing up in American running culture exposed me to a bunch of fallacies and kind of failing in a lot of different ways in ultrarunning,” he says. “Normally, that would make me impatient enough.”
He has learned that walking uphill is often faster and more efficient than running. He’s learned to eat little and often, even when his stomach is raging. He learned to override every instinct telling him to speed up and be patient and confident in the process over 100 miles.
“Ultrarunning is a completely different sport,” Walmsley says. He believes that beauty lies in suffering.
“I think 24 hours is a very long, beautiful period of racing because you’re racing one day, one lap around the Earth. One thing that’s unified among everyone involved in this sport is that we all go through that point of doubt and questioning, and it’s kind of about that drive to finish the race and that drive to keep going.”
“It’s a basic thing and not very important in the grand scheme of life, but sometimes it’s so amazing because it brings you into the present to focus on moving forward. And I think simplicity in racing is a really special feeling that we can have as human beings.”
What’s next
Now 35 and living part-time in Arich in the south of France, Walmsley is recovering from a long-standing knee injury that he aggravated during a 120km race in Chianti, Italy, earlier this year. He confirmed that he will compete in OCC Week at UTMB on August 27, an approximately 37-mile race from Switzerland to Chamonix, rather than the full distance event.
He is also targeting the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain and the Pyrenees in late September. His weekly mileage is about 140 miles, mostly on hills, always on trails.
“I’m able to do longer runs that take me to fun places, so I’m getting back to the happy part of my relationship with running and being able to do enough to be completely satisfied,” Walmsley says. “I see a little progress.”
A knee forced him to skip Western States this year, and he chose the shorter OCC over UTMB to protect his long-term health. Patience, a lesson that has defined his career, is now being applied to his body.
“I would rather find myself healthy and competing for UTMB again,” he says. “I’m taking more time to try to be more positive, and hopefully my injury won’t come back.”
And running the same? This will never stop.
“I hope to be a runner for life. I think I’ve learned that about myself, and it helps me a lot mentally to keep moving.”
If you need help
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health problems, help is available.
Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14 | Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
USA: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988)
Globally: International Association for Suicide Prevention
