Jim Walmsley Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

Jim Walmsley is a three-time Western States 100 champion and one of the greatest ultrarunners of all time. He recently won the North American Ultra Runner of the Year award for the fifth straight year. In this conversation we talk about some recent changes in Jim's life, how he's addressing his weaknesses as an athlete, his relationship with Francois D'Haene, his third victory at Western States, a DNF at UTMB, and what Jim has planned for 2022. This was a really fun conversation!
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[@cpruns4501]

"I would rather lose the race or have it not go well then not try" - Jim Walmsley (This is why he is amazing)

[@ericchevalley]

That interview was a gem. It was great to hear Jim talk openly about his approach.

[@Freetrail]

Thanks so much!!

[@kessilrun6754]

I wish I was as smart as Jim in my early days lol. He’s a young runner who’s keeping an open mind to things and the therefor always growing and evolving. It should be great, to see what Jim’s future running career is like. Keep breaking records, Jim! Just make sure you’re still having fun!

[@zacharywinningham6590]

Stoked

[@Freetrail]

😃

[@jamiestuart316]

Such a good conversation guys!

[@Freetrail]

Thanks!

[@pekb1]

But at the end what we all want to know is what Jess was cooking, right ? Joke aside, very interesting discussion. Always great to heard about the inside. So many people are going to be like "is it Jim ?" on the trails around Beaufort Welcome to France. Don't eat to much baguette Jim :)

[@Freetrail]

Amazing to think about he and Francois living in the same village. :)

[@pekb1]

@@Freetrail Crazy !

[@johncogburn511]

As much as I'd love to see Jim four-peat at States, it is commendable that he is moving to France to train for a race that no American man has ever won.

[@Freetrail]

100%

[@nimbra2]

Courtney Dauwalter…

[@katkat4986]

@@nimbra2 yeah.. they should learn from her. She's doing something right

[@mayadexer2953]

She is walking a lot on the course as opposed to jim who is running a lot.

[@katkat4986]

@@mayadexer2953 Jim should balance running and hiking

[@coolhatadventures8111]

Jim, Congratulations on your engagement and my Wife and I met and fell in love in Flagstaff !!

[@runslowtorunfast6528]

I fell apart when Jess started defending herself in the background. LOL - so real! Excited to have Jim go "ALL IN" and giving UTMB the ultimate respect.

[@Freetrail]

Haha, yeah, pretty awesome that she was giving him the tough love during UTMB.

[@runslowtorunfast6528]

@@Freetrail I might cry if he wins UTMB, but no pressure 🤣

[@drybrain9179]

Two legends just talking trail. Nothing better.

[@Freetrail]

Appreciate you!!

[@y.l.2465]

This is great, Bisbee is the cutest town and my wedding ring is a ring from there as well. Great choice Jim! Good luck with training, just moved from about 6k ft of elevation to nothing and I miss the vert.

[@Freetrail]

☺

[@rizzomatt]

Thanks Mr. Bowman. Great interview! Love the stories about Nordic skiing. Maybe he should try skateboarding next!

[@briannalia6440]

Can we get a follow up on the Flagstaff community that changed? That's a big question mark after this conversation 🤔

[@damienmarshall350]

Sounds like the cowboys have had a fallout?

[@Briefmeasurement61]

He'll have more people to train with over seas. Flagstaff doesn't have a lot of professional trail runners.

[@Mechanicsville804]

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

[@mindcoloredSLV]

Yo this is so good!

[@olivierpichard79]

thanks for the video, it's really interesting to know how a champion like Jim is going to train this year ! Hope he's going to enjoy the Alps : ))

[@Freetrail]

Thank you!!

[@sigi7314]

Great interview! It's awesome that Jim moves to tthe French Alps to go all in on UTMB. Also, just changing up his life like that, leaving behind a big part of his support network, commands a lot of respect!

[@Freetrail]

No doubt.

[@jasonmcgowan8417]

JIM! GREAT INTERVIEW-- come back to CO before you leave !

[@uloutdoors]

Jim´s going full Euro Style waahoo!

[@pablochaconpanal4841]

wow seems like someone is taking trail running really serious! Thanks Dylan and all the people behind Freetrail !!!

[@Freetrail]

Thanks for watching!!

[@ChristopheJezouin]

Xavier is registered for the UTMB!

[@Freetrail]

It's going to be an incredible race!!

[@beeclimbing9954]

So glad that Jim talked about 'friendly competition', hearing Sabrina Stanley constantly lament the "friendliness" of ultra-trail and her wanting everything to be a grudge match bums me out. I really hope he nails UTMB this or next year. Shame his fiancé starting prepping food though in the last 5 minutes of the interview, the noise was pretty distracting.

[@FuckAdds]

Well choping veggies remind us of real life going on outside our run bubble ;)

[@sarahmcdonald6980]

Got so excited when I saw this posted!! Yay Dylan

[@Freetrail]

Thanks for watching!

[@drdavidlieb1]

The reason why tou did not do well at UTNB is obvious...you were not fully recovered from UTMB. As a 48 year veteran ultrarunner and physician, there is also system and organ recovery, which takes much longer. Think about it. Stay well!

[@CoolInOlympia]

Been a long time since seeing Jim on KZbin!!!!

[@Freetrail]

Hope you enjoy!!

[@codynewlon93]

We need to finally see a Jim Walmsley win at UTMB.

[@alexandrechibane6838]

Be sure that we Europeans will welcome you with pleasure in France, Jim! Thanks for your simple words and how you inspire all runners over the world!

[@alexandrechibane6838]

And thanks Dylan for the podcast!

[@inegleit]

so excited to see Jim race next year! thanks to the both of you for letting us in on such a great conversation!

[@Freetrail]

Thanks for watching!

[@FuckAdds]

Hearing Dylan, Jim and François being friendly to one another as they compete each other give me back hope in "pro competitions".

[@Freetrail]

That's what the sport is all about!

[@marisacherry]

A one of a kind interview. So down to earth

[@Freetrail]

Thank you!

[@katis999]

What a nice interview, Dylan, thank you :)

[@troruaz]

When Jim is just about to hang 'em up, he should go out with whatever year's Cocodona 250 is happening. In those hours, he can gab with other runners in all the French he learned in the UTMB years 🙂

[@xXAnthony619Xx]

Such an epic conversation!

[@Freetrail]

Thanks for watching!!

[@ianbritton7534]

The sound of cooking 😄

[@taylorross862]

So inspiring! Thanks guys

[@Freetrail]

Thanks for watching!!

[@lizkemna269]

Really enjoyed this interview

[@mikes7654]

Great questions and answers video Dylan 🙂👍🏃‍♂️. Congratulations to Jim and Jess. 💍 ( been married for many years, and still love it) . I think it’s great that Jim & Jess are being adventurous and heading to France for awhile. 👍. Wish I’d had been more adventurous, and go to places that I always wanted to go to. Try different things. As long as Jess likes pizza as much as Jim, and France MUST have good pizza 🍕 places as well, then ALL should be fine 😀👍😋😋. And Dylan, best of luck to you as well sir 🙂👍.

[@stevemartin8994]

Great interview!

[@Freetrail]

Thank you!!

[@bartwijnands3325]

Brilliant interview! If you go to Madeira (which is in one word fantastic), don’t forget to train stairs: There’s plenty of them! And don’t forget a tiny head torch for the tunnels between Pico Ruivo and Pico do Areiro, or you will find yourself shuffling through them with your hands on the wall! The reaction of Jess when Jim called him was spot on! Two ultra friends here made a deal that they will never drop out of a race before they have spoken to the other one and then also agreed that if the other one would call during a race, they would reject the call. 😂

[@Freetrail]

Good advice!!

[@bartwijnands3325]

From first hand experience 😉 I bet Francois would have given the tip of the head torch to Jim as well: it was actually in the video of the 2019 edition that I saw him with that tiny torch (as for myself, I shuffled along the wall🤦🏻‍♂️)

[@ozenfant_ozn]

great talk!

[@Freetrail]

Thank you!

[@morganflockhart5825]

Great interview have tremendous respect for this man willing to make changes and work on his weaknesses and hopefully he wins UTMB !

[@joaoguerreiro7375]

We would love to have you both in Madeira!!! I hereby pledge to cheer you all the way! Let the games begin

[@dansouth2088]

Simply fantastic! Much thanks to Jim and certainly DBO for this fun time!!

[@kevindecoteau3186]

Ma 15th i my daughters birthday.

[@lacerationsavecgaeldutigny]

Énorme cette ITW. Well done Dylan.

[@maikelbouricius8094]

He is aware its all snow now right, he is better of moving for few months to Tenerife or Madeira or something before France.

[@Shevock]

Ultramarathons, trail and mountain running are such a wide range of events and are so place-specific. Just because US men haven't won UTMB doesn't really say much. No European won Western States until 2011. And not a ton win. The Barkley Marathons. Pikes Peak. Comrades. JFK50. Leadville. Mt. Fuji. These events and dozens if not hundreds more are not really comparable to one another. Walmsley feeling he needs to move to Europe to validate his amazing career, if that's the why of it, is kind of sad. Anybody that's won as much as he has doesn't need to prove himself in an event they haven't won. I mean, do we MUT fans really want this to become such a hierarchical system like marathoning is? Is that really what we want? It would involve a lot of paving over so much amazing differences in this sport.

[@Freetrail]

Appreciate sentiment but I don't think he's doing it because of a need to prove himself. I think it's that he really wants to race to his potential at the world's most important race.

[@FuckAdds]

I am French and clicked only beczyse of "moving Europe". I think it is a good strategy to really focus on those root hiking alpine capacities. In France I guess only the hardcore fans of ultra trail would recognize Jim, good for him ! Kilian couldn t put a step out in Chamonix... ans many places ! I must say this interview really helped me appreciate Jim. I had put him in a box of "cliche us runner" and some of his interviews ruffled me up. So much more wise and empathic and open to other ... good to hear such positive evolution :) Glad to see him coming deeply into the "mountain side" of trail culture. He is the first us male to go to Europe for real.

[@Freetrail]

He's focused!!