Jim Walmsley breaks Western States record for second year in a row, taking 20 minutes off former best time
- The American runner took the lead between the first and second aid station then motored on to a monumental finish
Jim Walmsley finished the Western States 100 mile (WSER 100, 161km) ultra marathon in 14 hours, nine minutes and 28 seconds, breaking the course record by 20 minutes, which he set last year.
“I made up a lot of time pushing pretty good up Robinson, Devil’s Thumb as well, then things began to relax,” he said on the finish line, adding there were a few aid stations when he was not so fresh. “Things started rolling again when I crossed the river.
“It was a big goal just to come here and try and win. It’s one thing to win at Western States, it’s a once in a lifetime thing, but to do it twice, puts you a bit more ‘two time guy right here’.”
Walmsley typically employs an aggressive race strategy, but it looked like a change of tactic when he was in fifth place at checkpoint one, Lyon Ridge, after 16km. However, by the next checkpoint, Red Star Ridge, he had taken a lead he would never relinquish.