Western States 100 course record holder Jim Walmsley makes Hong Kong debut

Hong Kong is in peak trail-running season, and one of the world’s champion runners, Jim Walmsley, has flown in for a series of events that will test his legendary speed and stamina.

Walmsley has set records for running across the Grand Canyon, smashed the Western States record, earned back to back titles as Ultrarunner of the Year, and is the world’s top ranked runner on ITRA. Despite this, he sets new goals tirelessly.

He is visiting Hong Kong primarily to compete in the Fast 50 Miles Ultra trail run: a gruelling 80km dash along a single trail from Route Twisk to Shing Mun and around the Shing Mun Reservoir, with about 2,500 metres of elevation.

Adventure Trail hosts Mark Agnew and Mary Hui chat to Walmsley about smashing records, setting a goal to run in the Olympics, and his trepidation about a unique feature of Hong Kong’s trail running events that bedevils so many: those long, hard staircases.

posted Tuesday February 12th