Jim Walmsley disappointed us all when he mysteriously disappeared from the Western States starting list this spring (it was later revealed to be due to a knee injury), but he's just redeemed himself by appearing on the list of starters for the UTMB finals in August.
Though the notoriously private runner hasn't commented publicly on his Instagram account yet, he's showing on the newly released list of starters for the men's 100-mile race around Mont Blanc.
Last time Walmsley took on the course was in 2023, when he surprised us all mid-race by picking up the pace and delivering a stunning new 19:37 course record. Can he do it any faster in 2025? After watching him storm the Mesquite Canyon 50k and Chianti Castles 100k in March, we're pretty sure that if anyone can, Walmsley can. Let's hope his knee is better and his Hoka Tecton X 3s are still doing the job.
Who else is running?
Walmsley will be up against a few challengers of note, including this year's Hardrock 100 winner Ludo Pommeret, as well as third-placed Germain Grangier (who also placed third last time Walmsley ran the finals), though Mathieu Blanchard is nowhere to be seen. Also on the starting line in Chamonix will be four-time UTMB winner Francois D’Haene and Jeff Mogavero, who took fourth at this year's Western States.
Seeking redemption will be the UK's Tom Evans who's been unable to complete the race since taking third in 2022 but delivered an impressive victory at this year's Arc of Attrition, Rod Farvard, who just DNFd at Western States (but took second place last year behind Walmsley) and Hayden Hawks who also pulled out of this year's WSER due to injury, but placed third in the race last year.
Perhaps the most notable person missing is last year's champion Vincent Bouillard, the little-known Hoka engineer who took us all by surprise when he sprinted to the finish and seemed quite surprised himself when he got there ahead of the pack. He recently DNFd during his first Western States attempt, but we'd like to see what else he's capable of.
Women's starters
Following on from last week's announcement that Courtney Dauwalter is returning to Chamonix in a bid to regain her title, the bad news is that Katie Schide is not on the starting list, so it looks like we won't be seeing a battle between ultra's two greatest female runners this year after all. But the possibility Dauwalter taking back her crown from Schide (and breaking the 22-hour mark?) is reason enough to tune in.
Dauwalter has never run in the UTMB finals and not won, so obviously she and her Salomon S/Lab Genesis shoes are a strong contender for first place, but there's an extremely healthy-looking women's field of runners hoping to upset Dauwalter's reign. First and foremost is Abby Hall, who's fresh off a Western States 100 win while New Zealand's Ruth Croft is back for another stab having taken second place last year behind Schide.
Canadian trail icon Marianne Hogan is no stranger to the UTMB (or WSER) podium, and she'll be on the course alongside UTMB veteran Katharina Hartmuth and Sweden's Ida Nilsson (who just placed fourth at WSER behind Hogan). Eszther Csillag and Heather Jackson were both defeated by this year's Western States race and are hoping for a better result in Chamonix. Oh, and Zimbabwe's Emily Hawgood can't resist another shot.
We're sorry to see China's Fuzhao Xiang isn't back for another go after an impressive second place at this year's Western States, but she's certainly earned a few months off.
You can view the full list of starters for 2025 here.
How to watch the UTMB finals
The UTMB finals take place over August 25 - 31 with the 100-mile finale starting on Friday, August 29. Once again, we'll be reporting live from the finish line in Chamonix, and you can follow all the action live at live.utmb.world in seven languages – French, English, Spanish, Chinese, German, Italian and Thai – with equal coverage of men's and women's race leaders.
