This is such a beautifully narrated video. It follows two arcs:

  1. Jim’s discharge from the US Air Force.
  2. The Wrong Turn at Mile 93.

I loved the honesty and openness of the first story arc. I’ll talk about that at a later point.

The second story just makes me emotional every time I see it. And I have been rewatching this video for 2 days straight now.

The story till Mile 93.

Jim Walmsley was running his very first 100 miler at the Western States ’16. And he was gunning for a course record at what is one of the most brutal and prestigious ultras in the world.

To the non-runner, Jim might seem like a super-human figure. But endurance athletes are practically the opposite of super-human. Endurance sports is about pushing yourself while every signal in your body tells you to stop. It is about routinely coming face to face with the limits that define us.

For the 14 hours that he must have been on trail, those voices from his mind and his body telling him to stop would only have gotten stronger. At Mile 25 maybe his legs would have started whispering complaints about stiffness. By Mile 90, that would have amplified to his entire body pleading him to stop.

And yet he soldiers on, knowing from countless hours of training which signals to listen to and which to ignore.

But then, at Mile 93, Jim discovers that he has taken a wrong turn. He has run 3-4 miles in the wrong direction. Suddenly, the course record becomes impossible.

After pushing himself through ever-increasing pain for 14 hours, Jim finds that it’s all in vain.

At Mile 93, Jim Walmsey has broken down.

And that’s when the beautiful part of the story comes in. You have to watch the video to appreciate the beauty of it. (10:37). Transcribing parts of it.

James Bonnet (speaking of Jim Walmsley at Mile 93): Mentally he was a little broken down, well he was very broken down, and so we come in, and I gave him a big hug and said, it’s all right, let’s finish this thing up.
Jim Walmsley (getting emotional as he speaks of James pushing him to complete the last 7 (Background sound of an exhausted Jim speaking to James at Mile 93 ) – …Physically I just shut down; (James reassuring Jim) – I know, it’s okay. Jim Walmsley: He’s like “Let’s try to run”, I’m like “Not running”, “Let’s try to walk”, I’m like “Slowly”.

Walking it in (just 10 miles in 3 hours).

The video switches to James and Jim walking their way to the finish line. They take 3 hours to cover 10 miles to the finish line, walking all along the way.
What is touching is just how happy Jim Walmsley is.
He’s lost all chances of getting a respectable timing. He should be embarrassed about himself. Why is he so happy?
At that moment, broken down as he is, the love and support from these people is enough for him. Transcribing Jim:

Most people don’t know everybody’s relation to me, but to me that means so much, because these guys got my back.
And I’m walking it in, and I don’t care. I’m going to finish today, and I’ll be back like it doesn’t matter.
If anything I think it’s a bigger fire. It gives me more fight, and more reason to keep grinding in those shitty moments.

And today he’s the best male ultra-runner in the world!
Utterly beautiful!