Jim Walmsley | The Decision to Withdraw from UTMB

Welcome to Freetrail’s coverage of the 2026 UTMB hosted in collaboration with the UTMB race for the first time ever! Join us during race week as we discuss the top storylines of this year’s race, preview the fields and provide our expert analysis and predictions for the win. All of our shows will be recorded in the studio in the heart of Chamonix just steps from the UTMB start / finish line. You can join us all week on the Freetrail and UTMB YouTube channels!

The big news in the Chamonix valley yesterday was the withdrawal of Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet from the UTMB fields — both legends managing nagging knee injuries that willl prevent them from competing.

Jim was gracious enough to join us in studio today to talk about the decision and what went into it.

Topics:

— What happened at Western States
— Treatment and rehab journey
— The decision to withdraw from UTMB
— Emotions of a frustrating season
— Outlook for the future
— What it takes to perform on this stage
— Much more

Who are you picking for the win? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to pick your favorite athletes in Freetrail Fantasy at fantasy.freetrail.com for your chance to win sweet prizes from Freetrail and HOKA!

Freetrail’s UTMB Show Schedule:
--Saturday August 22, 2026 - The Top 10 Storylines of the 2026 UTMB
--Sunday August 23, 2026 - OCC & CCC Preview Shows
--Monday August 24, 2026 - UTMB Preview Show
--Tuesday August 25, 2026 - UTMB Final Thoughts & Predictions
--Wednesday August 27, 2026 - Champions Show featuring Ludovic Pommeret, Katie Schide, Pau Capell and first ever UTMB men’s finisher, Dawa Sherpa
--Thursday August 28, 2026 - OCC Recap Show
--Saturday August 29, 2026 - UTMB Instant Recap + CCC Results
–Sunday August 30, 2026 - UTMB Week Wrap-up Show

Starting on Thursday August 20th, we'll also be hosting interviews with top personalities and athletes leading into race week including Jenn Lichter, Francesco Puppi, Molly Seidel, Vincent Bouillard, Ben Dhiman, Riley Brady and much more.
You can view our full UTMB race week schedule including additional events and activations at Freetrail.com. You can find HOKA’s full UTMB schedule here: eu-events.hoka.com/hokautmbmontblanc2026

Make sure to !

Our UTMB coverage is brought to you by our good friends at HOKA. We're grateful for their generous support and belief in Freetrail!

Make sure to check out the latest and greatest from HOKA, the TECTON x 4, podium-chasing propulsion for technical terrain. Made for trails like in Chamonix!

You can learn more and shop here: hoka.com/en/us/coming-soon/tecton-x-4/1176633.html

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