Day three of TROY 2024 is here, and we are moving on up to the runners who landed in eighth position this year. Today’s highlighted athletes both had one race in particular that felt like a cut above the rest. Truly standout performances. One runner is a brand new fan favorite, while the other is making their third appearance in the TROY top ten.
Playing catch up on TROY coverage? Here are the runners who finished ninth and tenth this year.
In eighth position this year we have the Milimani Runners’ Joyline Chepngeno and HOKA’s Jim Walmsley.
Joyline Chepngeno was one of the most interesting new faces in the world of trail running during the 2024 season, making a huge splash at her first-ever trail race this past August. The 26-year-old is part of the Milimani Runners, the first professional trail running team in Kenya that has found a star in the young talent. Joyline is not new to running, while she was a student she competed on the track and was quite a good steeple chaser, but when she left school in 2016, she also left running behind. In the interim she had two kids, now a single mother, and after watching friends find success running Joyline returned to running in 2022. The trail was very literally uphill for Joyline to get back to the start line, losing 30kg over two years of training to get to her first international race at Sierre-Zinal. The final hurdle was overcome when her visa was approved the week of the race this past August.
When we say Joyline made a big splash at her first trail race, we mean she won the famous and fiercely competitive Sierre-Zinal by eight minutes, running an outstanding 2:54:06. Joyline went out so hard during Sierre-Zinal there was massive speculation if she would be able to hold the lead to the finish – she buried any doubt. While she didn’t have enough races to rank her in the top ten overall for the Golden Trail World Series this year (something we imagine will not happen next year), Joyline did win the series Finale contested in Switzerland this past October in stunning fashion, finishing nearly four and a half minutes ahead of second over the 23km race. Rounding out her season in November, Joyline raced and finished third at the Mount Longonot Trail Challenge on home soil in Kenya.
Going into 2024 we couldn’t have predicted the electric addition of Joyline to the women’s trail scene. All we can say is we cannot wait for the 2025 Golden Trail World Series to kick off so we can get back to hard-charging races with Joyline pushing at the front.
Jim Walmsley is one of the most successful ultrarunners of this generation, but not every year goes to plan. While his shortened season is reflected by his eighth position in TROY this year, his June was one for the history books. After a stint in France in the small village of Arêches in the Beaufortain Valley to chase the elusive UTMB win, Jim moved back home to Flagstaff, Arizona, this past spring to prepare for WSER on the same training grounds that brought him wins in 2018, 2019, and 2021. There’s something about a recipe that just works.
When we hit June, Jim’s name appeared near the top of the Broken Arrow Skyrace’s Vertical Kilometer start list – something we are salivated over. What a fun tune-up to watch! Eight days before the WSER gun would go off, from nearly the same start line, Jim went on to finish second behind the two-time Uphill World Champion Patrick Kipngeno. Fast forward to WSER, and the race delivered something none of us expected, a back-and-forth battle between the three-time champion and Rod Farvard until roughly mile 85. An emotional Jim Walmsley at the finish made it clear while it was his fourth win, in the second fastest time in history, this one meant so much to him because he had to fight so hard for it. While we would have loved to see Jim contend for the nearly impossible WSER x UTMB double a nagging injury saw him withdrawl from the race at the halfway mark. A decision we hope sets Jim up for an incredible 2025 season ahead.
At this moment in time, Jim is signed up for the Broken Arrow Skyrace VK x WSER double again for 2025. If the recipe works, let him cook!
Joyline and Jim, our hats off to both of you. May the winter treat you well, we can’t wait to watch you rip in the new year. Join us back here tomorrow morning to find out which two runners brought it home in seventh position.