WESTERN STATES 2021: HOLDING ON & LETTING GO

Of all the attributes champion ultrarunners possess, confidence is usually the last thing they ever lack.

They train too hard, invest too much time and dream too audaciously not to possess confidence.

Yet, confidence can be a fickle thing. It can flee with the abruptness of a firefly. It can be found in strange places, under strange circumstances, amid confusion, disruption and uncertainty.

Confidence can be discovered for the first time or re-discovered in the nick of time, just when you thought it abandoned you.

There were many storylines at the 2021 Western States Endurance Run – perhaps, most notably, the 48-year-old event’s return following last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic.

But for women’s champion, Beth Pascall, and men’s champion, Jim Walmsley, this year’s race was more about holding on and letting go.

Pascall found that the familiar landscapes of confidence in her mind could be expanded by leaving behind the order and familiarity of her home in England for a trip to America, that at times, wasn’t extraordinarily well-planned, and seemed to fly in the face of her otherwise detailed nature. Out of a little disruption and some uncertainty, in the end, Beth Pascall became a champion and found calm and confidence.

Jim Walmsley discovered first-hand that our greatest difficulty isn’t necessarily adopting or understanding new ideas, particularly as we deal with injuries that threaten our preparation. As Walmsley learned and took to heart, maybe the challenge in life lies in escaping some of the old ideas – allowing himself for perhaps the first time in a storied career known for its meticulousness of preparation – to simply “let things go” and see how they would play out.

On a 101-degree day, Pascall would record the second-fastest women’s time in Western States history in 17:10, and lead the way for one of the most historic days ever.

The 33-year-old pediatrician from Belper, England, along with New Zealand’s Ruth Croft, who placed second in 17:33, and Ragna Debats of Spain, coming in third in 17:41, became the first all-international podium at Western States. That wasn’t all. All three women placed in the top 10 – Pascall in seventh, Croft in ninth and Debats in