The 2019 U.S. 1,500m champion, Craig Engels, strayed from the track on Friday in Phoenix, Ariz., to tackle trail running for the first time–and quickly learned just how brutal the sport can be. His mission? Overtake four-time Western States champion Jim Walmsley on the Echo Canyon Summit Climb Strava leaderboard. But despite his speed on the track, Engels’ 18:35 effort over the 1.71-km climb left him straggling behind Walmsley’s mark by a hefty two minutes and 37 seconds.
The Strava segment is located in Echo Canyon Recreation Area in Phoenix, stretching for just over a mile, with 378m of ascent. Walmsley’s 15:58 record tops the leaderboard by nearly 30 seconds. “Oh my god,” Engels said in an Instagram video after his run. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It was literally rock climbing–not even a run. I’m going to be so sore.”
“I was at the top just trying not to throw up. Props to you, Jim Walmsley,” the 30-year-old added. His performance is still impressive for an inexperienced trail runner, tying the seventh-fastest run on the all-time list, which has more than 8,000 attempts.
“Dear Jim,” Engels wrote in his caption. “You’re a stud, and I’m a fool. Mad respect to your sport; we are different breeds. I shall continue running in circles and you continue as king of the mountains. Sorely, Craig.”
While the trail-running debut might not have earned Engels elite trail-runner status, it may have sparked a new friendship. “Your grade-adjusted pace (GAP) started out like a miler on a 16-minute effort,” Walmsley joked in a comment on the post. “Seriously though, would love to link up for a run sometime. Fair warning, definitely would try to convert you to more trails,” he added. The ultrarunner is based in Flagstaff, Ariz., a two-hour, twenty-minute drive from Phoenix.
Walmsley holds an astonishing resume; he took his fourth win at Western States Endurance Run in June and has held the course record since 2018. Engels won the U.S. championships in 2019, out-leaning 2016 Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz. More recently, he claimed ninth in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials 1,500m.
