“We think that those of us who have been privileged to build platforms have a responsibility and calling to make our sport better. Include a diversity of voices, ages, experience levels, interests and passions. This is never easy, but it is a rising tide that lifts all boats. Additionally, there is tremendous personal fulfillment in the process. There is no constant in life except change, and we think that races have a real opportunity to move the needle for participants and the sport at large.” —Brendan Madigan, race director of the Broken Arrow Skyrace.
Featured photo: Cameron Smith, newly minted Team USA SkiMo Olympian.
Brendan Madigan congratulates Michael Wardian on his Broken Arrow finish in 2019. Photo: Nancy Hobbs
The Broken Arrow Skyrace continues to lead North American trail running with its innovative initiatives in inclusion, growth, and celebration of community in the sport. In 2024, the event introduced the first-of-its-kind, an independently owned and operated Advisory Council, to both represent the event’s community and help it grow through the variety of expertise, experiences and wisdom of ten plus, “change makers and thought leaders.”
Madigan said about working with the inaugural Broken Arrow Advisory Council, “Honestly, working with this diverse, accomplished, and generally awesome set of individuals on the Advisory Council has been one of the most instructive AND rewarding parts of my professional career.”
In 2025, the current Advisory Council is coming to an end and new members will be selected in 2026. While the first council was hand-picked by the race organization, the new council will be chosen from an online application (find the link to the application in the Broken Arrow Skyrace Instagram bio). “We’ve had tremendous interest in our Advisory Council and it’s going to be hard to pick from all the amazing applicants,” said Madigan, “We are so humbled and honored by the amount of applicants, but will continue to select a diverse group of members, ones who represent all stakeholders in the sport. This includes elites, back-of-the-pack runners, BIPOC, LTBGQIA+ runners, industry folks, and runners from the nonbinary community.”
Valerio values
One of the catalysts for the initial Advisory Council was the success of the film featuring the Broken Arrow Skyrace, Mirna Valerio Par for the Course. This film documents Mirna Valerio, a.k.a. “The Mirnavator,” and her finish of the fourth edition of the Broken Arrow Skyrace. Valerio, author, public speaker, and athlete has inspired many runners to dream larger, while promoting diversity and physical and mental health. “Mirna has always challenged our industry’s vision of what a runner ‘should’ look like. Her positive body message is a great challenge to the traditional norms of our sport, and her story was proof that anyone can do hard things when we put our minds to it. This, and the use of our platform to showcase a runner from a historically underrepresented community, received tremendous acclaim—from film festivals, the general public, sponsors and of course, our runners,” said Madigan.
As trail running has continued to grow as a sport in the past decade, the Broken Arrow Skyrace has worked to remain true to its core values. After years in the making, the Broken Arrow Advisory Council came to life in 2024 and has helped the event honor its mission. “As our sport invariably matures, with which comes an influx of non-endemic brands and more financial capabilities, I think it is important for event organizers to never lose sight of what allowed you to grow in the first place,” said Madigan.
He continues, sharing his advice for events seeking to stay true to their roots and honoring their unique communities, “Stop and identify what makes your brand and your culture unique, and decide to vehemently protect whatever that is. We’ve made no secret that we want Broken Arrow to grow in the biggest trail event in North America. However, this can’t come at the expense of our values, and our commitment to equal celebration. We think we can balance these scales, where we’re a very big event, but one that still maintains its small-town feel and treatment of participants.”
Steadfast Broken Arrow worker Robert “Sherbs” Sherburn ringing Das Bell at Broken Arrow Skyrace to celebrate every finisher.
Whether you’re first or last, you’re a rockstar
“Whether you’re first or last, you’re a rockstar,” the slogan of the Broken Arrow Skyrace, remains as true to the event in 2026 and beyond as it was in the beginning. With the Advisory Council’s focus on inclusion and community, the event has honored the motto that runners of all abilities, shapes and sizes are welcome at the Broken Arrow Skyrace, “We knew we needed a different set of messaging to reinvent the multi-day, multi-distance North American trail experience,” said Madigan about the slogan.
He continues to explain it in greater detail, “We don’t have long on this planet, and our biggest gift we can give in our everyday lives is how we treat people, especially strangers. It was our hope that our rugged course and challenging distances would inspire people in their own right, but then by celebrating their individual accomplishments equally, we could make the world perhaps just a little bit better of a place. Hopefully this mantra is then paid forward by our runners who get to experience it.”
On course at Broken Arrow. Photo: Peter Maksimow
Call for change makers
Interested in applying for the 2026 Broken Arrow Advisory Council? The application window for the council is open through December 11, 2025. The future council will be tasked with the following:
Continue to enhance the Broken Arrow Skyrace experience for all runners
Ensure that we (The Broken Arrow Skyrace) adhere to the culture, tradition, and values we have always promoted
Provide input to the Broken Arrow Skyrace regarding best practices for continuing to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Identify opportunities to continue to evolve the event as both a world-class competitive event and a meaningful and welcoming experience for runners of all abilities
Interested in applying?
Apply here.
Applicants are accessed on a, “case-by-case basis and those selected will be notified by email no later than 1/8/26.”
Madigan says about the ideal member for the 2026 Advisory board, “We want diverse, passionate voices from personalities who see the value in building something bigger than themselves. Trail running has always been about community and supporting one another, whether first or last. You see the best aspects of humanity on race day, and we want to galvanize and amplify that energy to make Broken Arrow as great as possible, while giving those change makers on the Advisory Council real value in doing so.”
Ready. Set. Go. Broken Arrow start line.
Advisory Council members weigh in
Joelle Vaught: “It was such an honor to be on the advisory council for Broken Arrow. I ran the first edition of the race, a great fight for the win but ended up finishing as the second place woman. Even that first year, despite the course being a bit convoluted and runners getting off course, you could see that the race directors cared about every racer from the winner to the final finisher. I have returned nearly every year and watched the race become one of the premier trail weekends in the US. The race staff has made it their mission to have a super competitive race for the elites while making it welcome and fun for the whole running community. They have been on the forefront in trying to be accessible to all people despite their race, income, sexual orientation etc. It is impressive that they cared enough to gather a diverse group to create an advisory council to have input in changes or additions to the race. I look forward to continuing to watch it grow and improve and where everyone is welcome and celebrated.”
Zagdaa Baatar: “I’m incredibly honored that the Broken Arrow Sky Race invited me to join their Advisory Council. When we first started running races, we had no idea how welcoming the trail running community truly is. In 2021, when I ran Broken Arrow for the very first time, I felt like I was running with my childhood friends. Instantly, I felt like I belonged. I’ll never forget watching the last finisher—who happened to be my friend—cross the line to cheers, hugs, awards, even media attention. That moment showed me what makes this race so special: every runner matters. Since then, my husband and I have run Broken Arrow every single year, and we both completed the Triple Crown. Those medals became our most meaningful gifts—my husband gave his to our older daughter for her wedding, and I gave mine to our son for his. In 2022, when both of our kids got married, we decided those medals carried more love and pride than anything we could buy. As immigrants, we often didn’t feel like we truly belonged to any community. But Broken Arrow changed that. This race, these people—they made us feel at home. I love this race with all my heart, and I’m thankful every single day for the community that welcomed us so generously.”
Romy Ancona: “Broken Arrow Skyrace has always had a special place in my heart. My first event as a runner was in 2019. I ran the 52k and it was my longest run at the time. The energy in Palisades during the race was incredible, the vendor village is top notch. The announcers’ inspiring messages sets the tone and makes myself and everyone feel like an important part of the entire race. Even the communication through the emails we received leading up to the race were very well thought out and comforting to someone who was just testing the waters of trail racing. Fast forward to being the one of the first or possibly the only official Non-Binary athlete to register under the new category. For me, finishing the VK was very exciting but also very lonely. Mostly because I think I might have been the only Non-Binary athlete at the time! I remember thinking that if there were a podium ceremony for my division I would definitely not show up. Not because I didn’t feel welcome but because I didn’t feel like I had real support from people in my colorful community to support me – I truly didn’t know what to expect. Romy Ancona.
After finishing first in my category I was emailed by Brendan Madigan to be part of the first ever Advisory Council to make Broken Arrow more inclusive for athletes like me. I was so excited to help because I knew this was my moment to create something warm and welcoming for the new Non-Binary division! Through this process I saw the authenticity that Brendan and Ethan wanted to bring to the trail racing community with the help of an Advisory Council. Broken Arrow not only came to us from a place of wanting to learn but they really came from a place of caring and compassion for all humans in this world. I’ve seen the decisions they make and why they make them and Broken Arrow wants to leave a vibrant legacy in the trail racing world. The Advisory Council that Brendan and Ethan put together is a force to be reckoned with. I will forever be proud to have been part of the inception of the Broken Arrow Advisory Council, made up of the movers and shakers of our own communities all whilst putting in huge efforts to make what Broken Arrow is today.
Now as the official Broken Arrow Skyrace DJ, I get to be part of the most incredible and inclusive finish line celebrations in North America for trail. It’s something I’ve never experienced first hand or even seen on social media anywhere else. We are truly paving the way, and hopefully inspiring other trail races to do something similar, to celebrate a new category in the trail and racing world. Fun fact: Broken Arrow was the organization to push UltraSignup to create the Non-Binary division. I get a lot of creative freedom from the race directors for the finish line experience. The answers to my wild ideas are always ‘YES’ until we run out of planning runway or budget. These ideas are not only to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community but everyone who participates at Broken Arrow so everyone feels seen and celebrated as equals.
I trust that the future evolutions in the next Advisory Council will continue to build on the foundation we have created. I’m especially excited because now that the inclusive floodgates have been opened by Broken Arrow, there is a huge opportunity to create things that will be the first of its kind in the trail racing world. It’s up to the next Advisory Council to take that head on!
I have told this to Brendan and I’ll publicly say this here; I will always be available to help Broken Arrow evolve and make a difference in the trail community in any capacity moving forward because of the incredible authenticity behind Broken Arrow Skyrace.”
O’Leary on course at Broken Arrow Skyrace.
Patrick O’Leary: “Having been racing, supporting, and cheering at Broken Arrow since its earliest days, it has been such a joy to see the race event evolve and grow to be the premiere race weekend on the North American race calendar. As an elite runner, of course I appreciate how it elevates the highest quality of competition, but as an enthusiastic member of the mountain running community, I love how the Broken Arrow is the leader in the sport at opening our sport to new runners and new communities from all over. In the first two years of the Advisory Council, we were able to get the ball rolling on lots of new initiatives — increasing access through free entries to runners from historically underrepresented communities, providing lactation stations for new parents, creating opportunities for young runners to join our sport, and more. I am so excited to see this new council form and for them to take the work of the AC to whole new heights!”
At Broken Arrow 2024. L-R: Jonathan Wyatt (WMRA World Cup manager), Ethan Veneklassen (Broken Arrow Skyrace), Madigan, Nancy Hobbs (former WMRA council member)
Held in Palisades Tahoe, CA, this year’s Broken Arrow Skyrace event dates are June 18-21. The race is also one of the events in the 2026 WMRA World Mountain Running Cup.
