On a crisp, clear morning, more than 500 runners set off from Palisades Tahoe Village at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 21, to experience 46K of mountain terrain over a two-loop course with 2,743 meters of vertical loss and gain. This was day two of action at the Broken Arrow Skyrace.
There were 163 runners who finished before a storm cell moved in and caused the event to be paused for safety roughly seven hours into the race. With snow falling and lightning in the midst, protocol dictated that all runners, spectators, and supporters shelter in place. A tough call was made at approximately 3:00 p.m. to cancel the 46K and safely download runners still on the course.
Prior to the weather event, it was mostly sunshine and smiles as records fell and champions were crowned. The field on both the men’s and women’s side were extremely deep, a theme for the weekend festival of events welcoming some of the best mountain and trail runners in the nation and around the world to experience Broken Arrow.
The pace went out quick from the start as athletes jockeyed for position early on. By the halfway point, it was no surprise to see a small group start to gap the field led by Eli Hemming, David Sinclair and Ryan Becker. The trio traded spots through the race, but it was Hemming, 30, hailing from Kremmling, CO, who charged to victory in 3:50:48, nearly eight minutes faster than the previous best time set at the Broken Arrow 46K.
Second to the line was Vermonter Sinclair, 33, posting a time of 3:54:10, much faster than his 2024 win of 4:01:08. Rounding out the top three was Becker, 30, Telluride, CO, in 3:59:35. All three earned automatic spots on Team USATF for the 2025 Short Trail Team heading to Canfranc, Spain, in September to compete in the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
In fourth, with one of his best races in his career, Noah Williams, 30, Leadville, CO, with his time of 4:06:09, makes an excellent case for resume consideration as the final three spots on the men’s team are awarded.
For the women, Jennifer Lichter, Missoula, MT, who already secured a spot on USATF’s Long Trail Team, led for much of the race increasing her margin of victory in the latter stages of the race. The 29-year-old Lichter clocked in at 4:42:32 which bested her 2022 winning time of 4:55:29 as well as the course best set in 2023 by Helen Mino Faukner of 4:50:19. It was Faukner, 28, Truckee, CA, who was second on the day with a time of 4:43:08. In third, Dani Moreno, 32, Mammoth Lakes, CA, was timed in 4:43:48.
Like the men, the top three women earn automatic spots on Team USATF Short Trail with the remaining spots assigned through resume. Certainly up for consideration will be 4th and 5th place finishers Jane Maus, 30, Salt Lake City, UT, and Grayson Murphy, 29, Bozeman, MT, respectively. Complete results can be found here.
Yesterday, the Broken Arrow Ascent determined the USATF Vertical Mountain Team headed to Spain in September. On the men’s side, Christian Allen, Joseph Gray, Cam Smith and Tyler McCandless. For the women, Anna Gibson, Sydney Petersen, Hillary Allen, and Jess Brazeau. The stellar group of athletes join the already announced USATF Long Distance Trail Team.
Tomorrow is the final day for Broken Arrow action with the 23K being staged. The event is on the Golden Trail World Series circuit as well as one of the worldwide events in the World Mountain Running Association’s World Cup. Weather is forecast to be 34 and sunny in the morning with a high of 59.
