The 2025 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k, starting at 9 a.m. PDT on Sunday, June 22, in Olympic Valley, California, is the sixth World Mountain Running Association Mountain Running World Cup event and the fifth stop on the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS). With athletes from those series combining, plus some top North American talent, things are looking fiery.
The 21.7-kilometer (13.5 miles) race is held on the mountains surrounding Olympic Valley and has 1,433 meters (4,700 feet) of climbing as it traverses the peaks and ridges around the valley. It is the final race of the three-day Broken Arrow Skyrace event, which has nine races, including a vertical kilometer (VK) race called the Ascent, which is also part of the Mountain Running World Cup.
The 2025 Mountain Running World Cup series consists of 13 races plus a two-race final, starting with the Zmeu X-Fest and both the Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego races in May. Other races in the series include the Giir di Mont and Sierre-Zinal. The Mountain Running World Cup brings together some of the top mountain runners in the world for races that include uphill-only events and those that go both up and down steep mountain sides on rugged terrain.
The Broken Arrow 23k is also part of the nine-race GTWS, which started in Japan in February with the Kobe Trail 21k and culminates with the finals in the Ledro Valley of Italy in October with its own finals. It visits several other iconic races, including the Zegama Marathon and Sierre-Zinal. The races in the series are characterized by relatively short trail running routes on mountainous, technical terrain, and Broken Arrow is no exception.
The 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k women’s podium: 3. Tabor Hemming, 1. Joyce Muthoni Njeru, and 3. Jade Belzberg. Muthoni Njeru and Belzberg return for this year. Photo: American Trail Running Association/Nancy Hobbs
Heading into the weekend, Philemon Kiriago of Kenya and Sara Alonso of Spain lead the men’s and women’s GTWS standings ahead of Daniel Pattis of Italy and Mădălina Florea of Romania, respectively. In the Mountain Running World Cup standings, Joyce Muthoni Njeru (Kenya) and Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) currently hold the top spots for the women and men, respectively.
The 23k brings together deep fields for both the men and women. In the men’s field, last year’s winner, Kipngeno, will be joined by countrymate Philemon Kiriago and Elhousine Elazzaoui of Morocco. For the women, last year’s champion, Muthoni Njeru, will likely be challenged by Florea, Allie McLaughlin, and several other top women. You can find more in the full entrants list.
Thanks to the World Mountain Running Association for supporting iRunFar’s 2025 Broken Arrow Skyrace coverage.
iRunFar will be providing coverage of both the Broken Arrow 23k and the Ascent. Be sure to check out our preview of the Ascent as well.
Top Men
Last year’s Broken Arrow 23k winner and current Mountain Running World Cup points leader, Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya), returns to defend his title. After finishing second overall in the GTWS last year, he sits fourth in the overall GTWS rankings after having completed in and won only two series races so far, the Jinshanling Great Wall Trail 24k and Kobe Trail. Kipngeno had a strong 2024, with highlights including a win at Trofeo Nasego, second at the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, third at the Headlands 28k, and third at Sierre-Zinal. Kipngeno won the Mountain Running World Cup last year.
Patrick Kipngeno on his way to winning the 2025 Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race. Photo: Golden Trail Series/Jinshanling Great Wall Trail Race/@rising.story/@mathisdecroux
Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) finished third in last year’s Mountain Running World Cup rankings and fourth in the GTWS final rankings. Most recently, he won the 2025 Trofeo Nasego and placed second at the Vertical Nasego, both races part of this year’s Mountain Running World Cup. He’s coming off a strong start to his 2025 season with a win at the Il Golfo dell’Isola Trail 26k and second places at the 24-kilometer Jinshanling Great Wall Trail and 21-kilometer Kobe Trail. The latter two races have secured him the current lead in the GTWS rankings. Last year, he finished third at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and seventh in the Ascent. He should contend for the win.
Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, the 2025 Trofeo Nasego men’s winner. Photo: Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) is sure to compete at the front of the field after coming off a win at the Zegama Marathon earlier this year, after finishing second at the race in 2024 and 2023. He won the GTWS overall series last year after finishing fourth in 2023 and second in 2022, and is probably hoping to repeat his performance this year. If his runs this year are any indication, with second at the Golfo dell’Isola Trail and a win at the Chianti Ultra Trail 20k, he’s on form and running fast. His results from 2024 include wins at the GTWS final, the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, Headlands 28k, and the Marathon du Mont-Blanc.
Elhousine Elazzaoui, the Zegama Marathon men’s winner. Photo: Igor Quijano
Rémi Bonnet (Switzerland) is no stranger to the GTWS races, having won the series overall in 2023 and 2022. He placed an uncharacteristic 31st in the Golfo dell’Isola Trail earlier this year, but had a string of solid results in 2024, including a second place at the GTWS finals, second at the Marathon du Mont-Blanc, fourth places at the Mammoth Trailfest 26k and the Headlands 28k, and ninth place at Sierre-Zinal. His 2023 season was even stronger, with wins at the Marathon du Mont-Blanc, Pikes Peak Ascent, and the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, as well as fourth at the Zegama Marathon.
Remi Bonnet takes the win at the 2023 Mammoth Trailfest 26k. Photo: Golden Trail Series/Mammoth Trailfest 26k/The Adventure Bakery
Taylor Stack
Taylor Stack finished fourth in the Broken Arrow 23k behind Kiriago, Eli Hemming, and Kipngeno last year. One can only imagine that he has hopes to move up to a podium position. In addition to his run at this race in 2024, he also won the 14-mile high-altitude Imogene Pass Run. He started his 2025 season off with a second place at the Desert RATS 21k and tuned up his form with a third place at the 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships, which was a Team USA selection race for the World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race later this year.
Taylor Stack finishing third at the 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships. Photo: American Trail Running Association/Nancy Hobbs
Other Top Men
- Christian Allen – 1st 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race; 1st 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Half Marathon; 4th 2024 Headlands 28k; 1st 2023 Speedgoat 50k
- Henri Aymonod (Italy) – 5th 2023 & 3rd 2019 Broken Arrow 23k; 3rd 2023 Broken Arrow Ascent; 9th 2025 Transgrancanaria Marathon 47k; 5th 2024 ETC; 9th 2022 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Shaun Burke – 6th 2024 Telluride Mountain Run 40 Mile; 1st 2024 & 4th 2023 Badwater 135 Mile
- Hawk Call – 6th 2024 and 22nd 2023 Broken Arrow 23k; 1st 2024 Speedgoat 31k
- Mason Coppi – 2nd 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 11th 2024 Broken Arrow 46k; 11th 2024 Headlands 28k; 9th 2022 Chuckanut 50k
- Roberto Delorenzi (Switzerland) – 8th 2025 Il Golfo dell’Isola Trail; 2nd 2025 Skyrace des Matheysins; 26th 2024 & 3rd 2023 Mammoth Trailfest 26k; 6th 2024 & 16th 2022 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Zachary Erikson – 7th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 3rd 2024 Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race
- Talon Hull – 8th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 12th 2024 and 4th 2023 Broken Arrow 23k; 1st 2024 Canyons 23k
- Remi Leroux (Canada) – 9th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 8th 2024 Broken Arrow 23k; 10th 2024 Mammoth Trailfest 26k; 2nd 2023 Mont-Blanc Vertical Kilometer
- Cam Smith – 4th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 1st 2024 Kendall Mountain Run; 9th 2024 & 1st 2022 Broken Arrow Ascent; 3rd 2022 Broken Arrow 23k
- Andy Wacker – 5th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 4th 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race; 1st 2022 U.S. Mountain Running Championships
Christian Allen on his way to winning the 2024 USATF 10k Trail National Championships at the Dirt Circus 10k. Photo: Jeremiah Justis
Top Women
Joyce Muthoni Njeru
Joyce Muthoni Njeru of Kenya comes back as the defending champion of the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and the GTWS overall. While she currently sits 20th in the GTWS rankings, she’s showing some strong form in 2025 thus far, having just finished in third at the Mountain Running World Cup’s Trofeo Nasego in May, a race she won in 2024. She was also sixth at the Kobe Trail in February. She placed a close second in the season-long Mountain Running World Cup last year after winning the series in three years in a row between 2021 and 2023. She also won the Sky Gran Canaria in 2023 and was second at Sierre-Zinal that same year. In addition to Sunday’s 23k, she’s signed up for the Ascent, formerly called the VK, on Friday, which she won last year as well.
Joyce Muthoni Njeru, 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k women’s champion. Photo: Scott Rokis Photography
Mădălina Florea
Mădălina Florea of Romania finished third at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k in 2023 and second in 2024. Surely she’s looking to improve one more spot this year. She was sixth overall in the GTWS in 2023 and currently sits in second this year. Florea has had a strong start to 2025, finishing second in the Kobe Trail and winning the Il Golfo dell’Isola Trail in mid-May, both GTWS races, a race she also won in 2023 when it was the finale of the GTWS. Florea has proven herself on steep and technical courses, placing third at the 2024 Sierre-Zinal and second at the 2024 Headlands 28k.
Mădălina Florea, the 2025 Il Golfo dell’Isola women’s winner. Photo: Golden Trail Series/Il Golfo dell Isola/@Rising.Story/@JustinGalant_Noli
Allie McLaughlin
Allie McLaughlin has a strong history with all of the races of Broken Arrow. In the 23k, she’s won in 2023, placed fourth in 2024, second in 2022, and eighth in 2021. In the Ascent event, she’s won in 2021 and 2022 and placed third in 2024. She also won the 46k event in 2021. All this to say, she knows the course and the terrain and has the speed to contend for the win. In 2024, she also won the Pikes Peak Ascent, and in early June of 2025, placed third at the U.S. Mountain Running Championships. Earlier, she was third in the 2022 World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race.
Allie McLaughlin on her way to winning the 2023 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k. Photo: Peter Maksimow
Jade Belzberg
Last year’s second-place finisher of the Broken Arrow 27k, Jade Belzberg of Canada, is back hoping to improve upon her 2024 placing, and if her start to the 2025 racing season is any indication, she’s fit and ready to run fast. So far this year, she’s won the Tillamook Burn 50 Mile and the Chuckanut 50k and placed second in the Gorge Waterfall 100k. She’s perhaps better acquainted with the Broken Arrow Ascent than the race’s other distances, having finished fifth in 2022, second in 2023, and ninth in 2024. She was runner-up in both the Canadian National Championships Uphill race and Up and Down race in 2024, and she also won the Squamish 50 the same year.
Jade Belzberg on her way to finishing second at the 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k. Photo: Andy Wacker
Anna Gibson
Anna Gibson, who finished second at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k in 2023, has had a strong start to 2025, having just won the 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships, that served as a Team USA selection for the World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race later this year. She just missed out on a top-10 finish at the 2025 Zegama Marathon, finishing 11th. Earlier in the year, she also won the Gorges Waterfall 30k. In 2024, she placed sixth at Sierre-Zinal and third at the 2024 Mammoth Trailfest 26k. Her win at the 2023 Broken Arrow Ascent and third place at the 2023 Pikes Peak Ascent are a testament to her uphill speed.
Anna Gibson takes the win at the 2023 Broken Arrow Ascent. Photo: Peter Maksimow
Lauren Gregory
Lauren Gregory is off to a fast start in 2025, placing second at the 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships behind Anna Gibson a few weeks ago, a great turnout after recovering from an Achilles injury. This is no surprise given the strength of her 2024 season, which was highlighted with wins at the U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race in July and the USATF 10k Trail National Championships last November. Other 2024 results include a sixth and eighth at the Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego, respectively, a sixth at the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, and a third at the Headlands 28k. She was second at the 2024 GTWS finals, and was seventh in the season-long series.
Lauren Gregory takes the win at the 2024 USATF 10k Trail National Championships held at the Dirt Circus 10k. Photo: Jeremiah Justis/jjustisphotography.com
Other Top Women
- Hillary Allen – 2nd 2025 Vail Mountain Games 20k; 6th 2024 Gorge Waterfall 30k; 1st 2022 Ultra-Trail Cape Town 100 Mile; 2nd 2022 Speedgoat 28k; 1st 2021 Madeira Island Ultra Trail
- Alexa Aragon – 9th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 4th 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race
- Amanda Basham – 14th 2024 & 6th 2023 Broken Arrow Ascent; 13th 2024 Broken Arrow 23k; 1st 2022 Speedgoat 50k
- Courtney Coppinger – 4th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 1st 2025 Vail Mountain Games 10k; 2nd 2024 Telluride Mountain Run 13 mile; 2nd 2024 Javelina Jundred 31k
- Kristin Johnson – 1st 2025 Antelope Island Buffalo Run 25k; 3rd 2024 Kodiak Ultra Marathon 50k; 3rd 2024 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Janelle Lincks – 4th 2023 & 1st 2021 Broken Arrow 23k; 7th 2021 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Kristina Mascarenas – 3rd 2023 Broken Arrow 46k; 1st 2023, 2022, & 2017 & 3rd 2018 Pikes Peak Marathon
- Laurel Moyer – 12th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships; 3rd 2024 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race; 5th 2023 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race
- Taylor Nowlin – 2nd 2025 Canyons 25k; 1st 2024 Orcas Island 50k; 6th 2023 & 7th 2022 Western States 100; 9th 2022 CCC; 3rd 2022 Gorge Waterfall 50k; 4th 2022 Black Canyon 100k
- Sydney Peterson – 7th 2024 Broken Arrow 23k; 12th 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent; 1st 2023 Imogene Pass Run 14 mile
- Emily Schmitz – 7th 2023 Trail World Championships – Long Trail; 12th 2024 Western States 100; 5th 2023 CCC
- Rachel Tomajczyk – 6th 2024 Broken Arrow 23k; 6th 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent
Emily Schmitz takes victory in the 2023 Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB 50k. Photo: Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB
Call for Comments
- Who are your picks for this year’s Broken Arrow 23k winners?
- What runners are we missing who could contend for the win?
