The 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace trail running festival is set to host a variety of races around the Palisades Tahoe ski area in Olympic Valley, California, from June 18 through 21. We’ll be covering the Ascent on Friday, June 19, and the 23k on Sunday, June 21.
Friday’s Broken Arrow Skyrace Ascent is both a Mountain Running World Cup and the U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race for 2026, meaning that the top four men and women earn a spot to race at the Mountain Running World Cup Uphill Final in Canada in October. While last year saw a wind-shortened course, this year should feature the full 3.6-mile (5.8 kilometers) course that climbs 2,840 feet (865 meters) to the top of Washeshu Peak at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet (2,740 meters).
Sunday’s Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k is a single clockwise loop of a 14.2-mile (22.9k) course. Three smaller climbs bring runners to the base of the final push to the course high point at about 9,000 feet, which is about halfway through the loop. A 500-foot climb interrupts the 2,600-plus-foot plunge back down to the finish line. The loop gathers a total elevation gain of 4,500 feet (1,372 meters). It is also a Mountain Running World Cup race.
Philemon Kiriago leads Elhousine Elazzaoui and Patrick Kipngeno with five kilometers to go during the 2025 Broken Arrow 23k. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
The Ascent starts on Friday, June 19, at 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), while the 23k begins on Sunday, June 21, at 8:00 a.m. PDT for the women and 8:20 a.m. for the men.
We’ll share stories from before, during, and after both races on iRunFar’s X feed with text and photo reports from all over the course on race days. We’ll also be live blogging the same material as on X below in this article. We’re also embedding the live video feeds of the Ascent and 23k below.
Thanks to the World Mountain Running Association for supporting iRunFar’s 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace coverage.
Resources for Following the 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace Ascent and 23k
- iRunFar’s in-depth previews of the 2026 Ascent and the 23k
- Our pre-race video interviews with top athletes in the Ascent and 23k, coming soon
- Our Ascent and 23k results articles from 2025
- The Broken Arrow Skyrace website, with Broken Arrow Ascent and Broken Arrow 23k pages providing the course maps and elevation profiles, aid stations, technical data, and more
- The race administration’s live splits
Joyce Njeru, 2024 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k women’s champion. Photo: Howie Stern
iRunFar’s Live Blog of the 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and Ascent
Here we’re live blogging the Ascent on Friday and 23k on Sunday, and sharing the exact same content as on our X feed. Enjoy viewing it right here or over on X! Also, give it just a moment to load once you arrive.
Livestreams of the 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k and Ascent
Enjoy Nike ACG’s livestreams from both the Ascent on Friday and the 23k on Sunday:
