The Broken Arrow Skyrace Ascent is the first race of a big weekend of racing in Olympic Valley, California, at the 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace. It’ll probably be the most competitive uphill race in the world this year.
The Ascent starts at 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, June 19, and goes 3.6 miles in distance and up 2,840 feet. That’s 5.8 kilometers and 865 meters. The race famously finishes at the top of almost 9,000-foot Washeshu Peak, with a ladder climb up the final stretch.
Last year’s race was limited to the lower slopes due to high wind, and you can read more about how the race unfolded in our 2025 Broken Arrow Skyrace Ascent results article. Let’s hope the weather cooperates this year for that iconic mountaintop finish.
The race is both a World Mountain Running Association Mountain Running World Cup contest and the U.S. Mountain Running Championships Uphill race for 2026. The top four U.S. women and men earn spots at the Mountain Running World Cup Uphill Final in October 2026 in Canada. If that’s not enough, there’s a $28,200 total prize purse, with $6,000 to the winners and cash paid 10 deep.
Read on to learn more about the top runners. We’ll be updating this article through race day with any last-minute changes. Also, here’s the 2026 entrants list.
Thanks to the World Mountain Running Association for supporting iRunFar’s 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace coverage.
iRunFar will be providing coverage of both the Broken Arrow Ascent and the 23k. Read our in-depth 2026 Broken Arrow 23k preview, too.
The start of the shortened 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent went straight up a ski slope. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
2026 Broken Arrow Ascent Women’s Preview
Incredibly, the top five women from 2025 are all expected back. That group includes the winner and runner-up, Anna Gibson and Joyce Njeru. A slew of international and national athletes will be nipping at these ladies’ heels, however, including France’s Nélie Clément and Courtney Coppinger.
Top Women
Anna Gibson was third at the 2025 World Mountain Running Championships (WMRC) Uphill race in September 2025, and she hasn’t raced on foot since. Gibson was, though, part of the fourth-place U.S. team in the ski mountaineering mixed relay at the Winter Olympics in February 2026. She’s since taken some time off racing, gone rock climbing, and traveled to Greece. Even with a little race rust, Gibson is among the race’s biggest favorites. She also won here in 2023 and was second to Njeru in 2024.
Anna Gibson, the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent champion. Photo: Broken Arrow Skyrace/Howie Stern
Kenyan Joyce Njeru has been a regular across short-course global racing the last few years, and she’s been a regular at Broken Arrow too. Njeru won this race in 2024, beating Gibson, and was second last year to Gibson. Njeru took fourth at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race. While Gibson has yet to race in 2026, Njeru already has five races in the books. Her top 2026 finishes so far include a win at the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer, second at the Transvulcania Half Marathon, and third in the Ledro Sky Trentino.
Joyce Njeru running powerfully to second place at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Nélie Clément
French runner Nélie Clément was eighth at the 2025 WMRC Uphill and seventh in the WMRC Up and Down races. Clément was third at the April 2026 São Brás Cross race in Portugal, the year’s first Mountain Running World Cup race, and then sixth and first, respectively, at the French Mountain Running National Championships Uphill and Up and Down races. Two weeks before the Broken Arrow Ascent, Clément was third at both the 2026 European Off-Road Running Championships Uphill and Up and Down races.
Nélie Clément, the 2025 Grand Parcours Vauban Mountain Trail winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Jonathan Wyatt
Élisa Morin
Last September, Canada’s Élisa Morin was 25th at the 2025 WMRC Uphill and 10th in the WMRC Up and Down races. After that, she won both the Défi des Couleurs Uphill and Up and Down races in Canada last October. A few weeks ago, on June 7, Morin won the Sunapee Scramble race. This was the U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race for this year, and Morin beat all the Americans.
Courtney Coppinger
Courtney Coppinger is due for a big win. She was third at the Beijing Changping Uphill race earlier this year, behind Njeru, and then was second in the Beijing Changping Up and Down race the next day, again behind Njeru. She was 14th at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race. Now racing on U.S. soil, Coppinger may look to close the gap on Njeru, but she’ll have U.S. competition too. She was fourth overall and third American at the June 7 Sunapee Scramble race, this year’s U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race.
The 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill race podium (left to right): 2. Joyce Njeru, 1. Maude Mathys, 3. Courtney Coppinger. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
Representing Canada, Jade Belzberg was 13th at the 2025 WMRA Uphill race. At Broken Arrow, she was third in the 2025 Ascent, and ninth and second in 2024 and 2023. In 2026 thus far, she dropped at the Black Canyon 100k and was eighth at the Gorge Waterfalls 30k.
Jade Belzberg during the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent, where she took third. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Valentine Rutto
Kenyan runner Valentine Rutto runs hot and cold. She was 18th at the 2026 Zegama Marathon last month and 42nd at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race last fall, but was fourth at the 2025 Trofeo Nasego, first at the 2025 Giir di Mont, and won both 2025 Mountain Running World Cup races in China.
Allie Avatar (née McLaughlin) is frequently at Broken Arrow, often racing the Ascent, 46k, and 23k as part of the Triple Crown. In 2025, she was 29th in the Ascent after finishing third in 2024. She won gold at the 2021 WMRC Uphill race, contested in 2022 in Thailand, and was third in the 2021 WMRC Up and Down race there as well.
Allie McLaughlin on her way to winning the 2023 Broken Arrow 23k. Photo: Peter Maksimow
Pema Franchi Antelme
Talk about an up-and-comer. Now 13 years old, Pema Franchi Antelme of Ecuador has been racing trails since the fall of 2024. Last year, she really shone at the Ascent, where she took fifth. She also finished 23rd at the 23k. Later last year, she finished fifth at the 2025 Mammoth Trailfest 26k.
Pema Franchi Antelme finished fifth in the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent, at the age of 12. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Jazmine Lowther
Canada’s Jazmine Lowther should contend for a top-10 spot. Generally known for doing longer races, she was third at the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail in April. Her top 2025 results are fourth at the Trail World Championships Long Trail and a win of the Speedgoat 50k. On brand, she’s signed up for the Triple Crown.
Jazmine Lowther during the 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail. She finished fourth. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Camilla Magliano
Italy’s Camilla Magliano is racing many of the 2026 Mountain Running World Cup events. So far this year, she’s taken 11th at the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer, fourth at both the Beijing Changping Uphill and Up and Down races, and eighth at São Brás Cross.
Tabor Hemming
Tabor Hemming returns to the Ascent after a year off. In 2024, she placed eighth at the Ascent and third at the 23k. To date this year, she’s won the Rothrock 25k and the GoPro Mountain Games 20k.
Stephanie Bruce
We love to see the road crossovers, and Stephanie Bruce is a brilliant one! We think this is the first trail race for the former pro track and road runner, who has a 10,000-meter best of 31:24 and a marathon PR of 2:27.
Stephanie Bruce at the 2018 London Marathon. Photo: Alan Wilkinson, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
More Fast Women
- Alexa Aragon – 10th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent; 8th 2025 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down
- Jessie Diggins – Three-time cross-country skiing Olympic medalist, including one gold; seven-time Nordic World Ski Championships medalist, including two golds.
- Hali Hafeman – 18th 2025 & 4th 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Lara Hamilton (Australia) – 7th 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer; 42nd 2025 WMRC Uphill race; 9th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Janelle Lincks – 1st 2026 GoPro Mountain Games 10k; 8th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent; 4th 2025 Broken Arrow 23k
- Erin Moyer – 3rd 2026 Gorge Waterfalls 100k; 3rd 2026 Big Alta 50k
- Marie Nivet (France) – 24th & 9th 2026 European Off-Road Running Championships Uphill and Up and Down races; 8th 2026 Ledro Sky Trentino; 5th 2026 São Brás Cross
- Camila Noe – 6th at both the 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill and Up and Down races
- Sydney Petersen – 31st 2025 WMRC Uphill; 4th 2025 & 12th 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Rena Schwartz – 3rd 2026 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down; 3rd 2025 Pikes Peak Ascent; 1st 2025 Cirque Series Arapahoe Basin
- Alicia Vargo – 14th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent; 2nd 2025 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Sara Willhoit (U.K.) – 8th 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer; 5th 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill; 9th 2026 Beijing Changping Up and Down; 3rd 2023 Broken Arrow Ascent
Erin Moyer during the 2025 Broken Arrow 46k. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
2026 Broken Arrow Ascent Men’s Preview
Christian Allen, the 2025 winner, will defend his title against 2024 champ Patrick Kipngeno and other Kenyan challengers. Many of the top Ascent runners will also race the Broken Arrow 23k two days later, some will race both the 23k and 46k, and even some others will race the Western States 100 one week later.
Top Men
Kenya’s Patrick Kipngeno was third at the 2025 WMRC Uphill, and first in both 2023 and 2022. He won the 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent too. He was just fifth in a comeback from injury last month at the 2026 Ledro Sky Trentino race, though. He is the race favorite, but looks vulnerable to an upset as he finds his race fitness again.
Patrick Kipngeno of Kenya finishes third at the 2025 WMRC Uphill. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Christian Allen won last year’s Broken Arrow Ascent and was fourth in 2024, too. At the 2025 WMRC Uphill race, Allen was fourth and only eight seconds behind Kipngeno. Allen was injured earlier this year, too, but won the Trail Alsace 50k and the Twisted Fork 15k in May 2026. Just two weeks before Broken Arrow, he was third at the Sunapee Scramble, which was this year’s U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race.
Christian Allen, the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent champion. Photo: Broken Arrow Skyrace/Howie Stern
Cam Smith was 11th at the 2025 WMRC Uphill race. At Broken Arrow, he was third in the Broken Arrow Ascent in 2025 and ninth in 2024. Smith shook off any 2026 race rust with a June 7 double win at the GoPro Mountain Games, winning both the 10k and the Pepi’s Face-Off races. Earlier in 2026, he placed fourth, with top women’s entrant Anna Gibson, in the mixed relay ski mountaineering race at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Cam Smith before the start of the 2025 Broken Arrow 23k. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago is better in up-and-down races than only vertical races, but he was still 17th at last year’s WMRC Uphill race as part of the first-place Kenyan team. He won the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race just after that, too. In 2026, Kiriago has been second at the Ledro Sky Trentino race and won the Transvulcania Half Marathon. At Broken Arrow, he’s been seventh in the Ascent in 2025 and 2024.
Philemon Kirago, 2025 WMRC Up and Down race champion. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Paul Machoka
It’s not just Kipngeno and Kiriago for Kenya. Paul Machoka was third at the 2025 WMRC Up and Down race. He was fifth at Sierre-Zinal in 2025, too. In 2026, Machoka was second at the Beijing Changping Uphill, third at the Beijing Changping Up and Down, and sixth at Ledro Sky Trentino. This is his first time racing at Broken Arrow, and in the U.S., and Machoka seems due for a breakout win in international competition.
Paul Machoka, the 2025 Zmeu X-Fest winner. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
Michael Selelo Saoli
Kenya’s Michael Selelo Saoli won the year’s first Mountain Running World Cup race, the São Brás Cross contest in Portugal. He was fifth at the 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill, first at the Beijing Changping Up and Down, and third at Ledro Sky Trentino, too. In 2025, Saoli was sixth at the WMRC Up and Down race.
Michael Selelo Saoli, the 2026 Changping Beijing Up and Down winner. Photo: WMRA/Christian Rizzi
Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau
In 2024, Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau was third at the Broken Arrow Ascent, finishing ahead of Allen but behind Kipngeno. Last year, he took seventh at the 2025 Pikes Peak Ascent and won the 2025 Défi des Couleurs Uphill race.
Meikael Beaudoin-Rousseau, the 2023 Québec Mega Trail 25k winner. Photo: Francis Fontaine
Rory Linkletter
Now here’s a fun entrant. Rory Linkletter is a prolific Canadian marathoner and Olympian, trying out the trails. In January 2026, he ran 59:49 at the Houston Half Marathon. In April 2026, he ran 2:06:04 at the Boston Marathon, and in May 2026, he ran 2:09:43 at the Ottawa Marathon. Different from other road athletes who cross over after their road running career, Linkletter is at the height of his.
Rory Linkletter during the 2025 Chicago Marathon, where he ran 2:06 for ninth place. Photo: Photoguy1212, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tyler McCandless
Tyler McCandless returns to this event after taking fourth in 2025. Also, last year, he was 26th at the WMRC Uphill race. So far in 2026, McCandless has finished third at the GoPro Mountain Games 10k, sixth at the Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer, and seventh at the Beijing Changping Up and Down race.
Tyler McCandless en route to fourth place at the 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
While David Sinclair is likely using this as a final workout ahead of the following weekend’s Western States 100, he should fare well given his prior experience of taking a respective fifth and 12th at the 2025 and 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent, as well as an even longer racing history at this event. He was most recently the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon champ.
David Sinclair running through the volcanic high country to win 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Henri Aymonod
Henri Aymonod of Italy was third at the 2019 Broken Arrow 23k, fifth in 2023, and 17th in 2025. He also took third at the 2023 Broken Arrow Ascent. In the past year, he’s been 29th at the 2026 European Off-Road Running Championships Uphill, first at the 2025 Kilometro Verticale Lagunc, and first at the 2025 Transgrancanaria Vertical Kilometer.
Cesare Maestri
Italy’s Cesare Maestri took second at the 2026 Italian Mountain Running Championships Up and Down, and he was 17th and fourth, respectively, at the 2026 European Off-Road Running Championships Uphill and Up and Down races.
Liam Meirow
Liam Meirow doubled at Gorge Waterfalls this year and was second in the 30k and fourth in the 50k. Last year, Meirow raced the 46k at this event and took 14th.
More Fast Men
- Jonathan Aziz – 2nd 2026 GoPro Mountain Games 10k; 1st 2025, 2024, 2023, & 2022 Pikes Peak Marathon; 11th 2025 Broken Arrow 46k
- Ryan Becker – 9th 2025 & 8th 2024 Broken Arrow Ascent
- Lars Hogne – 7th 2026 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down; 1st 2025 Cranmore Mountain Race 10k
- Tate Knight – 3rd 2026 GoPro Mountain Games Pepi’s Face-Off; 2nd 2024 Pikes Peak Marathon
- Chris Myers – 1st 2026 Mt. Fuji 100 Mile; 2nd 2025 Western States 100
- Caleb Olson – 2nd 2026 Twisted Fork 30k; 1st 2025 Western States 100
- Rajpaul Pannu – 1st 2026 Jackpot Ultras 100 Mile
- Ares Reading – 4th 2026 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down; 2nd 2026 Canyons 25k
- Alexandre Ricard (Canada) – 13th 2026 U.S. Mountain Running Championships Up and Down; 10th 2026 Beijing Changping Uphill; 16th 2025 WMRC Uphill
- Noah Williams – 14th 2025 Trail World Championships Short Trail; 11th 2025 Broken Arrow Ascent
Call for Comments
- Wow, that’s a lot of names! Who needs to be moved up to the “top” group and who might’ve been overlooked on these lists?
- There’s still movement on the entry lists. Let us know if you see changes, and we’ll keep this article updated through race morning.
Alexandre Ricard wins the 2023 Montemuro Vertical Run. Photo: World Mountain Running Association/Marco Gulberti
