Kiriago sets course record at Broken Arrow 23K mountain race
Philemon Ombogo Kiriago and Madalina Florea claimed victory at Palisades Tahoe as the Broken Arrow 23km delivered race seven of the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup in demanding heat, altitude and technical terrain.
Philemon Ombogo Kiriago of Kenya and Madalina Florea of Romania won the Broken Arrow 23K on Sunday (June 21), as the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup continued with its seventh race of the season at Palisades Tahoe, California.
Kiriago produced a historic performance in the men’s race, winning in 1:42:59 to set a new course record and improve the 1:43:53 mark established by Elhousine Elazzaoui in 2025. In the women’s race, Florea took victory in 2:02:18, one of the fastest performances in the history of the event and just outside Joyce Muthoni Njeru’s 2025 course record of 2:01:16.
The race followed Friday’s Broken Arrow Ascent, where Anna Gibson and Patrick Kipngeno opened the World Cup weekend with victories. Kipngeno’s 37:59 win in the men’s uphill race set the tone for a weekend in which altitude, heat and aggressive racing all played major roles.
But while the Ascent was a pure uphill test, the 23K asked a broader question. Athletes had to manage steep climbing, exposed alpine terrain, technical descending and the physical cost of racing at altitude in temperatures close to 30°C.
The race also carried one of the largest prize purses in trail running, with $150,000 distributed across the event and $30,000 awarded to each 23K winner. With athletes from Europe, Africa and North America filling the top places, Broken Arrow once again underlined its international status within the WMRA World Cup.
Heat, altitude and technical terrain shape the race
After a week of very high temperatures in Palisades Tahoe, heat management remained one of the defining factors of the Broken Arrow 23K. With temperatures around 30°C, the athletes had to balance early ambition with the need to stay controlled through the climbs and technical descents.
The Sierra Nevada setting provided a striking stage, but the race was decided by execution rather than scenery. The strongest athletes were those able to handle the altitude, stay efficient through the exposed sections and still find enough strength for the final climbs and descents.
Women’s race: Florea strikes on the climb to High Camp
The women’s race was shaped for a long time by the duel between Madalina Florea and Kenya’s Joyce Muthoni Njeru. The pair ran together for much of the uphill section, including the iconic Stairs to Heaven, before beginning the descent towards Siberia still locked in the fight for victory.
Behind them, Lauren Gregory of the United States remained close enough to keep the pressure on the podium places, while a strong international group, including athletes from Kenya, the United States, the Netherlands and France, fought for the top ten.
The decisive move came on the climb to High Camp, where Florea created the separation that would decide the race. From that point, the Romanian controlled the final section and held her advantage to take victory in 2:02:18.
The battle behind her stayed alive until the finish. Gregory produced a strong closing section to move into second place, finishing in 2:03:56, just ahead of Njeru, who completed the podium in 2:03:59 after playing a major role at the front of the race.
Tabor Hemming of the United States was fourth, also in 2:03:59, with Nienke Brinkman of the Netherlands fifth in 2:04:45. Friday’s Ascent winner Anna Gibson finished sixth woman in 2:05:33, confirming a strong weekend across both race formats.
Florea’s winning time did not quite beat Njeru’s course record of 2:01:16, set in 2025, but it still stands among the fastest women’s performances ever recorded at the Broken Arrow 23K.
The women’s top ten reflected the international depth of the race, with Romania, the United States, Kenya, the Netherlands and France all represented among the leading finishers.
Men’s race: Kiriago breaks the course record after front-running duel
The men’s race was controlled from the front by Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, who led for almost the entire race. Behind him, Elhousine Elazzaoui stayed close throughout and repeatedly tried to challenge the Kenyan, keeping the race open until the final stages.
Kiriago’s front-running performance was tested across the climbs and technical sections, with Elazzaoui never allowing the gap to become comfortable. The Moroccan pushed several times in an attempt to overtake, but Kiriago remained composed and continued to dictate the race.
In the final kilometre, with the pressure still high and the finish approaching, Kiriago found the strength to hold his position and reach the line first in 1:42:59. The time gave him victory and a new men’s course record, improving Elazzaoui’s 2025 record by 54 seconds.
Elazzaoui followed just 13 seconds later, taking second place in 1:43:12. His performance was also inside his previous course-record mark, underlining the quality of the duel at the front.
Patrick Kipngeno completed the men’s podium in 1:44:34, an especially notable result after his victory in Friday’s Broken Arrow Ascent. His third place in the 23K confirmed another impressive performance across two very different mountain running demands in the same weekend.
Brayan Rodríguez Flores of Mexico finished fourth in 1:47:25, followed by Taylor Stack of the United States in fifth in 1:48:48. Mason Coppi, Cameron Smith, Cesare Maestri, Paul Knight and Christian Allen completed the men’s top ten.
The men’s results also showed the global reach of the race, with Kenya, Morocco, Mexico, the United States and Italy all represented in the top ten.
Broken Arrow 23K – Women
Broken Arrow 23K – Men
About the WMRA:
Formed in 1984, the World Mountain Running Association is the global governing body for mountain running and has the goal of promoting mountain running for all ages and abilities.
As well as the World Cup, the WMRA organizes Masters, U18 and area championships and in partnership with the World Athletics, ITRA and IAU to deliver the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, with the last event held in CanfrancPirineos Spain in 2025. The WMRA also maintains the Mountain Running World Ranking, a system of points allocated to athletes based on the results in designated races.
