The 2025 Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k, beginning at 9 a.m. PDT on Sunday, June 22, in Olympic Valley, California, is the sixth World Mountain Operating Affiliation Mountain Operating World Cup occasion and the fifth cease on the Golden Path World Sequence (GTWS). With athletes from these sequence combining, plus some prime North American expertise, issues are trying fiery.
The 21.7-kilometer (13.5 miles) race is held on the mountains surrounding Olympic Valley and has 1,433 meters (4,700 toes) of climbing because it traverses the peaks and ridges across the valley. It’s the remaining race of the three-day Damaged Arrow Skyrace occasion, which has 9 races, together with a vertical kilometer (VK) race referred to as the Ascent, which can also be a part of the Mountain Operating World Cup.
The 2025 Mountain Operating World Cup sequence consists of 13 races plus a two-race remaining, beginning with the Zmeu X-Fest and each the Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego races in Might. Different races within the sequence embody the Giir di Mont and Sierre-Zinal. The Mountain Operating World Cup brings collectively a few of the prime mountain runners on the planet for races that embody uphill-only occasions and those who go each up and down steep mountain sides on rugged terrain.
The Damaged Arrow 23k can also be a part of the nine-race GTWS, which began in Japan in February with the Kobe Path 21k and culminates with the finals within the Ledro Valley of Italy in October with its personal finals. It visits a number of different iconic races, together with the Zegama Marathon and Sierre-Zinal. The races within the sequence are characterised by comparatively brief path working routes on mountainous, technical terrain, and Damaged Arrow isn’t any exception.
The 2024 Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k girls’s podium: 3. Tabor Hemming, 1. Joyce Muthoni Njeru, and three. Jade Belzberg. Muthoni Njeru and Belzberg return for this yr. Picture: American Path Operating Affiliation/Nancy Hobbs
Heading into the weekend, Philemon Kiriago of Kenya and Sara Alonso of Spain lead the lads’s and ladies’s GTWS standings forward of Daniel Pattis of Italy and Mădălina Florea of Romania, respectively. Within the Mountain Operating World Cup standings, Joyce Muthoni Njeru (Kenya) and Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya) presently maintain the highest spots for the ladies and men, respectively.
The 23k brings collectively deep fields for each the women and men. Within the males’s discipline, final yr’s winner, Kipngeno, will likely be joined by countrymate Philemon Kiriago and Elhousine Elazzaoui of Morocco. For the ladies, final yr’s champion, Muthoni Njeru, will possible be challenged by Florea, Allie McLaughlin, and several other different prime girls. You could find extra within the full entrants listing.
Due to the World Mountain Operating Affiliation for supporting iRunFar’s 2025 Damaged Arrow Skyrace protection.
iRunFar will likely be offering protection of each the Damaged Arrow 23k and the Ascent. Remember to take a look at our preview of the Ascent as nicely.
Prime Males
Final yr’s Damaged Arrow 23k winner and present Mountain Operating World Cup factors chief, Patrick Kipngeno (Kenya), returns to defend his title. After ending second total within the GTWS final yr, he sits fourth within the total GTWS rankings after having accomplished in and received solely two sequence races to this point, the Jinshanling Nice Wall Path 24k and Kobe Path. Kipngeno had a robust 2024, with highlights together with a win at Trofeo Nasego, second on the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, third on the Headlands 28k, and third at Sierre-Zinal. Kipngeno received the Mountain Operating World Cup final yr.
Patrick Kipngeno on his approach to successful the 2025 Jinshanling Nice Wall Path Race. Picture: Golden Path Sequence/Jinshanling Nice Wall Path Race/@rising.story/@mathisdecroux
Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) completed third in final yr’s Mountain Operating World Cup rankings and fourth within the GTWS remaining rankings. Most just lately, he received the 2025 Trofeo Nasego and positioned second on the Vertical Nasego, each races a part of this yr’s Mountain Operating World Cup. He’s coming off a robust begin to his 2025 season with a win on the Il Golfo dell’Isola Path 26k and second locations on the 24-kilometer Jinshanling Nice Wall Path and 21-kilometer Kobe Path. The latter two races have secured him the present lead within the GTWS rankings. Final yr, he completed third on the Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k and seventh within the Ascent. He ought to contend for the win.
Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, the 2025 Trofeo Nasego males’s winner. Picture: Picture: World Mountain Operating Affiliation/Marco Gulberti
Elhousine Elazzaoui (Morocco) is bound to compete on the entrance of the sphere after coming off a win on the Zegama Marathon earlier this yr, after ending second on the race in 2024 and 2023. He received the GTWS total sequence final yr after ending fourth in 2023 and second in 2022, and might be hoping to repeat his efficiency this yr. If his runs this yr are any indication, with second on the Golfo dell’Isola Path and a win on the Chianti Extremely Path 20k, he’s on kind and working quick. His outcomes from 2024 embody wins on the GTWS remaining, the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, Headlands 28k, and the Marathon du Mont-Blanc.
Elhousine Elazzaoui, the Zegama Marathon males’s winner. Picture: Igor Quijano
Rémi Bonnet (Switzerland) isn’t any stranger to the GTWS races, having received the sequence total in 2023 and 2022. He positioned an uncharacteristic thirty first within the Golfo dell’Isola Path earlier this yr, however had a string of strong ends in 2024, together with a second place on the GTWS finals, second on the Marathon du Mont-Blanc, fourth locations on the Mammoth Trailfest 26k and the Headlands 28k, and ninth place at Sierre-Zinal. His 2023 season was even stronger, with wins on the Marathon du Mont-Blanc, Pikes Peak Ascent, and the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, in addition to fourth on the Zegama Marathon.
Remi Bonnet takes the win on the 2023 Mammoth Trailfest 26k. Picture: Golden Path Sequence/Mammoth Trailfest 26k/The Journey Bakery
Taylor Stack
Taylor Stack completed fourth within the Damaged Arrow 23k behind Kiriago, Eli Hemming, and Kipngeno final yr. One can solely think about that he has hopes to maneuver as much as a podium place. Along with his run at this race in 2024, he additionally received the 14-mile high-altitude Imogene Move Run. He began his 2025 season off with a second place on the Desert RATS 21k and tuned up his kind with a 3rd place on the 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships, which was a Crew USA choice race for the World Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race later this yr.
Taylor Stack ending third on the 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships. Picture: American Path Operating Affiliation/Nancy Hobbs
Different Prime Males
- Christian Allen – 1st 2024 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race; 1st 2024 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Half Marathon; 4th 2024 Headlands 28k; 1st 2023 Speedgoat 50k
- Henri Aymonod (Italy) – fifth 2023 & third 2019 Damaged Arrow 23k; third 2023 Damaged Arrow Ascent; ninth 2025 Transgrancanaria Marathon 47k; fifth 2024 ETC; ninth 2022 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Shaun Burke – sixth 2024 Telluride Mountain Run 40 Mile; 1st 2024 & 4th 2023 Badwater 135 Mile
- Hawk Name – sixth 2024 and twenty second 2023 Damaged Arrow 23k; 1st 2024 Speedgoat 31k
- Mason Coppi – 2nd 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; eleventh 2024 Damaged Arrow 46k; eleventh 2024 Headlands 28k; ninth 2022 Chuckanut 50k
- Roberto Delorenzi (Switzerland) – eighth 2025 Il Golfo dell’Isola Path; 2nd 2025 Skyrace des Matheysins; twenty sixth 2024 & third 2023 Mammoth Trailfest 26k; sixth 2024 & sixteenth 2022 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Zachary Erikson – seventh 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; third 2024 Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race
- Talon Hull – eighth 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; twelfth 2024 and 4th 2023 Damaged Arrow 23k; 1st 2024 Canyons 23k
- Remi Leroux (Canada) – ninth 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; eighth 2024 Damaged Arrow 23k; tenth 2024 Mammoth Trailfest 26k; 2nd 2023 Mont-Blanc Vertical Kilometer
- Cam Smith – 4th 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; 1st 2024 Kendall Mountain Run; ninth 2024 & 1st 2022 Damaged Arrow Ascent; third 2022 Damaged Arrow 23k
- Andy Wacker – fifth 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; 4th 2024 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Uphill race; 1st 2022 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships
Christian Allen on his approach to successful the 2024 USATF 10k Path Nationwide Championships on the Filth Circus 10k. Picture: Jeremiah Justis
Prime Ladies
Joyce Muthoni Njeru
Joyce Muthoni Njeru of Kenya comes again because the defending champion of the Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k and the GTWS total. Whereas she presently sits twentieth within the GTWS rankings, she’s displaying some sturdy kind in 2025 up to now, having simply completed in third on the Mountain Operating World Cup’s Trofeo Nasego in Might, a race she received in 2024. She was additionally sixth on the Kobe Path in February. She positioned a detailed second within the season-long Mountain Operating World Cup final yr after successful the sequence in three years in a row between 2021 and 2023. She additionally received the Sky Gran Canaria in 2023 and was second at Sierre-Zinal that very same yr. Along with Sunday’s 23k, she’s signed up for the Ascent, previously referred to as the VK, on Friday, which she received final yr as nicely.
Joyce Muthoni Njeru, 2024 Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k girls’s champion. Picture: Scott Rokis Pictures
Mădălina Florea
Mădălina Florea of Romania completed third on the Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k in 2023 and second in 2024. Certainly she’s seeking to enhance yet one more spot this yr. She was sixth total within the GTWS in 2023 and presently sits in second this yr. Florea has had a robust begin to 2025, ending second within the Kobe Path and successful the Il Golfo dell’Isola Path in mid-Might, each GTWS races, a race she additionally received in 2023 when it was the finale of the GTWS. Florea has confirmed herself on steep and technical programs, putting third on the 2024 Sierre-Zinal and second on the 2024 Headlands 28k.
Mădălina Florea, the 2025 Il Golfo dell’Isola girls’s winner. Picture: Golden Path Sequence/Il Golfo dell Isola/@Rising.Story/@JustinGalant_Noli
Allie McLaughlin
Allie McLaughlin has a robust historical past with the entire races of Damaged Arrow. Within the 23k, she’s received in 2023, positioned fourth in 2024, second in 2022, and eighth in 2021. Within the Ascent occasion, she’s received in 2021 and 2022 and positioned third in 2024. She additionally received the 46k occasion in 2021. All this to say, she is aware of the course and the terrain and has the velocity to contend for the win. In 2024, she additionally received the Pikes Peak Ascent, and in early June of 2025, positioned third on the U.S. Mountain Operating Championships. Earlier, she was third within the 2022 World Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race.
Allie McLaughlin on her approach to successful the 2023 Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k. Picture: Peter Maksimow
Jade Belzberg
Final yr’s second-place finisher of the Damaged Arrow 27k, Jade Belzberg of Canada, is again hoping to enhance upon her 2024 putting, and if her begin to the 2025 racing season is any indication, she’s match and able to run quick. Thus far this yr, she’s received the Tillamook Burn 50 Mile and the Chuckanut 50k and positioned second within the Gorge Waterfall 100k. She’s maybe higher acquainted with the Damaged Arrow Ascent than the race’s different distances, having completed fifth in 2022, second in 2023, and ninth in 2024. She was runner-up in each the Canadian Nationwide Championships Uphill race and Up and Down race in 2024, and he or she additionally received the Squamish 50 the identical yr.
Jade Belzberg on her approach to ending second on the 2024 Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k. Picture: Andy Wacker
Anna Gibson
Anna Gibson, who completed second on the Damaged Arrow Skyrace 23k in 2023, has had a robust begin to 2025, having simply received the 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships, that served as a Crew USA choice for the World Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race later this yr. She simply missed out on a top-10 end on the 2025 Zegama Marathon, ending eleventh. Earlier within the yr, she additionally received the Gorges Waterfall 30k. In 2024, she positioned sixth at Sierre-Zinal and third on the 2024 Mammoth Trailfest 26k. Her win on the 2023 Damaged Arrow Ascent and third place on the 2023 Pikes Peak Ascent are a testomony to her uphill velocity.
Anna Gibson takes the win on the 2023 Damaged Arrow Ascent. Picture: Peter Maksimow
Lauren Gregory
Lauren Gregory is off to a quick begin in 2025, putting second on the 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships behind Anna Gibson just a few weeks in the past, a terrific turnout after recovering from an Achilles harm. That is no shock given the energy of her 2024 season, which was highlighted with wins on the U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Uphill race in July and the USATF 10k Path Nationwide Championships final November. Different 2024 outcomes embody a sixth and eighth on the Vertical Nasego and Trofeo Nasego, respectively, a sixth on the Mammoth Trailfest 26k, and a 3rd on the Headlands 28k. She was second on the 2024 GTWS finals, and was seventh within the season-long sequence.
Lauren Gregory takes the win on the 2024 USATF 10k Path Nationwide Championships held on the Filth Circus 10k. Picture: Jeremiah Justis/jjustisphotography.com
Different Prime Ladies
- Hillary Allen – 2nd 2025 Vail Mountain Video games 20k; sixth 2024 Gorge Waterfall 30k; 1st 2022 Extremely-Path Cape City 100 Mile; 2nd 2022 Speedgoat 28k; 1st 2021 Madeira Island Extremely Path
- Alexa Aragon – ninth 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; 4th 2024 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race
- Amanda Basham – 14th 2024 & sixth 2023 Damaged Arrow Ascent; thirteenth 2024 Damaged Arrow 23k; 1st 2022 Speedgoat 50k
- Courtney Coppinger – 4th 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; 1st 2025 Vail Mountain Video games 10k; 2nd 2024 Telluride Mountain Run 13 mile; 2nd 2024 Javelina Jundred 31k
- Kristin Johnson – 1st 2025 Antelope Island Buffalo Run 25k; third 2024 Kodiak Extremely Marathon 50k; third 2024 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Janelle Lincks – 4th 2023 & 1st 2021 Damaged Arrow 23k; seventh 2021 Pikes Peak Ascent
- Kristina Mascarenas – third 2023 Damaged Arrow 46k; 1st 2023, 2022, & 2017 & third 2018 Pikes Peak Marathon
- Laurel Moyer – twelfth 2025 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships; third 2024 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Up and Down race; fifth 2023 U.S. Mountain Operating Championships Uphill race
- Taylor Nowlin – 2nd 2025 Canyons 25k; 1st 2024 Orcas Island 50k; sixth 2023 & seventh 2022 Western States 100; ninth 2022 CCC; third 2022 Gorge Waterfall 50k; 4th 2022 Black Canyon 100k
- Sydney Peterson – seventh 2024 Damaged Arrow 23k; twelfth 2024 Damaged Arrow Ascent; 1st 2023 Imogene Move Run 14 mile
- Emily Schmitz – seventh 2023 Path World Championships – Lengthy Path; twelfth 2024 Western States 100; fifth 2023 CCC
- Rachel Tomajczyk – sixth 2024 Damaged Arrow 23k; sixth 2024 Damaged Arrow Ascent
Emily Schmitz takes victory within the 2023 Path Alsace Grand Est by UTMB 50k. Picture: Path Alsace Grand Est by UTMB
Name for Feedback
- Who’re your picks for this yr’s Damaged Arrow 23k winners?
- What runners are we lacking who might contend for the win?
