3X Women: Wild Winter Women Run the Night to Claim the Title

• Wild Winter Women (Gomez, Krauel & Roschlan) finish in 24:47:37 — nearly 2 hours and 5 minutes ahead of the field's only other finisher, Your Pace or Mine?
• Your Pace or Mine? (Cazenave, Coppersmith & McKinnon) cross together in 26:52:00, completing an 81-mile haul from below sea level to Palomar Mountain at 19:54/mi.
• Wild Winter Women posted the 6th, 7th, and 8th-fastest women's splits on the 40M–45M segment — a stretch where the team was clearly moving with purpose through the field.
• Your Pace or Mine? answered with their own strong stretch earlier, logging the 6th- and 7th-fastest women's splits on the 35M–40M segment.

Only two teams lined up in the 3X Women field for this year's Badwater Salton Sea, but both delivered on a course that demands everything: 81 miles from Salton City — 234 feet below sea level — up to Palomar Mountain at 5,500 feet, with over 9,000 feet of climbing along the way. Wild Winter Women, a trio of Minnesotans — Janelle Gomez (49, Duluth), Heather Krauel (49, Carlton), and Jessica Roschlan (35, Roseville) — took the win in 24:47:37, averaging 18:22 per mile across the full distance.

The race unfolded with some genuine movement through the women's field. Wild Winter Women spent the early miles shuffling around the gender standings — dipping as low as 12th among women at one checkpoint before climbing back to 7th by mile 45 and ultimately finishing 8th among women overall. Their best surge came on the 40M–45M segment, where all three members logged among the sharpest women's splits on that stretch, signaling a decisive push through the middle of the race.

Your Pace or Mine? — Bethany Cazenave (62, Santa Rosa Beach), Dalisia Coppersmith (54, Ridgecrest), and Sandee McKinnon (61, Winneconne) — had their own moment of momentum, producing the 6th- and 7th-fastest women's splits on the 35M–40M segment and climbing as high as 9th among women at that point. They ultimately finished in 26:52:00, a 19:54/mi effort that represents a serious commitment across a brutally demanding course. Two teams, six finishers, one finish line on top of a mountain — both crews got there.