2X Women: Veggie Tales Makes the Climb Count

• Sole finishers in the 2X Women field: Emily Lyons (35, Castle Hayne, NC) and Victoria Negri (39, Brooklyn, NY) crossed together in 22:05:55 at a 16:22/mi average pace across 81 brutal miles.
• Steady climb through the women's field: Veggie Tales moved from outside the top ten among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 3rd among women by the midpoint — and held it to the finish.
• Strong through Anza-Borrego: On the USN Tower→Borrego segment, Lyons posted the 3rd-fastest women's split and Negri the 4th-fastest — their best stretch of the race, and where the team did real damage.
• Year-over-year improvement: Lyons finished 8th overall here in 2025 with a time of 24:18:00 — today's 22:05:55 represents a return to Palomar Mountain with sharper legs and a better result.

Veggie Tales — Emily Lyons and Victoria Negri — were the only team to toe the line in the 2X Women field, and they made the journey count every step of the way. Starting from Salton City at 234 feet below sea level and climbing to Palomar Mountain at 5,500 feet, they navigated over 9,000 feet of total elevation gain across 81 miles of desert and trail, finishing in 22:05:55.

The team didn't simply survive the course — they raced it. From their opening checkpoints, where they sat 11th and 12th among women respectively, Veggie Tales steadily worked their way forward, reaching 3rd among women by the midrace mark and never relinquishing that spot. The USN Tower→Borrego segment was their signature stretch: Lyons running the 3rd-fastest women's split through that section, Negri right behind her with the 4th-fastest, the two of them locked in stride through the Anza-Borrego single-track and pushing each other — and the field — hard.

For Lyons, this finish carries extra weight. She was on this same course in 2025, finishing 8th overall in 24:18:00. Coming back in 2026 and shaving more than two hours off that time, while landing on the women's podium, is the clearest measure of what Veggie Tales brought to race day.