Women's Ascent: Njeru storms Snow King to complete the double

• Joyce Muthoni Njeru (45:58, 21:08/mi) ran the fastest women's split on Snow King→Finish to take the lead late — days after winning the 23K
• Anna Gibson climbed from 3rd to 2nd in 47:54; early leader Allie Mclaughlin slipped to 3rd in 48:09
• Jessica Brazeau was the day's big mover, surging from 9th to 5th (49:18) on the fourth-fastest women's final split
• 23K podium finishers Tabor Hemming (3rd there) and Jade Belzberg (2nd there) landed 8th (50:53) and 9th (50:56) here, just 3 seconds apart

On a 91-degree day with thin air topping out near 7,964 feet, the women's Ascent turned into a battle of who could still climb when the course tilted hardest. Allie Mclaughlin took it out front early, but the race was decided on the final pitch: Joyce Muthoni Njeru, sitting 2nd, unleashed the fastest women's split on Snow King→Finish to sweep past and win in 45:58 at 21:08/mi. It's the second win of her weekend — she also took the women's 23K — making her double one of the standout feats of the event.

Anna Gibson made her own late move, riding the 2nd-fastest women's final split from 3rd up to 2nd in 47:54. Mclaughlin still ran the 3rd-fastest closing split but couldn't hold the pair off, finishing 3rd in 48:09 — a strong return after taking 4th in the 23K women's race. Behind them, Hali Hafeman edged up from 5th to 4th (49:09), while Jessica Brazeau made the biggest charge on the mountain, jumping four spots from 9th to 5th in 49:18.

The 23K crossover ran deep through this field of 148 women. Rachel Tomajczyk (6th, 50:28), Abby Lock (7th, 50:45), Tabor Hemming (8th, 50:53) and Jade Belzberg (9th, 50:56) all backed up top-ten 23K finishes — with Hemming and Belzberg, 3rd and 2nd in that race respectively, separated by just 3 seconds here. Sydney Petersen (12th, 52:18) and Sarah Carter (15th, 53:05) added to the double-duty contingent, and Amanda Basham brought range from the other direction: 3rd among women in the 46K, then 14th here in 52:26. Ellyse Tingelstad, at 21 the youngest of the top twenty, cracked the top ten in 51:09.