Non-Binary 11K: Zhong runs away with it — twice in one weekend

• Lace Zhong took the non-binary win in 45:32 (6:40/mi), 4:11 clear of the field, closing with the fastest Snow King→Finish split among the non-binary runners.
• Zhong's win came on top of a 4th-place Non-Binary finish in the 18K — a genuine double at Broken Arrow.
• Parker Holzman Smith (4th, 51:05) ripped the 2nd-fastest Snow King→Finish split in the group, closing to within 19 seconds of Elio van Gorden (3rd, 50:46).
• Eight non-binary finishers tackled 87°F heat and thin air near 6,900 ft — no small ask on an 11K skyrace.

Lace Zhong made this one look decided early. The 28-year-old from Oakland led the non-binary field at every checkpoint and then poured it on where the course bites hardest, laying down the fastest Snow King→Finish split in the group to stop the clock at 45:32 — a 6:40/mi average at altitude, in 87-degree heat. And here's the kicker: Zhong had already raced the 18K, finishing 4th among the non-binary runners there. Backing that up with an outright win in the 11K is the story of this field's weekend.

Behind Zhong, the podium held its shape wire to wire — but not without pressure. Shay Stoklos ran a controlled 49:43 (7:16/mi) for 2nd, adding the 3rd-fastest closing split to keep the chase honest. Elio van Gorden took 3rd in 50:46, but had to sweat the finish: Parker Holzman Smith, 4th in 51:05, charged home with the 2nd-fastest Snow King→Finish split in the group — the fastest closer not named Zhong — and trimmed the gap to just 19 seconds. A little more mountain and that podium spot might have flipped.

Beck Porter rounded into 5th at 53:52, holding position throughout, with Kira Barsten next at 1:01:50. Nick Steelman (1:20:37) and Noah Nelson (1:30:05) closed out the group of eight — and on a day where oxygen was scarce above 6,000 feet and the mercury hit 87°F, every one of these finishes was earned the hard way.