Broken Arrow 18K F60-69: Scholl Surges to the Win

• Stephenie Scholl won the F60-69 group in 3:33:52 (19:07/mi), finishing nearly two minutes clear of runner-up Kathy Slocum (3:35:53).
• Michelle Martinez posted the strongest closing leg in the group, recording the 48th-fastest women's split on the High Camp→Finish segment to climb from 5th to 3rd overall in F60-69.
• Carolyn Benson, at 67 the oldest finisher in the top five, crossed in 3:58:35 to claim 5th — one of two Tahoe-area locals in the top six.
• Nine women finished the course, which climbs through high-elevation terrain between roughly 6,200 and 8,900 feet — thin air that makes every minute earned at this pace a genuine achievement.

Stephenie Scholl of Kremmling, CO, arrived with one notable advantage over much of the field: home altitude. She entered the women's race well back — 157th among women at the first checkpoint — then made a dramatic charge, vaulting all the way to 77th by the next split and holding that position through the finish. Her 3:33:52 at a 19:07/mi average was the standard no one else could match on the day.

Kathy Slocum, racing on familiar ground in Incline Village, ran a composed and steady race, moving from 99th among women at the opening checkpoint to 81st by the finish. Her 3:35:53 was good for 2nd in F60-69, just two minutes behind Scholl — the narrowest gap on the podium. Slocum also turned in the 75th-fastest women's split on the High Camp→Finish segment, keeping her momentum through the back half of the course.

The most eye-catching finish-line surge belonged to Michelle Martinez of Ventura, CA. After drifting back to 105th among women at one point mid-race, she recovered sharply and closed with the 48th-fastest women's split on the High Camp→Finish leg — the best closing split in the entire F60-69 group — to land on the podium in 3:41:15. Behind the top three, Tommie Moreau and Carolyn Benson rounded out a competitive top five, both finishing under four hours on a course that demands respect at any age.