Broken Arrow 18K — F20-29: Kolpa Leads Wire to Wire, Tapscott and Hermelin Battle for the Podium

• Lucinda Kolpa, 1:49:17 — won the F20-29 field by 14 minutes and 14 seconds, running 9:46/mi across a course that climbs to over 8,000 feet.
• Emma Tapscott charged from 17th among women at the first checkpoint to 11th by the finish, posting the 8th-fastest women's split on Siberia→Finish to claim 2nd in 2:03:31 — a massive 28-minute improvement over her 2:31:34 here in 2024.
• Annette Hermelin (2:04:06) and Fem Woodruff (2:05:02) separated 3rd and 4th by just 56 seconds, with Woodruff posting the 10th-fastest women's split on KT 22→Siberia in a late push that nearly closed the gap.
• Lauren Miller ran the 7th-fastest women's split on Siberia→Finish to move from 20th among women to 17th, finishing 5th in 2:06:06.

Lucinda Kolpa, 27, of Bozeman, MT, was never seriously threatened. She held 4th among all women from the first checkpoint through the finish line, crossing in 1:49:17 at a 9:46/mi clip — a pace that demands respect at elevations pushing 8,000 feet, where thin air and 17 mph winds made every uphill segment a genuine test. She also posted the 3rd-fastest women's split on the KT 22→Siberia segment, a signal that her lead wasn't just built early and defended — she was actively racing through the middle of the course.

Behind her, the battle for the podium was where the real drama lived. Tapscott, 25, of Foster City, was 17th among women early on and looked like a mid-pack finisher. Then she turned on the jets in the final segment, posting the 8th-fastest women's split from Siberia to the finish to land 2nd in 2:03:31. The number that tells the full story: she ran this same course in 2:31:34 in 2024. That's 28 minutes faster — a transformation, not an improvement.

Hermelin (23, Seattle) had been running a steadier race, sitting 9th among women through the early going before fading slightly to 12th by the finish, but her 2:04:06 was enough to hold 3rd in the F20-29 field. Woodruff (26, San Francisco) was the late mover in this group, climbing from 19th among women to 14th overall and finishing 4th in 2:05:02, with the 10th-fastest women's split on KT 22→Siberia. The 56 seconds separating 3rd and 4th tells you how close it actually was. Miller rounded out the top five in 2:06:06, her late surge on the final segment — 7th-fastest among women — lifting her from 20th among women to 17th by the tape.