NB20-29: Lace Zhong Owns the Field

• Sole finisher and champion: Lace Zhong, Oakland, CA — 2:59:32 (16:03/mi avg) in the NB20-29 field.
• Women's field presence: Held 4th among women from the Snow King→KT 22 segment onward, posting the 4th-fastest women's split on that stretch.
• Double-race weekend: Zhong also claimed 1st in the Non-Binary 11K at this same event — a remarkable back-to-back performance.

Lace Zhong is the NB20-29 champion, and there's no asterisk on it — she crossed the line in 2:59:32, covering a course that climbs and descends between roughly 6,200 and 8,000 feet of elevation. At those heights, where thinner air compounds every uphill push, a sub-three-hour finish at 16:03/mi is a genuine statement.

The race unfolded with Zhong holding 3rd among the women through the early going before settling into 4th from the Snow King→KT 22 segment onward — a position she defended all the way to the line. On that Snow King→KT 22 stretch specifically, she ran the 4th-fastest women's split in the field, a sign she was moving with purpose, not just surviving.

But the bigger story here may be the weekend as a whole. Zhong didn't just show up for the 18K — she had already won the Non-Binary 11K at this same event. Racing and placing across two Broken Arrow races in one weekend is a feat that demands its own recognition. The 18K title makes it a clean sweep, and Zhong leaves Palisades Tahoe as the standout double-race performer of the weekend.