Broken Arrow 11K M70-79: Beebe Conquers Tahoe at 79

• James Beebe, 79, wins in 1:48:16 (15:50/mi avg) — the oldest athlete in the M70-79 field and its fastest finisher, by four minutes and four seconds over runner-up Dennis Clancy.
• Clancy surges late: Clancy moved from 185th to 163rd among women on the Snow King→Finish segment, posting the 149th-fastest split on that stretch to finish 2nd in 1:52:20.
• Eight minutes cover the podium: Gary Clark (3rd, 1:57:41) completes a top three separated by just 8:05 — tight racing across three athletes all aged 76 or older.
• The field spans nearly two hours: from Beebe's 1:48:16 to Robert Chacon's 3:48:31 (33:26/mi), nine men aged 70–79 took on a course climbing through Tahoe air at nearly 7,000 feet.

The headline writes itself: James Beebe, 79 years old, from Port Ludlow, Washington, won the M70-79 field outright at the Broken Arrow 11K — not just surviving the high-altitude terrain above Palisades Tahoe, but leading from a position that held through every checkpoint. He averaged 15:50 per mile across a course that tops out above 7,500 feet, where thinner air makes every climb feel steeper than the grade suggests. His final push on Snow King to the finish — the 131st-fastest women's split on that segment — showed he didn't coast it in.

Dennis Clancy, 77, was the race's most aggressive closer. He entered the Snow King→Finish segment ranked 185th among women and exited it ranked 163rd — a swing of 22 places — to clock 1:52:20 and claim 2nd. Gary Clark, 76, of San Diego held a steadier line, posting the 171st-fastest women's split on the Olympic Valley East→Snow King segment and finishing 3rd in 1:57:41. Those three — all 76 or older — formed a podium that any race would be proud to claim.

Stephen Baughman (4th, 2:06:31) and Chris Jensen (5th, 2:23:10) rounded out the top five, with Baughman running 18:31/mi and Jensen 20:57/mi. Dave Tennant (6th, 2:33:08) and Jeff Rusow (7th, 2:43:40) kept moving through the Tahoe terrain, while Karl Rodriguez Sr (8th, 3:48:05) and Robert Chacon (9th, 3:48:31) — separated by just 26 seconds after nearly four hours on course — brought it home to complete all nine finishers. Nine men, seven decades of life experience, one mountain. They all made it.