Broken Arrow 18K: Bianco Tops the F20-29 Field at Tahoe's Edge

• Erin Bianco, 2:25:57 — wins the F20-29 race at 13:03/mi, posting the 7th-fastest women's split on the High Camp→Finish stretch to close out a commanding performance.
• Laura Gomez, 2:29:04 — takes 2nd with the 9th-fastest women's split on the First Half, finishing 3:07 back of Bianco.
• Georgia Scherer, 2:35:49 — rounds out the podium in 3rd, earning the 12th-fastest women's split on Snow King→KT 22, though she faded from 7th among women early to 17th by the finish.
• Hailey Osborn, 2:45:04 — the comeback story of the race: 47th among women at the first checkpoint, she surged to 27th by High Camp and held it, posting the 19th-fastest women's split on Siberia→High Camp.

Erin Bianco came to Palisades Tahoe and left with the F20-29 title in no uncertain terms. The 27-year-old from Bozeman crossed in 2:25:57 — nearly three and a half minutes clear of the field — running 13:03/mi across a course that climbs from 6,200 to nearly 8,820 feet. She tracked between 5th and 10th among all women for most of the race, and when it mattered most, she turned in the 7th-fastest women's split on the High Camp→Finish segment to seal it.

Laura Gomez was the sharpest starter in the group, recording the 9th-fastest women's split on the First Half out of Berkeley and into the mountains. She held 9th–10th among women through the back half and came home in 2:29:04 to claim 2nd in the F20-29 field. Georgia Scherer, 3rd in 2:35:49, told a different story: she ran the 12th-fastest women's split through Snow King→KT 22 but steadily lost ground in the women's standings — 7th early, 17th by the finish — a reminder of how the high-elevation back half of this course can demand more than the legs have left.

The most dramatic arc belonged to Hailey Osborn. Starting near the back of the women's field (47th at the first checkpoint), the 28-year-old from Rancho Cordova picked off runners one by one, climbing to 27th among women by High Camp on the strength of the 19th-fastest women's split on Siberia→High Camp. She finished 4th in F20-29 at 2:45:04 — a 14:46/mi effort that earned every one of those places back. Sarah Beaulieu rounded out the top five in 2:47:35, followed by Talia Roma (6th, 2:51:46), Alice Mao (7th, 2:58:28), and Jada White (8th, 3:01:11) — 40 finishers in all completing one of skyrunning's more unforgiving short courses.