Broken Arrow 23K M40-49: Saether Runs Away With It

• Runar Saether, 49, wins in 2:16:47 — a 9:34/mi average across 23K of high-elevation terrain between 6,200 and 8,800 ft.
• Nearly 8 minutes back: Adam Zastrow takes 2nd in 2:24:39, with Levi Webb a further 6:32 behind in 3rd at 2:31:11.
• Steady climber: Zastrow moved from 58th to 46th among the men across the race, one of the more notable position gains in the top ten.
• Double-duty standout: Levi Webb backed up a 3rd-place finish in the Men's 5 Mile Iron Face Challenge to claim the 23K podium — two races, two podiums.

Runar Saether, 49 years old and racing out of Brough, GBR, turned in a dominant performance to win the M40-49 field of 95 finishers. His 2:16:47 — a 9:34/mi clip across a course that climbs into thin air above 8,800 feet — left the rest of the field well behind. He held steady through the middle of the race before finishing with the 35th-fastest split among the men on the second half, a sign he kept his composure when others faded. Nearly eight minutes separated him from runner-up Adam Zastrow at the line.

Zastrow's 2:24:39 (10:07/mi) earned him 2nd, and the story of his race was one of consistent forward momentum — moving from 58th among the men at the first checkpoint all the way to 46th by the finish. That kind of sustained progress on a course with this much vertical and altitude demands real discipline. Alex Griffin (4th, 2:39:04) and Ian Nickles (5th, 2:41:53) were separated by just under three minutes, with Ryan Hartwig (6th, 2:42:45) close behind — a cluster of finishers all within about four minutes of each other between 4th and 6th.

The weekend's most compelling subplot belongs to Levi Webb of Forrest Knolls, CA. Webb had already stood on the podium in the Men's 5 Mile Iron Face Challenge before toeing the line for the 23K, and he delivered again — 3rd in 2:31:11 at 10:35/mi. Goran Lynch (9th, 2:49:49) also raced the 5 Mile IFC, finishing 4th there before completing the 23K. Further back, the field stretched out through the altitude and rocky terrain, with 20 named finishers ranging from Saether's 2:16:47 down to Ross Nelson's 3:06:07 in 20th — and 75 more finishers completing the course behind them.