Broken Arrow 23K NB30-39: Rocky West owns the category

• Solo winner: Rocky West, 38, crossed in 2:47:11 (11:42/mi avg) — the only finisher in the NB30-39 field.
• Strong women's field position: held 5th among women through the early miles, then moved up to 4th among women by Snow King and held it to the finish.
• Fastest segment: posted the 4th-fastest women's split on the Snow King→KT 22 stretch — a standout effort on one of the course's most demanding legs.
• Year-over-year return: West raced Broken Arrow in 2024, taking 1st in the Non-Binary category in 3:14:27 — this year's 2:47:11 is a striking improvement of over 27 minutes.

Rocky West came to Palisades Tahoe and left with the NB30-39 title, crossing in 2:47:11 — the only finisher in the field, but the numbers tell a story worth telling on their own terms. At a course that winds between roughly 6,200 and 8,800 feet above sea level, where thin air can test even the best-prepared athletes, West averaged 11:42 per mile across 23 kilometers of mountain terrain and held a steady position in the broader women's field throughout.

The race unfolded with quiet consistency. West sat 5th among women through the opening checkpoints and moved to 4th by the Snow King→KT 22 segment — then held that spot all the way to the line. That segment was more than a position-holder: West's split there ranked 4th-fastest among all women, a sharp effort on what is one of the course's most demanding stretches.

What makes the result richer is the context West brought into it. At Broken Arrow 2024, West claimed 1st in the Non-Binary category with a time of 3:14:27. Returning in 2025 and finishing more than 27 minutes faster — on the same mountain, the same elevation, the same unforgiving course — is a meaningful progression. The category may have had one finisher, but the performance inside it was anything but a formality.