Broken Arrow 23K NB40-49: Criscitiello owns the category

• Ra Criscitiello, 44, of El Sobrante, CA took the NB40-49 title in 4:38:46 (19:30/mi avg) across a course topping out near 8,834 ft.
• Seventh-fastest women's split on the Snow King→KT 22 segment — a standout leg in a grueling stretch of the course.
• Weekend double: Criscitiello also raced the 3.5K Ascent at this same event, finishing 5th Non-Binary there before returning to conquer the 23K.

Ra Criscitiello came to Palisades, Tahoe and made a full weekend of it. After posting a 5th-place Non-Binary finish in the 3.5K Ascent, Criscitiello turned around and took on the 23K — a course that climbs and descends through thin air between 6,206 and 8,834 feet, where every breath costs a little more than it would at sea level. At 19:30/mi, the pace reflects the genuine brutality of this terrain, not a lack of effort.

The race unfolded steadily for Criscitiello. Moving through the women's field from 8th to 7th by the second checkpoint, she held that position through the finish — a sign of a controlled, measured effort rather than a late fade. The highlight came on the Snow King→KT 22 segment, where she posted the 7th-fastest women's split on that stretch, demonstrating real strength at a point in the race where many athletes are feeling the altitude and accumulated climb most acutely.

With one finisher in the NB40-49 field, the title was Criscitiello's to claim — but the 4:38:46 across this mountain course, paired with the earlier Ascent race, tells the real story: this was an athlete who showed up, raced twice, and delivered on both.