Broken Arrow 46K: Joelle Vaught Owns the F50-59 Field

• Solo champion: Joelle Vaught, 50, of Boise, ID, finished in 5:37:15 (11:48/mi avg) — the only finisher in the F50-59 field, and she earned every second of it.
• Strong middle miles: Vaught posted the 22nd-fastest women's split on the KT 1→Siberia 1 segment, a genuine benchmark against the full women's field.
• Steady climb through the women's ranks: She moved from 38th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 30th by the finish, working her way forward across the race.

Joelle Vaught stepped to the line as the sole representative of the F50-59 field at the 2025 Broken Arrow Skyrace 46K — and she delivered a performance worth talking about. Covering 46 kilometers across Palisades, Tahoe on a cold, wet morning — 50°F, light rain, and a 10 mph wind — she clocked 5:37:15 at an 11:48/mi average. The course climbs between roughly 6,200 and 8,800 feet of elevation, and that thin air demands something extra from every athlete regardless of fitness. Vaught navigated it all and came out the other side.

What stands out beyond the finish time is how she raced within the women's field. She entered the early checkpoints sitting 38th among women, then steadily climbed — 36th, 32nd, 30th — before a brief slip to 31st and a recovery back to 30th at the line. That kind of forward momentum across a 46K mountain race isn't accidental; it reflects pacing discipline and strength held late. Her 22nd-fastest women's split on the KT 1→Siberia 1 segment underscores that she was genuinely moving on one of the race's key stretches, not just surviving it.

Sole finisher or not, Vaught's 5:37:15 stands as the F50-59 mark for this edition of the race — a number set in rain, wind, and altitude, and set with authority.