Broken Arrow Ascent M70+: Bouge Leads Wire to Wire in the Thin Tahoe Air

• Richard Bouge, 71, wins in 1:20:27 — nearly 19 minutes clear of runner-up Brian Stenson's 1:39:00.
• Brian Stenson, 74, runs the strongest closing segment among the M70+ field, gaining 11 places on the Snow King→Finish leg to take second.
• Brian Bartlett, 76, the eldest in the field, finishes fourth in 1:50:01 — edging Tim Tight (2:10:02) by nearly 20 minutes.
• Five men over 70 took on a course climbing through 6,300–8,000 feet of Tahoe altitude on a 91°F day — every finish here is earned.

Richard Bouge made the M70+ race his own from the start. The 71-year-old from Boise crossed in 1:20:27 at a 36:60/mi average — a pace that held up even as the thin air and scorching heat pressed down on the field. His margin over second place wasn't a photo finish; it was a statement. By the time Bouge reached the finish, he had nearly 19 minutes on the field.

The battle for second was where the race's most interesting movement happened. Denver's Brian Stenson, 74, finished in 1:39:00 and was the sharpest closer in the group, moving from 280th to 269th among men on the Snow King→Finish segment — the fastest closing split in the M70+ field. David Hochschartner of Lake Placid came in third at 1:45:19, a 6:19 gap back from Stenson, having run a 48:26/mi average across the full course.

Brian Bartlett, 76 years old and the oldest competitor in the M70+ field, came home fourth in 1:50:01 — a 50:35/mi average on a brutally exposed course in extreme heat. That's a performance that deserves its own recognition. Tim Tight of Woodside rounded out the five finishers in 2:10:02, completing the Ascent at just under a 59:48/mi average.

Five men, all past 70, racing a mountain skyrace above 7,000 feet in 91-degree heat. The finishing times tell the story plainly — and every one of them counts.