Non-Binary: Deutschbein edges out a 28-hour thriller at the Race Across the Sky

• Calvin Deutschbein wins in 27:46:42 (16:40/mi), pulling clear of Ory Frazier by just 12 minutes 30 seconds after trading the lead across 100 miles of high-altitude Colorado wilderness.
• Ory Frazier ran the fastest non-binary split on the 8.6M→20.5M segment and led through the race's midpoint before Deutschbein's surge on 20.5M→26.0M proved decisive — Frazier finished 2nd in 27:59:12.
• Lewis Bowen, 48, of Buena Vista, CO — racing essentially in his backyard — held 3rd from the early miles onward, finishing in 28:34:21 and earning a belt buckle with 1:25:39 to spare.
• All three finishers came in under 30 hours, meaning every athlete in the non-binary field goes home with a Leadville silver buckle.

Calvin Deutschbein and Ory Frazier made this a genuine race within a race. Frazier, out of Tucson, AZ, grabbed the lead early and was still sitting 1st through the 20.5-mile mark, posting the fastest non-binary split on that opening stretch from 8.6M to 20.5M. But Deutschbein, from Portland, OR, had other ideas. On the very next segment — 20.5M to 26.0M — Deutschbein ran the fastest non-binary split of that stretch, flipping the lead and opening a gap that Frazier could not close. At 10,200 feet of base elevation and two crossings of Hope Pass at 12,500 feet, every surge costs dearly in thin air; Deutschbein's move on that segment was the race's turning point.

Frazier didn't surrender easily. The lead-progression data shows a back-and-forth that stretched across multiple checkpoints — Frazier briefly reclaimed 1st at one late checkpoint — but when the timing mattered most, Deutschbein was ahead. A 12:30 margin over 100 miles is tight enough to keep both athletes honest but wide enough to confirm who was strongest when the legs and lungs were most depleted.

Lewis Bowen ran a composed, methodical race from the front of his own battle. The 48-year-old Buena Vista local was 3rd at checkpoint after checkpoint, never yielding that position, and posted the fastest non-binary split on the 31.8M→40.5M segment — a sign of real strength through the race's middle miles. His 28:34:21 is a hard-won finish at an event where the mountain has the final word.