Broken Arrow Friends and Family - 

 

The Broken Arrow Skyrace operations team is in recovery mode today (figuratively speaking...we are still moving things to storage). On behalf of our entire team, we would like to take this is opportunity to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone who helped make this year’s event such a fantastic success …. despite the odds of a global pandemic and unprecedented wildfires. For our operations team, the first few days after the race are a wonderful mix of pure exhaustion and sheer elation. The outpouring of love and gratitude from YOU, our community, fills us with the most joy we've ever experienced. 

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In six short years, Broken Arrow has become a big event. When we were first designing the event in 2015, we created some lofty goals, many of which we feel have been attained. However, with size and complexity comes the risk of losing our highly valued personal touch. We have always sought to create a community and experience around Broken Arrow, and we consider each and every participant, volunteer, spectator (in person and online), and sponsor to be a valued member of our Broken Arrow Skyrace family. This past weekend felt like pure magic on so many levels and we're so grateful to EVERYONE who joined us for the ride. We think we kept it real! 

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To our volunteers ... we always start with the volunteers ... without you, we simply could not put on this race. Full stop. You were generous with your time and, as always, did a fantastic job taking care of our runners. The outpouring of gratitude from our runners for how you treated them has been overwhelming. We ask each volunteer to treat every runner as if they were family ... and it is obvious all of our volunteers did just that.  

 

To our runners...we are profoundly grateful for – and, indeed, overwhelmed by – your support, enthusiasm, and love over the past six years (five editions) of the race. Putting on the Broken Arrow Skyrace is a labor of love for us and we are truly humbled by the way our trail running community has embraced this event. Perhaps most special is how such a diverse group of people from all across the world can come together to celebrate the gift that is running. THANK YOU!

Scott Rokis and his photography team managed to capture the energy, suffering and finish line celebrations in an absolutely stunning manner. If you are interested in purchasing photos of a family member, friend or of yourself .... please head HERE to see the magic! 

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But the honest truth is that we just set the table ...YOU bring the stoke! Watching you #RingDasBell this weekend reminded us of why we do this. 

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While we are at it, we’d also like to extend a HUGE thank you to your spouses, children, parents, friends, and co-workers, many of whom come up to cheer you on this weekend. They have had to hear you prattle on about Broken Arrow for months, and have had to put up with your long weekend runs and being woken up at the crack of dawn as you snuck out on training runs (pro-tip: a thank-you dinner at your spouse’s favorite restaurant might not be out of line).  

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To our sponsors...you stuck with us. Your flexibility allowed us to roll over entries last year when other races were unable to offer refunds. We won’t forget that. You have come to understand that we are trying to create something unique and different in the trail space and you have embraced that vision. And, of course, without you, we would not be able to offer the very finest swag bags of any race in the United States.

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To our friends at Palisades Tahoe...thank you for letting us traverse your beautiful mountain. This venue is truly “where the mountains meet the sky” and we are grateful to be able to call this our playground ... even if only for one weekend a year. 

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We also wish to thank Scott Rokis and his amazing broadcast team, including Dylan Bowman, Corrine Malcolm, Jorge Maravilla, and Courtney Dauwalter – not to mention those camera operators who put in some serious miles at some insane paces – who helped us bring the race to a global audience to more than 17,000 viewers (and climbing) from around the world in the last 24 hours! What they pulled off was nothing short of miraculous and in our eyes they truly raised the bar for race coverage!

Please mark your calendars for June 17-19, 2022, where we will once again celebrate the trails and this awesome community at Palisades Tahoe. Registration opens at 9am PST on Monday, December 6, 2021 HERE! If you were a 2020 runner who was rolled over and couldn't make the October dates, please know that you will be automatically enrolled in the event!

Thanks again - we are humbled and honored by your participation at the Broken Arrow Skyrace, presented by Salomon. 

Your grateful race directors, 

Brendan Madigan / Ethan Veneklasen / Geoff Quine