“Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.” ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

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Many of you have started to ask about our plans for the 2021 Broken Arrow Skyrace, so we wanted to share an update and give you some insight as to our priorities and thought processes. 

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This year has been an experience – there's no question about that – and one that we have all shared. Hopefully, we have all learned a thing or two from it as well. 

 

One of the most important things that we have learned from this year is the critical importance of having something to look forward to; whether that is an upcoming holiday, a new baby on the way, a new puppy, a new trail shoe purchase from your favorite run shop ... SOMETHING. 

 

In a normal year, one of those things would be the Broken Arrow Skyrace. Registration would be opening on December 7 at 9am PST and – in a normal year – you would be getting bombarded with a flurry of emails and social media posts proclaiming the stoke to be high. And it would be, because for us – and I suspect for many of you – our annual gathering in Squaw Valley is the highlight of our year. 

 

In a normal year...

 

This year has been anything but "normal." And, the truth is, that we simply cannot know what next year will hold. On the one hand, the recent surge in cases – and more than 250,000 deaths to date in the United States alone – leaves one to consider what the coming months may bring. On the other, at least three vaccines are showing tremendous promise and are likely to receive FDA approval. What is yet unclear, however, is when these vaccines will be broadly available to healthy – and especially younger – people.  

 

Your health and safety – and that of our Lake Tahoe community – will ALWAYS be our top priority. We would rather cancel the event than know that a single person got seriously ill or died because we prioritized our desire to hold the race over our shared obligation to protect public health. It simply is not worth it and is not what our Broken Arrow race team OR the trail running community at large exemplifies.

 

The Broken Arrow Skyrace is unlike any other trail running event in the United States. In addition to its size – and the fact that it attracts runners from around the world (we are once again a World Mountain Running Association race) – the races themselves are only one part of the weekend-long "experience", which includes a bustling expo area, film festival screenings, speakers, music, social gatherings, heaps of volunteers and more. All of this adds considerable complexity and risk. 

 

We have been consulting with public health officials and medical professionals to think through the various changes we might need to make, and the various health protocols we will certainly need to put in place, for the event to be feasible. But again, there remain too many unknowns at this point to offer any definitive answers. 

 

With that in mind, we have decided upon the following course of action. 

 

We are moving forward as if there will be a 2021 Broken Arrow Skyrace. We are, in essence, leaving our options open and crossing our fingers.

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• Thanks to our sponsors, we were extremely fortunate to be able to offer a full and automatic rollover for all 2020 registrants. If you registered for the 2020 event you WILL NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING (and you can disregard our previous, conflicting message from December 2nd). We do ask, however, that if you are not going to join us in 2021 that you please let us know or withdraw your spot directly on Ultrasignup.com. 

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• We will then open registration to the general public on Wednesday, December 9th at 9am PST ...but only as a waitlist.

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• Please note that rollovers are only valid for the 2020 race. However, should we be unable to hold the event in 2021, they would, of course, be honored for entry to the 2022 event.

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We wish that we had more definitive news to share. Please be assured that we are considering every possible strategy that would allow us to hold the 2021 Broken Arrow Skyrace and that we will continue to keep you posted as we know more. 

 

Wishing you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season.