Jessie Diggins and Anna Gibson Showed Out at Palisades Tahoe's Broken Arrow Skyrace

The world’s best trail runners flock to the Palisades Tahoe, California, each June for what is arguably the biggest event of the year—The Broken Arrow Skyrace.

Held over three days, Broken Arrow challenges trail runners with a selection of races that vary in distance, vertical ascent, and difficulty.

As it turns out, former cross-country ski race icon Jessie Diggins and current endurance athlete-slash-Olympic ski mountaineer Anna Gibson are among the best trail runners in the world.

The first race of the weekend is the ASCENT. It’s a short course at just 3.61 miles, but runners ascend a whopping 2,840 feet (865m) of vertical over that short time. It’s essentially a full-on sprint straight up Palisades’ KT-22 and then along the ridgeline up to Washeshu Peak, near the top of the Siberia Express lift.

Anna Gibson won the women’s ASCENT race for the third time (2023, 2025, and now 2026), clocking 43 minutes and 15 seconds. She beat Kenya’s Joyce Muthoni Njeru by just eight seconds.

Jessie Diggins finished the ASCENT with a time of 51 minutes and 42 seconds, good enough for 29th in the Elite Female category. While Diggins wasn’t pushing for a medal in the ASCENT, it was a solid effort that positioned her well for a spot on the Triple Crown Podium.

The Triple Crown is awarded to the runner with the lowest cumulative time over three of the Broken Arrow Skyrace’s most challenging races: the ASCENT, the 23k, and the 46k. More on that later.

See below for the moment Anna Gibson crossed the finish line to claim her third Broken Arrow ASCENT title. Keep reading for how Gibson and Diggins finished out the weekend.

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The ASCENT was a success for both athletes, but the weekend was far from over.

Diggins raced in the 46k the following morning and took 14th overall in the Elite Female category with a time of 5 hours, 44 minutes, and 22 seconds.

The course is grueling as it circumnavigates Palisades Tahoe’s inbounds terrain, featuring multiple ascents and descents and varied terrain. Runners lap the 23k course twice and ascend nearly 9,000 vertical feet throughout the process.

Gibson did not race in the 46k on Saturday, but she did race in the 23k on Sunday. So did Diggins.

Gibson charged hard, finishing the sporty 23k in a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 33 seconds, good enough for sixth place in the Elite Female category. Diggins, running her third race in three days, finished in 2 hours, 41 minutes, and 4 seconds, placing 44th in the Elite Female category.

While Diggins didn’t claim an individual podium in any of the three races, her consistency across the weekend nearly landed her on the podium for the Triple Crown. She placed 4th overall in the Triple Crown with a cumulative time of 9 hours, 17 minutes, and 9 seconds.

“75km and 16,340 ft of climbing over 3 days is no joke, but the amazing race crew, insane cheering, and many, many high fives made it a fun time!” wrote Diggins in an Instagram post after the weekend.

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Anna Gibson’s Team USA Mountaineering partner for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Cam Smith, was also on site for the Broken Arrow Skyrace.

Like Gibson, Smith was a trail runner by trade before SkiMo, and it showed in his results over the weekend. He took 2nd overall in the ASCENT and 7th in the 23k.

Palisades Tahoe will continue to host elite trail runners this month with two consecutive events: TrailCon (June 22-24) and the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run (June 25-27).

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