Broken Arrow 18K: Carrie Dion Owns the F70+ Field

• Sole finisher and champion: Carrie Dion, 72, of Los Gatos, CA, completed the 18K in 3:42:40 at a 19:55/mi average pace.
• Best segment: Her strongest split came on the KT 22→Siberia stretch, where she posted the 174th-fastest women's split on that leg.
• Conditions: Racing between 6,200 and 8,000 feet with 17 mph winds and just 19% humidity — a demanding environment by any measure.

Carrie Dion arrived at the Broken Arrow 18K as the only competitor in the F70+ field, and she left as its undisputed champion — finishing a rugged 16.8K course through the high Sierra in 3:42:40. At 72 years old, navigating thin air above 7,000 feet with gusting winds, Dion averaged just under 20 minutes per mile across terrain that humbles athletes half her age.

Her movement through the women's field tells an honest story of the course's demands. She tracked between 177th and 182nd among women across the checkpoints, holding relatively steady through the middle of the race before the final stretch took its toll — a pattern that's entirely expected when the altitude and wind combine to grind down pace in the closing miles. On the KT 22→Siberia segment specifically, she clocked the 174th-fastest women's split, a marker of consistent effort on one of the race's more exposed sections.

There's no drama in a field of one, but there is something worth naming: finishing the Broken Arrow 18K at 72, at altitude, in any time, is a genuine athletic achievement. Dion crossed the line, claimed her title, and earned every bit of it.