M70-79 Ascent: Bouge owns the 3.5K at 72

• Richard Bouge, 72, won the M70-79 Ascent in 50:47 — nearly 6:42 faster than runner-up Daniel Perrot.
• Bouge averaged 23:21/mi on a course climbing to nearly 8,000 feet, the fastest pace in the M70-79 field.
• Perrot (57:29) edged Phil Adrian (59:04) for second by 1:35, both age 70.
• All three finished the Snow King→Finish segment, with Bouge posting the fastest closing split among the three.

Three men lined up for the M70-79 Ascent at Broken Arrow, and Richard Bouge made sure the result was never in doubt. The 72-year-old from Boise crossed in 50:47, averaging 23:21 per mile up a course that ranges from 6,300 to nearly 8,000 feet — thin air that punishes anyone who goes out too hard. Bouge didn't. He ran a controlled, commanding race and arrived at the finish nearly seven minutes clear of the field.

Behind him, the battle for second was the subplot worth watching. Daniel Perrot of Rocklin and Phil Adrian of Grass Valley — both 70 — ran within striking distance of each other the entire way. Perrot got there in 57:29, Adrian in 59:04, a gap of 1:35 that tells you they were racing each other hard to the line. On the Snow King→Finish closing segment, Perrot held his edge, keeping Adrian at arm's length when it mattered most.

At an altitude where the air offers noticeably less oxygen and a 17 mph wind added another layer of resistance, finishing this course at any age is a genuine athletic achievement. Doing it with the kind of margin Bouge posted — nearly seven minutes ahead of two men his own age — puts his effort in a category of its own within the M70-79 field.