Broken Arrow 3.5K Ascent: Ra Criscitiello Owns the NB40-49 Women's Field

• Solo champion: Ra Criscitiello, 44, from El Sobrante, CA, crossed in 1:02:32 — the only finisher in the NB40-49 women's field.
• Strong closing kick: She posted the 5th-fastest women's split on the Snow King→Finish stretch, a standout mark in the final push to the line.
• Steady race: She held 5th among women from start to finish, never wavering from her position in the broader women's field.

Ra Criscitiello had the NB40-49 women's field entirely to herself on Friday at Palisades Tahoe — but a solo run doesn't mean an easy one. The Broken Arrow 3.5K Ascent sends athletes from roughly 6,300 feet up toward 8,000, and at 65°F with a 17 mph wind cutting across the exposed terrain, the conditions were demanding enough to test anyone, acclimatized or not.

She ran it in 1:02:32 at a 28:46-per-mile average — a pace that reflects the relentless uphill grind this course demands. What stands out isn't just the finish, but how she got there: Criscitiello posted the 5th-fastest women's split on the Snow King→Finish segment, meaning she was moving with genuine authority among the women's field when it mattered most, right at the top of the climb.

Throughout the race she sat 5th among women and never budged from that spot — a sign of a controlled, well-executed effort rather than a frantic surge-and-fade. In a race run up a mountain at altitude, that kind of consistency is its own achievement. Ra Criscitiello takes the NB40-49 title, and she earned it.