NB Podium: Elio van Gorden Leads Wire to Wire at Broken Arrow 11K

• Elio van Gorden won the NB Podium in 1:18:29 (11:29/mi), holding 1st from start to finish.
• Ben Nannini climbed from 3rd to 2nd on the final Snow King→Finish leg, crossing in 1:28:55 — a 10-minute gap back to the winner.
• Levi Shea secured 3rd in 1:32:11, posting the fastest split of anyone in the NB Podium field on the Olympic Valley East→Snow King segment.
• The three-man field raced in near-perfect conditions — 59°F, clear skies, minimal wind — though the course's 6,200–7,500 ft elevation meant every minute of effort came with thinner air underfoot.

Elio van Gorden never relinquished the lead. He sat 1st at every checkpoint and closed the race with the fastest Snow King→Finish split in the NB Podium field, running 11:29/mi across a course that climbs well above 7,000 feet. That combination of front-running composure and a strong closing leg made his 1:18:29 look authoritative against a small but competitive field.

Behind him, the real drama was Ben Nannini's late move. The 54-year-old from Castro Valley sat 3rd through the middle of the race before surging on the final leg — posting the second-fastest Snow King→Finish split in the field — to overtake and finish 2nd in 1:28:55. It was a well-timed push that denied Levi Shea any chance to respond.

Shea had his own moment earlier in the race. The 33-year-old San Franciscan moved from 5th to 4th before the Snow King checkpoint, and his fastest-in-field split on the Olympic Valley East→Snow King stretch showed genuine strength on that middle section. But Nannini's closing kick proved the difference, and Shea settled for 3rd in 1:32:11 — still a creditable finish on a high-altitude course where the thin air has a way of exposing any gap in fitness or pacing judgment.