Broken Arrow Ascent M70+: Bouge Leads Wire to Wire

• Richard Bouge won the M70+ field in 1:20:27, nearly 19 minutes clear of runner-up Brian Stenson.
• Brian Stenson (74, Denver) edged David Hochschartner (71, Lake Placid) for 2nd — a gap of 6:19 at the finish.
• Brian Bartlett, at 76 the oldest finisher in the field, came home 4th in 1:50:01, less than 5 minutes behind Hochschartner.
• Five men completed the M70+ Ascent in conditions that tested everyone: 91°F on a course topping out near 8,000 feet.

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Richard Bouge, 71, from Boise, set the standard for the M70+ field from the outset and never relinquished it. His 1:20:27 at a 36:60/mi average — on a mountain course sitting above 6,000 feet in 91-degree heat — represents a commanding effort. By the Snow King–to–finish segment he was still moving well enough to post the 204th-fastest split in the men's field on that closing stretch, holding his position through to the tape.

The battle for the podium behind him was the race's real drama. Brian Stenson (74, Denver) and David Hochschartner (71, Lake Placid) were separated by just over six minutes, with Stenson's stronger closing leg proving decisive — he actually gained places on the Snow King→finish segment while Hochschartner ceded ground. At altitude and in that heat, any late-race surge is hard-earned, and Stenson's 1:39:00 secured a clear 2nd.

Brian Bartlett deserves a specific mention. At 76, he was the oldest competitor in the M70+ field and finished in 1:50:01 — less than five minutes behind Hochschartner and well clear of Tim Tight. Bartlett also clawed back places on the final segment, moving from 292nd to 287th in the men's field. Tim Tight (72, Woodside) rounded out the five-man field in 2:10:02, completing a Broken Arrow Ascent that, at nearly 8,000 feet and in scorching midday heat, demands respect from any finisher — let alone one in their seventies.