Broken Arrow Skyrace Opens Nomination for 2026-27 Advisory Council

November 17, 2025

Help Shape the Direction of North America's Most Competitive and Welcoming Trail Running Event.

Tahoe City, California (November 17, 2025) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The Broken Arrow Skyrace is delighted to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2026-2027 Broken Arrow Skyrace Advisory Council.

Launched two years ago, the Advisory Council provides a formal structure to solicit input from key stakeholder groups that represent the unique diversity of our trail running community.

Members provide their wisdom, counsel, and unique perspectives to ensure that, as it continues to grow, the Broken Arrow Skyrace remains true to the culture, tradition, and values that have always characterized North American trail and ultrarunning.

“We always say that “whether you finish first or last, YOU are a rockstar,” said co-race director Ethan Veneklasen. “This isn’t just a motto for us, it is the central organizing ideal against which we judge every decision we make.”

“The Advisory Council has added incredible value over the past two years,” said co-race director Brendan Madigan. “Their guidance has helped us continue to strike the balance between our position as one the most competitive trail running events in the world and our promise of a race where all runners feel equally welcome and celebrated for their accomplishments.”

Input from the Council has already led to the launch of several new initiatives, including:

• Inclusivity initiative: Launched after extensive consultations with 20 BIPOC, LTBGQIA+, and Non-Binary run clubs from across the state of California, the Broken Arrow Skyrace Inclusivity Initiative represents a bold, proactive step to make trail running more accessible to historically underrepresented communities. In 2025, nearly 100 BIPOC and LTBGQIA+ athletes received complimentary entries, early registration access, products, and/or travel stipends to support their participation. This initiative was financially supported by Arc’teryx, Salomon, Julbo, Sidas, Leki, Garmin, Hydrapak and Tailwind.
• In a similar vein, the Broken Arrow Skyrace worked directly with Advisory Council member Dani Aravich, two-time Team USA Para Olympian, and Zach Friedley from Born to Adapt, to offer 20 complimentary race entries for adaptive athletes.
• Lactation stations: For the first time, the 2025 Broken Arrow Skyrace featured a lactation station for participants and spectators to support the needs of nursing mothers. The organization seeks to enhance this initial step in a much larger capacity in 2026.

Compared to the inaugural Advisory Council class, the selection process for the second two-year term (2026-2027) will be markedly different. While runners will still be able to nominate themselves, runners are also encouraged to nominate individuals they feel could add value, insight and wisdom to the Broken Arrow Skyrace organization’s mission.

Nominations can be submitted HERE and will close on December 11th, 2025. New Advisory Council members will be notified by the first week in January.

The Broken Arrow Skyrace owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the 10+ inaugural Advisory Council members. Through a collaborative process, Broken Arrow Skyrace directors, along with critical input from Advisory Council members, have created some of the more progressive race policies in the United States. The organization would like to thank the outgoing Advisory Council members for their amazing work.

• Romy Ancona
• Dani Aravich
• Zagdaa Baatar
• Cal Calamia
• Luis Castellano
• Chevaughn Dixon
• David Lam
• Michael Li
• “Paddy” O’Leary
• Priscilla Rojas
• Mirna Valerio
• Joelle Vaught
• Justin Williams

About the Broken Arrow Skyrace

The Broken Arrow Skyrace is a four-day, multi-distance trail running festival, held each year at the iconic Palisades Tahoe resort, home to the 1960 Winter Olympics.

It features nine events, including its signature races, the Ascent and 23K (both part of the World Mountain Running Association World Cup), as well as a 46K, 18K, 11K, Iron Face Challenge, Triple Crown (46K+23K+Ascent), Iron Crown (Iron Face Challenge+46K+23K), and a Kid’s Race.

Co-race directors Brendan Madigan, Ethan Veneklasen and Geoff Quine launched the Broken Arrow Skyrace in 2016 with the goal of reinventing the trail running experience in North America with a world class, competitive, highly branded event that remain true to the culture, tradition, and values that have always characterized North American trail and ultrarunning, namely the celebration of ALL runners.