After a short pause in the 2026 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup, the series returned in spectacular fashion at the Broken Arrow Ascent this week, delivering two of the closest contests of the season so far.
The 5.8km course packs 865m of vertical gain into a relentless climb, offering only fleeting moments of respite on short flatter and slightly downhill sections. The challenge builds towards a brutal finale, where runners tackle a technical upper section before confronting the iconic “Stairway to Heaven” ladder.
In the days leading up to the race, much attention had focused on the ladder’s recent replacement. As events unfolded, that feature would prove to be far more than a talking point – playing a decisive role in the outcome of the women’s race.
Kiriago leads early on
After some hot, muggy weather in the preceding few days, race day conditions were perfect – still and cooler, especially at the summit. As well as hosting a stage of the World Cup the race was also serving as the 2026 USATF Uphill Mountain Running Championship, guaranteeing the highest level of international and domestic competition.
The mass start on the wide, grassy area meant that there was a sprint to get out front and find some space. It was Philemon Ombogo Kiriago (KEN, Run2Gether On Trail), in his third appearance in a row here, who struck out for the men, with last year’s women’s winner, Anna Gibson (USA, Brooks), taking an early lead in the women’s race. Both opened good leads, but not for long.
Kipngeno and Gibson kick on
Kiriago found last year’s men’s winner, Christian Allen (USA, Nike), chasing him early on, with Brayan Rodríguez Flores (Mexico), and Cameron Smith (USA, Dynafit) also sitting just behind. Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN, NNormal) slowly started to reel Gibson in and Tabor Hemming (USA, Adidas Terrex), Miliana Almonte (USA) and Nélie Clément (FRA) led the chasing group.
Where the course flattens off temporarily at around halfway Patrick Kipngeno (KEN, Run2Gether On Trail), who had deftly picked off Allen, Smith and Rodriguez Flores by this point, suddenly stamped his authority on the race, overtaking Kiriago and immediately opening a gap.
In the same place in the women’s race Muthoni Njeru also passed Gibson and it looked like it was going to be another rematch for these two women, whose results stood at one win each in the last two years. Could Kipngeno and Muthoni Njeru hang on?
Epic finish
Kipngeno continued to stretch it out in the men’s race, and was chased hard by Kiriago and Smith, with Smith overtaking Kiriago in the final section. They finished in that order, each around 10 seconds apart, in what was an incredibly close men’s race, with a little over two minutes separating the top ten and less than a minute between the top five.
The battle for the women’s win was even closer. Muthoni Njeru hit the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in the lead, but possibly didn’t realise just how close Gibson was as they found themselves both climbing the ladder at the same time.
The final scramble to the summit is virtually unrunnable but somehow Gibson managed to overtake Muthoni Njeru and win by eight seconds, beating Muthoni Njeru’s course record by two minutes. Hemming rounded out the women’s podium, 90 seconds behind.
