Rory Linkletter has had the kind of spring most distance runners only daydream about. In January he became the first Canadian man to run a half marathon under one hour, clocking 59:49 at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. In April he ran 2:06:04 at the Boston Marathon, the second-fastest time ever recorded by a Canadian. Two weeks ago he took third at the Ottawa Marathon. His next race will look nothing like any of those.
Linkletter, 28, has been added to the start list for the Broken Arrow Ascent in Olympic Valley, California, on June 19, as Keeley Milne first reported for Running Magazine. The 5.8-kilometre course climbs 865 vertical metres up the slopes of Palisades Tahoe resort, and the field is stacked with mountain-running specialists. It will be Linkletter’s first elite start at a major trail event, though he raced the Zion Half Marathon back in 2023.
In an Instagram post announcing the race, Linkletter explained the pull of the mountains. “I’ve always had an affinity for the mountains,” he wrote. “The beginning of my running journey was on the trails. An ascent like Broken Arrow feels like the simplest way to dip my toe in the water and test myself against some really great athletes.”
A prize purse to match the field
The Ascent is one of several races at the Broken Arrow Skyrace weekend, which runs June 18 to 26 and also includes 11K, 18K, 23K and 46K events. Running Magazine reports that the 2026 edition carries a total prize purse of $150,000, with $30,000 going to the winner of the 46K. Race organizers say those are the largest figures of any independent trail race in the world.
The course is short by trail standards, but the climb is steep and unforgiving. Linkletter will not have to deal with the technical descending or fuelling demands of an ultra. He will, however, line up against runners who have spent years training specifically to race up mountains. For runners curious about that learning curve, our guide to making the switch from road to trail covers the main adjustments.
A crossover he has been thinking about
A road-to-trail switch has been on Linkletter’s mind for a while. Speaking with ultrarunner Jeff Garmire on the Free Outside podcast, he singled out American Molly Seidel as the rare example of an elite road runner who made the move in her prime. Seidel, the Tokyo Olympic marathon bronze medallist, finished fourth at the Black Canyon 100K earlier this year and earned a Golden Ticket to the Western States Endurance Run, the 100-mile race held in late June.
“Nobody’s ever really done it in their prime,” Linkletter told Garmire. “Molly’s the closest thing.”
On the same podcast, he addressed the business side of the question. Sponsorship contracts and appearance fees are still tied largely to road performance, and a serious push into trails comes with financial risk. “I’ve floated the idea to my agent that in my next contract I want there to be a section with some trail bonuses,” he said. A full switch, he added, would be “a huge gamble.”
A long-standing interest in the mountains
His interest in the sport runs deeper than the news of his entry suggests. In his Instagram announcement, Linkletter called the Western States 100 “the mecca of North American trail ultra” and said he has followed the race since “the early days of Jim Walmsley’s reign.” This year’s Western States field is already loaded with defending champions and rising stars. Before he moved up to the roads, Linkletter broke four minutes for the mile, running 3:59.05 in 2023, and represented Canada in the marathon at the Paris Olympics.
Linkletter is not the only road star looking elsewhere. Running Magazine notes that Des Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion, took third at the Marathon des Sables in Morocco this spring. Whether Linkletter follows Seidel and Linden further into ultra territory, or stays closer to the short climbs that suit a track-trained runner, the Ascent will offer the first real evidence.
The Broken Arrow Skyrace runs June 18 to 26 at Palisades Tahoe. Live results will be available on the race’s results page, with a livestream on the UltraSignup TV YouTube channel.
