Some people love to run. They also like to race. And with that, there are races all over the place. Marathons and sprints. Five-kilometer runs. Ten kilometer runs. Which means 3.2 miles or 6.4.
Recently, we saw the running of a race called the Cocodona. It isn’t anything ordinary where races are concerned. In fact, the Cocodona is a 250-mile ultramarathon held in Arizona.
Here are some interesting facts about this crazy event.
The race began in 2021 and was created by Jamil Coury and the team at Aravaipa Running. Whoever they are. I think they are people with a death wish, though.
The runners face about 38,000 to 40,000 feet of climbing. Let me explain that. This is roughly equivalent to climbing Mount Everest from sea level and then continuing upward.
Participants travel through deserts, forests, mountains, mining towns, and the famous red-rock country around Sedona. I love Sedona. I’ve hiked it many times. Slowly.
Competitors are allowed up to 125 hours (more than five days) to finish. Many runners sleep only a few hours, or even minutes, during the entire event.
The first day is often considered the most difficult. One section climbs more than 10,000 feet in the first 38 miles. This first day has a high dropout rate.
In 2026, Rachel Entrekin became the first woman ever to win the race outright, beating every male and female competitor while setting a course record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 48 seconds. She reportedly slept only 19 minutes during her record run.
Read that again. She basically sprinted up Mount Everest in 56 hours. That two and 1/3 solid days.
One of the most astonishing things about Cocodona is that the fastest runners finish in a little over two days, while many others spend four or five days on the course, battling heat, cold, sleep deprivation, sore feet, hallucinations, and sheer exhaustion. For many participants, simply reaching Flagstaff is considered a life-changing achievement.
Entrekin, who is 34 years old, has to be some kind of superwoman.
She stayed hydrated with “precision-crafted electrolyte drinks and gels,” but also had “a Coke or two” and “a ton of mashed potatoes.”
Here’s a big shout-out for mashed potatoes and all white, pasty food. I’ve been singing its praises for years now.
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“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” — T. S. Eliot
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“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” — John Bingham
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“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
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“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” — Mary Anne Radmacher
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