The Cocodona 250 did it again. Each of the first five editions of the 250-mile race across central Arizona pushed the boundaries of what’s possible and expanded the scope of trail running.
But this year was off the charts.
In a way that few events have ever done, the 2026 Cocodona 250 almost seamlessly wove together a stellar and grueling race with core elements of culture, community, and mainstream appeal—all nicely packaged with an exceptional livestream broadcast and compelling social media content.
Here’s a look at five ways the 2026 Cocodona 250 could have long-term impacts on trail running and ultrarunning.
[Editor’s Note: Sadly, a female runner in her 40s passed away after a medical emergency near the Crown King aid station on the second day of the event. UltraSignup acknowledges the devastating loss and offers its deepest condolences to the family and friends of that runner.]
1. Rachel Entrekin Went Next-Level
Rachel Entrekin’s record-setting 2026 Cocodona 250 victory in 56 hours, 9 minutes and 48 seconds was much more than a big race win and outright victory, it was a next-gen performance and perhaps unparalleled in the history of the sport. With a smile on her face and relentless positive energy, she dominated a very strong field of men and women (outrunning and outlasting a very determined Kilian Korth and a very resilient Courtney Dauwalter) and, with only about 20 minutes of sleep, broke the overall record by more than two and a half hours and lowered her own women’s course record by nearly 8 hours.
Cocodona is notorious for exposing weaknesses over time, but the 34-year-old runner from Salida, Colorado, once again avoided major breakdowns and continued racing efficiently deep into the event, showing the kind of focus, resolve, and rhythm rarely seen in multi-day ultras. Her performance was equal parts consistency, composure, effective fueling and hydrating, and relentless forward momentum across three days of sleep deprivation, heat, climbing and descending, and tackling technical terrain while many competitors unraveled physically and mentally.
Her run also reflected the continued evolution of women’s ultrarunning, reinforcing how pacing, fueling, resilience, and mental strength can outweigh raw speed at extreme distances and the notion that women can be faster than men in longer ultras. Will more women push the envelope after watching Entrekin’s performance? Absolutely.
Entrekin has been doing it for more than a decade, but her win galvanized her status as an international star. How dominant has she been? In the 56 events of 50 miles or longer she’s finished since 2016, she’s won 48. But more telling is that she’s won 30 of 33 races she’s finished since 2020 and has won all eight events in which she’s covered 180 miles or longer (including 48-hour track races). Plus, Cocodona was the 18th race in which she’s claimed an outright victory since 2017. Bravo, Rachel! Take another bow! (It’s still crazy that she didn’t have a shoe sponsor until Norda signed her in November 2025. But now Norda has extended her contract three years into 2029.)
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2. Middle-of-the-Pack Runners Shined
If you only followed and watched the runners at the front of the pack of the Cocodona 250, we get it. The first three days of the livestream was relentlessly intriguing, and, you can only sacrifice so much sleep, work, and family time while you’re watching a race. But chances are you might have missed some pretty amazing stories from runners in the middle- and back-of-the-pack. Those runners represent the soul of the sport after all, and there were innumerable efforts worth celebrating last week that will continue to inspire runners to immerse deeper into trail ultrarunning or get invovled for the first time.
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– In 2025, Wynonna Curely-Fulgham finished the Cocodona 250 on the final morning (176th overall, 122 hours, 47 minutes) as one of the final finishers in the race. This year, the strong and determined Diné (Navajo Nation) runner took on an entirely new challenge, tackling both the 100-mile Bradshaw Brute and Sedona Canyons 125 in the same week. After finishing 29th overall (4th among women) in the Bradshaw Brute (37 hours, 49 minutes) on Tuesday night, Curely-Fulgham tackled the Sedona Canyons 125 that began in Jerome, Arizona, on Wednesday morning. Running for her people and her ancestors, she made her way to the finish line in Flagstaff, crossing the line in a time of 62:25:39.
– David Veronesi, a 59-year-old runner from Salem, Connecticut, came off the wait list last year and moved up continually during the race, finishing 161st overall in 121 hours and 2 minutes. This year, he came back stronger and cut almost 20 hours off of his time, finishing 94th overall in 100 hours and 56 minutes.
– Troy Croxdale, 33, of Napa, California, delivered one of the most remarkable comebacks at the Cocodona 250, rebounding from severe stomach issues that nearly forced him out on the opening day to ultimately finish 48th overall. Many know Croxdale from his extraordinary 10,000-mile campaign in 2025, when he completed the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail in just eight months, ran the full length of the California coastline, and still managed to finish two major ultramarathons. He carried that momentum into 2026 by logging 1,300 miles during January’s Burrito League, cementing his place in the event’s inaugural season as the overall champion.
– Just five weeks after completing the Arizona Monster 300, Andrew Glaze, 48, of Redlands, California, earned his sixth Cocodona finish in his fastest time yet (103 hours, 12 minutes), once again opting to run without pacers or a crew. It was his 10th 100-mile+ finish since his Cocodona 250 finish a year ago. Aaron Fleisher, 43, of Las Vegas, also earned his sixth Cocodona finish, which is the 15th 200-mile+ race he has completed since 2019.
– Perhaps the best compelling video content came at the end of the 2026 Cocodona 250, when Wayne Amo, 57, of El Cajon, California, bent over to his left in the shape of a question mark, gave everything he had as he struggled mightily to reach the finish line on Saturday afternoon. Although he missed the cutoff by less than 90 seconds (125 hours, 1 minute 24 seconds), he drew deafening applause and moral support from the crowd gathered at the finish line in Flagstaff. He was given fluids via an IV and a few hours later said he was feeling pretty good, acknowledging that he was OK with his unofficial finisher status.
3. A Big Spike in Mainstream Coverage
After Entrekin won the 2026 Cocodona 250, ultrarunning hit the mainstream new cycle like never before, with key mentions on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, ABC News, and Good Morning America. Plus, actress Reese Witherspoon shared a profound Instagram post that was liked 162,000 times and drew 1,600 comments. But it also made headlines in international media, too. For a segment of running that is already booming, those news highlights could have huge impacts in the coming months and years. It certainly put more buzz into the U.S. trail running scene, along with the Black Canyon Ultras, Canyon Endurance Runs, Broken Arrow Skyrace, Western States 100, Mammoth Trailfest, Run the Rut, Moab 240, and Hardrock 100, among others, as internationally prominent events.
Hopefully, it will encourage and inspire more people to start trail running or immerse further into the sport. Some runners might think running 250 miles is crazy—and c’mon, it kind of is, isn’t it?—but the aura of Cocodona is less about the actual distance (there are four other events ranging from 40 miles to 125 miles during the Cocodona week) and more about the positive vibe of what’s possible for anyone and everyone. And that’s what will likely be the lasting and most exhilarating effect.
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4. 200s (and 300s) Might Become The Next Big Thing
Running a race of 200+ miles is still probably beyond consideration for most runners, but the excitement around the Cocodona 250 is certainly one of the reasons the 200-mile+ category is growing.
In 2014, when Candice Burt created the Tahoe 200, most runners thought she was nuts. Heck, she thought so, too. But after successfully getting that one off the ground, she also launched the Bigfoot 200 and Moab 240 wth her Destination Trail race organization, not only proving that enough runners were interested but essentially creating the category of 200-mile+ trail running that eventually helped create a runway for the Cocodona 250 to take off. Then she launched the Arizona Monster 300 in 2025, giving rise to an even longer race genre.
Now there are more than 25 races/runs of 200 miles or longer in the U.S. and a small but growing surge of 300s and at least one 400-mile+ race. What’s your next big goal in ultrarunning? Are you more than a little intrigued about entering a 200? Yeah, me, too!
RELATED: 20 Great 200-mile+ Races in the U.S.
5. New Trail Running Shoes Are Rising
Rachel Entrekin wore pairs of yet-to-be-released Norda 055 shoes in the 2026 Cocodona 250. Like all Norda shoes, it’s been crafted with high-end materials and purpose-built for ultra distances, in this case, runs that require just a bit more support overall and protection underfoot. Lately, small, relatively new shoe brands have been making a big splash in the trail running world.
The Norda 055 is a maximally stacked (38mm/31mm) trail racing shoe with a three-quarter height knit collar and an upper made from a light and durable, 100 percent bio-based Dyneema upper. The midsole is made from 100 percent Arnitel, a TPEE foam that offers 79 percent energy return in a very stable base, while the outsole is Vibram MegaGrip Elite like the Norda 005. It should launch this summer with an expected price tag of $325.
The other shoe that made waves during the 2026 Cocodona 250 was the Mount to Coast H1 (women’s, men’s), a well-cushioned and dynamic trail/gravel shoe that was worn by six of the top-10 finishers. That includes overall runner-up and men’s champion Kilian Korth, as well as Cody Postkin (3rd place overall finisher and men’s runner-up), DJ Fox (4th place finisher and 3rd place men’s finisher), Megan Eckert (8th overall, 3rd women’s finisher), Edher Ramirez (9th overall) and Jeff Garmire (10th overall). Although it wasn’t the race sponsor, Mount to Coast produced a special orange and white Sedona colorway of the H1 (below) to highlight the race and its athletes.
As for the other runners in the top 10 of the 2026 Cocodona 250, Joe McConaughy (5th overall, 4th among men) wore Brooks Cascadia Elite shoes (women’s, men’s), Courtney Dauwalter (6th overall, 2nd women’s finisher) wore pairs of the unreleased Salomon S/Lab Ultra Glide 2 Limited Courtney Edition shoes, while Jakob Aberg (7th overall) wore Hokas Tecton X3 (women’s, men’s).
What will unfold at the Cocodona 250 next year to top this year’s action and excitement? Who knows, but we can’t wait.
About the Author
UltraSignup Director of Media Brian Metzler was the founding editor of Trail Runner magazine, has written for Runner’s World, Outside, and Sports Illustrated, and is the author “Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture and Cool of Running Shoes” (2019) and “Trail Running Illustrated” (2021). He has raced just about every distance from 100 meters to 100 miles, but he’s most eager to share stories about his experiences pack burro racing in Colorado and riding trains to run trails in Chamonix, France. He watched runners pass through Sedona during the 2026 Cocodona 250 and was inspired and amazed.
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