The Cocodona 250 might have been a disappointment for Courtney Dauwalter, but the desert race turned out some big success stories, including new course records on both the men's and the women's sides.
All eyes were on Dauwalter as the reigning queen of ultra attempted her first 250-mile race, and at the 100-mile mark, she was in the overall lead. After 20 hours and 108 miles, however, Dauwalter DNF'd, pointing to what she called "total body shutdown" at the 108-mile mark.
"The questions and curiosity about running those additional 150 miles to Flagstaff will have to keep hanging around a little bit longer," says Dauwalter.
Right around that 100-mile mark, West Virginia's Dan Green pulled into first place and mostly maintained it till the end, except for a brief time when he stopped for a nap and South Africa's Ryan Sandes passed him.
In the end, Green maintained his impressive 13-minute/mile average for 256 miles and threw down on the punishing course, delivering a new record of 58:47:18, trimming more than an hour of Harry Suberta's 2024 time.
"Fueled by fire, grit, and an unshakable will, he didn’t just run the race—he redefined it," say race organizers Aravaipa Running. Sandes arrived a couple of hours later to take second place in 61:21:04, and Edher Ramirez of Las Vegas closed out the podium with a time of 63:10:13.
Britain's Subertas had been an early pick to win after taking first place last year, but an early injury slowed him down and he ended up arriving in fifth place. Max Joliffe made headlines too but for the wrong reasons – he became ill during the race and ended up in the hospital in Flagstaff.
Despite Dauwalter's disappointment, the women's race was no less exciting, with last year's winner Rachel Entrekin taking the win for the second year in a row in an astonishing 63:50:55.
That's a massive 10 hours faster than last year for the unsponsored Alabama physical therapist, and places her fourth overall, only 40 minutes behind the third-placed man. It also places her firmly on the list of runners to watch.
California's Lindsey Dwyer claimed second place in 79:35:28, 13th overall, and Colorado's Sarah Ostaszewski finally made the podium in third place in what was her fourth Cocodona 250, placed her 15th overall. We think it's safe to say this has been a Cocodona to remember.
