DISCOVER FLAGSTAFF X ARAVAIPA RUNNING

Kelly PattersonUncategorized

COCODONA 250 Discovering Flagstaff Through the Cocodona 250 By Sarah Ostaszewski It’s no secret that Flagstaff is one of the country’s top high-altitude running meccas. Especially over recent years, Flagstaff has shifted from sleepy mountain town and seasonal training grounds for professional runners and Olympians to full-blown trail running destination with a thriving outdoors community. World-class track athletes and elite-level marathoners are no longer the only one’s training year-round in Flagstaff. Some of the world’s best ultramarathoners have made the high-altitude hub their home. More and more trail runners are considering their own move to Flagstaff, and not without good reason. Easy access to a variety of trails and terrain makes for stellar year-round running. …

The Sleep Deprivation Puzzle of Cocodona

Kelly PattersonRace Preview, Running Tips, Ultra Thoughts

By Jeff Garmire Cocodona isn’t only a long race; it is a commitment to days of racing. Last year the winner, Michael Versteeg, took over three days to finish. At 250 miles, a sleep strategy is as essential as a nutrition strategy. It is the one thing I entered the 2021 Cocodona with the confidence that I could navigate. The race starts early, but this works in our favor. With a 5 am start, runners can show up after a full night of sleep. The batteries are fully charged, and days of racing don’t seem so bad. But, as the first night comes, the miles of pounding dirt through the first 10k feet of gain …

If I can finish a 250-mile race, then so can you.

Kelly PattersonImage, Link, Post-Race Interview, Quote, Ultra Thoughts

Written by Jeff Garmire I signed up for the Cocodona 250 only a couple of weeks before the actual race. I had never run a 250-mile race. I had never even run a 100-mile race. My racing background was a series of fun runs, middle school track meets (fastest time in the district for hurdles!), and one 50k race. I had no idea what I was doing. My world was FKTs, hundreds of miles of self-sufficient adventures, and untimed long days in the mountains. A 250-mile race was something totally new. That is why I signed up. I entered the race with the fitness and training but lacked knowledge about how the event would unfold …

IT’S PARTY TIME! – Days Away From Starting Cocodona 250

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com The work is done. It’s time to play. All of the energy you’ve put into the past however many weeks of Cocodona 250 training now gets to be unleashed. Let it ROAR! It’s a powerful feeling. Yes, there are more unknowns than known at this point. Especially for me and others that are new to this distance. Get ready to dance with them. I know I am. I’m going to keep this blog short because the taper crazies are for real. It’s a week of trying to leave my work, my apartment, and my cat wrapped up with a shiny bow on top so …

Training for Night Running

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com Up until age 19 I lived on a nameless dirt road in Stonington, Connecticut. There was one house just past ours, and then about a half a mile further, a seldomly visited gun club that reenacted Civil War stuff. Beyond that it was a power line trail that felt like it went forever (it probably was only four miles, but at the time “10K” wasn’t in my vocabulary, let alone “ultra”). The road was my escape. Get mad at my parents? Run away down the road. Need a place to smooch? The mountain laurel grove down the road. Anyone ever play manhunt …

Shelby Farrell training for Cocodona 250.

Training for the Cocodona 250-Mile Trail Race While Working Full Time

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com “Sooo…do you just run all day?” People look at you like you’re an alien when you tell them you’re training for a 250-mile race called Cocodona 250. Congrats! You’re now the “crazy” friend! Running the race is one thing. The real perplexity is around how to train for something of this physical magnitude, especially when working a full-time job. (And MASSIVE kudos to the ultra parents out there. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about leaving my cat when I go out for a six hour adventure…but I do miss him). A popular question is what my weekly mileage looks like, but …

Training for Cocodona 250

Cocodona 250 – Six Weeks To Go

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com On the morning of May 3, 2021 a group of brave endurance athletes will be setting out to run the inaugural Cocodona 250. Two hundred fifty miles starting in Black Canyon City, Arizona, through Crown King, Prescott, Jerome, Clarkdale, all the way to Sedona, concluding in Flagstaff. The race is six weeks out, so basically it is just around the corner. Eeek! For me, this means a month to fully dial in my training, enjoy a chill taper for two weeks (aka try not to go crazy), and then wake up ready to send it on that first marvelous …