Cocodona 250 (2022)
Here is the recap of my Cocodona 250 experience…sit back and enjoy the ride
Day #1…Monday, May 2nd…Kuebler Field to Finch Wells #2 (41 miles):
I arrived at the start line around 8:30 am on Monday to do my final gear check and receive my Spot tracker. Once I finished that check, I returned to the car to ease into my pre-race routine for this race, which consisted of continuing to read my current book (Iron John by Robert Bly) and listening to some live Phish from their recently rescheduled NYE run at MSG in NYC. During that time, I had a chance to meet a few icons in the 200-mile plus ultra scene, like Jason Koop, Michael Versteeg, and Hector Rodriguez. The race started at 10 am on Monday and after some pre-race jitters, I eased into a comfortable pace as part of the conga line. I paced early with Christi Haswell from WY for some of those early miles…this was good because it gave me my first opportunity to pick the brain of a person with 200-mile experience. I would do this throughout the race to try to get some “on-the-job experience”. During this first 11.2 miles between the start and Iron Springs, it was all about being controlled and hiking any uphills and then conservatively running any flats and non-technical downhills. At Iron Springs, this was my first chance to fuel up with “actual food” and I fired down some PB&J and watermelon…this was a quick stop, but I received what I needed (including ice in the bandana). The next stretch between Iron Springs and White Rock was non-eventful…a ton of beautiful and flowy single track in an area that was starting to get pretty hot in the mid-day sun.
The White Rock AS proved to be a critical point for me…this was where I could access my first drop bag and I changed some gear (including my socks), picked-up fuel that I would need to supplement the next ~20 miles to Skull Valley, and I started running with my new bro Eduardo Sanchez from Chula Vista, CA! Eduardo and I were pacing around the same, so we eased into partnering up without much communication on how long this would last. The stretch between White Rock-Finch Wells-Skull Valley included a gnarly single-track climb early into this stretch, followed by a forest road that seemed to descend forever to the Skull Valley AS. On the way to Skull Valley, we came across Sandy Hilton (another 200-mile veteran) and he gave some great advice on how to break up the race into day/night stretches to help reframe what is coming (one mindset I adopted for the remainder of this race).
The Finch Wells AS was placed on this stretch of road and they had some banging veggie spring rolls…at this AS, I came across my new friend Jodi Semonell (a trail beast and someone that I was fortunate to meet at Bandera and has been critical to my race planning…but more on Jodi later) and the one and only Eric Sensemen. They were heading back up from Skull Valley, so at that point around 10 miles ahead…we exchanged a quick convo while we fueled up and then were on our separate ways. During this stretch descending down into Skull Valley, we came across my buddy Cliff Matthews…we met at Javey last year when I finished in my Space Bear – GD shirt (Cliff is a big Dead Head and it was a convo starter for us at the Jundred in October). Throughout the event, Cliff would be joining and then breaking off from myself and Eduardo at many points…it was always a boost to see Cliff after several hours without seeing him. The Skull Valley AS was our second opportunity to access a drop bag and it was starting to get dark at this point. So, we grabbed some night gear and things that we would need for the next day (my next drop bag wasn’t until Mingus at mile 91.6). At the Skull AS, they had some great hot food…I fired down two high-calorie Impossible burgers with lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, and then a few cups of vegan broth here. We also met up with Eduardo’s buddy Mario, who was out to crew and pace him at certain points of the race…Mario proved to be an MVP for this race and someone I was totally fortunate to come across!
Day #2…Tuesday, May 3rd…Finch Wells to Mingus Mountain (50.5 miles)
Once we left Skull Valley, we started ascending the nice forest road that we just descended…this climbing would last through the return to Finch Wells and pretty much until we got a few miles out from the Copper Creek AS. However, leading into the AS, there was a pretty technical downhill…and after climbing for the last few hours (some sleepwalking too), it was time to finally break out the Black Diamond Carbon Z poles and have some assisted downhill work.
After Copper Creek, we had a pretty significant climb and then it was back to rocky downhills as we approached the streets of Prescott. This area was a bit of a trip because we could see Prescott in the distance, but it seemed like we were not getting any closer. Also, this stretch was so windy and breezy…a little bit reminiscent of being at the beach at night. While the high wind felt pretty good…the sounds were doing their best to lull Eduardo and me to sleep while hiking. Eventually, we made our way off the trail and into a neighborhood for yet another climb (on roads this time) into the Whiskey Row AS.
The Whiskey Row AS was like an oasis…and it was one of the best AS of the whole race. The AS was set up in a courtyard on Whiskey Row in Prescott and it had everything we needed at that point – Freak Brothers Pizza (I ate a whole plain pie), Runners High Coffee (this was the only place where we enjoyed non-instant coffee), the Medic (I needed to get some new tape on the feet since the pre-tape that I did was starting to come undone), and sleep cots. As I’ll highlight later in this recap, sleep is an area that I completely misplayed in this race. However, I was able to get around 30-45 mins on a cot at this AS and it was a good boost leading into our second day of this event. After Eduardo and I got some rest, it was time to get on our way to the Iron King AS. This was a stretch of the race that I was really looking forward to seeing since it included the iconic Granite Dells. We also had Mario pacing in this stretch, which was awesome to get some fresh legs and a clear head into our dynamic! The pictures of those rock formations and the water that surrounds them did not do them justice…it was much more beautiful in person. In this stretch, we had another Cliff sighting and he joined us for a few miles before going on his own again. After the Granite Dells, we hit a really hot stretch going through a valley and then a new community development before hitting the Iron King AS. This area was all runnable, but in the afternoon sun, we decided to take this more slowly since we knew we had a lot more exposed area across Fain Ranch and leading up to Mingus Mountain.
After the Iron King AS, we traversed a ton of ranch land for the next 12-15 miles on our way to Mingus, which included going up several A-Frame ladders and over barbed wire. We also climbed through a few culverts and hit the Fain Ranch AS around mid-way through this stretch. It gave us an opportunity to refuel on some solid foods and fill the soft flasks/bladder prior to the push across the rest of the ranch land. This next stretch of ranch land seemed like more of a minefield…there was vegetated waste all over the ground and some trash from the country road that bordered the trail. Eduardo actually narrowly avoided a big issue here, when he stepped on a prickly pear cactus on the ground and one of the needles went through his shoe. Fortunately, he was ok after the initial shock. After we navigated through some gates and under some high-voltage power lines, it was finally time to climb Mingus. So, I broke the poles out and started getting after it…and I got into a zone on this climb…methodically navigating the climbs and just powering through. Climbing is a strong suit of mine and I think I dominated that terrain leading up to Mingus…passing a few people in the process. However, during this time on the climb, Eduardo and I separated – but I figured I would just meet him at the Mingus AS. The last stretch of the leg into Mingus was on rolling park roads, which could have been easy but at the time seemed to go forever.
At the Mingus AS, I grabbed a few plates of veggie pasta (with some veggie sausage) and a few other solid foods. I also had a chance to access my third drop bag, which had an additional headlamp, a change of clothes/shoes, and my sleep stuff for that area. After refueling, I finally saw Eduardo and you could tell that the Mingus climb sucked the life out of him. However, I told him my plans and where I was going to crash for a bit, so we would connect on a plan in a little. After that, it was time to go grab a quick rinse shower and some sleep. They have bunk houses at Mingus, so it was great to sleep on an actual mattress instead of a cot. After I got a quick shower, I grabbed the Rumpl blanket and set the target for 90 mins of sleep. The sleep ended up not being that substantial since the bunkhouse was pretty packed and we had people coming and going pretty much the whole 90 mins. Finally, I made the decision to stop tossing and turning and to get back out on the trail. I checked in with Mario at this point and he said Eduardo was going to sleep a little more. I hoped that Eduardo and I would cross paths again, but wasn’t sure based on how quickly he would recover from that Mingus climb. I made a quick stop at the Medic to get some blister treatment and then was on my way toward Jerome!
Day #3…Wednesday, May 4th…Mingus Mountain to Sedona (53.3 miles)
Upon leaving the Mingus AS, I knew I needed a little mental boost since the sleep was not that substantial. I put the headphones on and turned Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes up in my ears…this was sure to get me amped up! This was a 17-mile distance between AS and I knew I would need an extra boost in the early morning hours. The descent down Mingus was technical and slow…basically, my only goal was not to fall off the side of the mountain. I had the poles out the whole time and was really conservative. I actually had a minor spill on this initial descent, but awkwardly fell and that was all that happened. Around this time, Steve Epifano from CA (but originally from my home of South Jersey) came moving through, moving much better on the descent. However, since we were both in a desolate stretch, we decided to link up for a bit and get to know each other. It’s a pretty small world since we know some of the same people in NC and NJ. We shared the trails for a few miles and then Steve disappeared into the darkness. From there, I came across Aaron from San Diego and we shared the trails for a little. Aaron was struggling a little on the descent at this moment, but we chatted for a while and got each other through the bulk of this descent into Jerome. Aaron would prove to be a huge help later, so this chance encounter was one of my favorites during the race. As we approached Jerome, Aaron started running a bit more and I backed off a little to call home and check on the family. In a race this long, there were times when I lost grip on my actual life at the expense of my present-racing life. It was something I struggled with at times, since my job out there was not to be a husband, father, or professional – but to be a runner and put one foot in front of the other in pursuit of a 250-mile goal. Anyhow, as I was approaching the Jerome AS at dawn, I heard some very loud footsteps behind me…and it was Eduardo, hammering down from Mingus Mountain and having a second win heading into Wednesday morning! I don’t know how he mustered the strength for that after how bad he looked at the Mingus AS, but he was a new man!
At the Jerome AS, we got a hot breakfast and some more instant coffee, linked up with Mario again, and started on our way to Dead Horse State Park. This stretch included some road running and then we got onto a pipeline trail that had so much broken glass on the descent. This was not the spot to fall and thankfully neither of us did. After the initial descent, we caught up with Steve from CA again and the three of us paced together heading into the Dead Horse Park AS around 9 miles later. At this point, the mid-day sun was starting to crush, so we refueled heavily at this AS with liquids and some veggie tacos. We also said goodbye to our crew of one – Mario – who had to head back to CA for other obligations. As I said earlier, he was the MVP of this race for me and someone that I was so fortunate to have around! This was his first experience at an ultra event and I think the community sucked him in…I’m excited to see where he channels this excitement and how his personal racing adventure takes off!
The next 13-mile stretch from Dead Horse to Deer Pass featured some of the toughest miles for me personally. We traversed through a very hot desert in this stretch and started to see our first glimpses of the Sedona red rock at this time. Within this stretch, we would seek shelter from the sun a few times under small desert trees and eventually, we hit the “halfway point” a few miles from the Deer Pass AS. Despite having a 1.5L bladder and two 18-ounce soft flasks, I burned through water several miles from the AS. When we finally got to the AS, I took more time than expected to “get right” and make sure I topped off all needed water and had ice in the bandana prior to leaving. They did have some solid foods at this AS, but my stomach was turning and so I opted for light things like watermelon and oranges. We had 14 miles until the Sedona AS, so it was time to push and catch up with my buddy Wes Claytor at that next stop.
The Deer Pass to Sedona stretch was one of the most scenic in the whole course, but I really wasn’t in the mindset to enjoy it. I knew I needed some solid foods and needed some rest…also, I was ready for the daylight to be behind us. Of the three afternoons thus far, the sun on Wednesday beat me down more than any other day. Huge thanks to the Aravaipa team for having a 1L water refill stop mid-way through this stretch. I was crushing water at this time and really needed more to sustain the final push into Sedona. We climbed a decent amount in this stretch and finally arrived in Sedona around sunset. On any other day, the sight of the sun setting on the red rocks of Sedona would have been iconic…but on this day, I couldn’t care less. This was all about getting to the Sedona AS before the sun went down so that I could charge up the headlamp and get off the feet for a little bit.
Day #4…Thursday, May 5th…Sedona to Kelly Canyon (60.3 miles)
We arrived at the Sedona AS a few hours later than expected and were greeted by Wes, which was a huge boost. The last stretch coming into Sedona was hot, with a lot of climbing, so I needed a little time to recover. However, since Wes was waiting for us, I didn’t want to make him wait longer…so I negotiated a quick 20 min nap. This was a mistake on my part…I was depleted and starting to lose focus and should have pushed for a 1-2 hour sleep at that AS. At this point, we parted with Eduardo, who chose to sleep longer. I figured we would see him again, based on how he moved coming out of Mingus and Cliff was going to sleep as well, so I figured they may be able to link up before we saw them again. Looking back on it…I should have done the same as Eduardo…but I was so stoked to see my buddy! Anyway, we proceeded on towards the Schnebly Hill AS about 16 miles away. On this stretch, we had a gnarly river crossing, climbed Casner’s Canyon (it sucked that we did this in the dark since the visuals during the daytime would have been great), and I took two crappy trail naps (I realized in this race, I am a cot/bed sleeper versus a trail napper). I was still so sleepy on this stretch that I ended up sleepwalking into a ditch…which then woke me up. The sleep at the Sedona AS would have been a better use of time since we moved very slowly in this section. However, we reached Schnebly at dawn and the sunrise gave us a ton of energy (that and the instant coffee at the AS).
The 10-mile stretch from Schnebly to Munds was a fast one…we were clipping off some “faster” miles in the 12-15 minute range here and were flowing well. This was one of the best pushes of the race for me and it came after three days of almost non-stop movement…pretty cool, if you ask me! However, the 17-mile Munds out-and-back stretch was arguably one of the worst stretches. It was hard to get a decent pace going in the initial stretch due to all the turns and then we hit a hot road stretch in the afternoon sun that seemed to go forever. In this area, we had to hit a turnaround area, put a hole punch in our bib to prove we were there, and then turn around and head back to the AS. This would have been a great area to have another 1L water drop from the race organization since both Wes and I were rationing water heavily here. Once we finally got back to the AS, it was all about trying to really focus hard on hydration and then getting solid food in the stomach. I also treated a “fun” blister between my big and second toe at this AS and it was filmed by the camera crew (I’m not sure if it made the broadcast though). Before we left this AS, we came back across Eduardo and Cliff, who were about to head into the Munds out-and-back. We had a chance to connect with them while we were getting things ready for our next sections and then proceeded on our ways.
The stretch from Munds to Kelly Canyon was initially filled with hope…coming out of the Munds AS, Wes mentioned that I was in the top 75 and I got a nice boost from that comment. Additionally, we had about 100k left and it looked possible that we could finish around mid-day on Friday, which was fantastic. However, as the sunset and we started our journey to Kelly Canyon, there was an eerie fog that set in (I think it actually occurred, but it could have been the start of the hallucinations). This was an 18-mile stretch that felt like lasted for hours…we followed another group for the majority of this section and I am pretty sure we got crossed up a bit. I believe I made the comment that this aid station was actually a “scavenger hunt” AS, which was not true but goes to show the deteriorating mental state that I was starting to face. Eventually, we arrived at the Kelly Canyon AS and we refueled for a little before continuing our journey.
Day #5…Friday, May 6th…Kelly Canyon to somewhere on Mount Elden (29.2 miles)
Heading out of Kelly Canyon AS, I had no idea about the fun that was awaiting on Friday. The 8-mile stretch to Fort Tuthill was where the hallucinations started (although, I had no idea at the time that they were)…during this area, I was convinced that when Wes was ahead of me, he was dancing in place while he waited for me to catch up. Additionally, there were a couple of trail sections where we were under highway overpasses…in those areas, I thought there were dead snakes everywhere. I figured that we were in Arizona and it was cold at night, so it made sense that they would perish here. Wes said there weren’t any snakes, but I knew he was starting to fade as well, so I just chalked it up to me being in a more focused mental state (which I guess wasn’t entirely true). At the Fort Tuthill AS, I forced Wes to sleep for an hour, but didn’t do the same…I’m not sure why, but this had to be a huge domino in the chain reaction that was my eventful Friday @ Cocodona. However, at that AS, I did change into some warmer clothes and got additional fuel/gear for the pending push up Elden.
After leaving Fort Tuthill around sunrise, we were on our way to Walnut Canyon…this 16-mile stretch was initially fantastic in the cool post-dawn air, but quickly turned to another burner in the sun. I also started to have some foot and quad issues pop up as we started doing some climbing and descending in the second half of this stretch. The hallucinations started picking up steam on this stretch, as I envisioned a ton of desert trees and wood as people or animals. However, again, I didn’t realize that I was starting to come unhinged. At the Walnut Canyon AS, I caught up with Wes and really needed some time to collect myself and get things right for the final push. However, we were a few hours behind our target and Wes’ family was waiting at the finish for us to come through. This was another domino that fell…instead of trying to sleep a little here and get ready for a later push up Elden, I filled all the water and then put some hip hop on the phone. It was time to try to drop the hammer and snap out of this funk…great thinking, but highly unlikely considering we were four days into this event and I was already operating at a significant deficit.
Around halfway through this 13-mile stretch to Elden, I became very disoriented. I had the CalTopo GPS up and was looking for the trail, but I kept seeing other things that led me to believe the map was incorrect. Again, not really there, but the hallucinations were playing tricks on me. Unfortunately, Wes and I parted at this time, since I thought I knew the best route to take to get to Elden. I knew he was experiencing the effects of running since Wednesday night, so my trust in his judgment was not there…in retrospect, we should have stayed together and it would have led to at least half a day less on the trails. However, this is the beauty of doing something where you have no experience…you make errors and then you learn from them in the future. This race would be no different. After going off track for a few hours, Aaron from the Race Command Team reached out to me to provide assistance. In this stretch, I got back on course for a little and then back off course. I am chalking this up to the hallucinations, the hot afternoon sun in an exposed area, and rationing water. Thankfully, the Elden AS section monitor (Alex) was in the area and helped get me back to where I needed to go. We reset me from the last point that I was on the trail and then he put me on the right path towards Elden.
After leaving Alex, I started to confidently climb up the path to Elden. However, shortly into that climb, the sun started to set and I envisioned a traffic jam on the trail for sunset. So, I decided to sit at the side of the trail and catch a quick nap while the traffic subsided. When I awoke from my nap, the desert was no longer the desert, but it was outfitted like a festive Mexican party (spoiler alert…there was not a party). I started navigating as best as I could with the CalTopo GPS out for assistance. In addition, I had Rae from Race Command helping to keep me on course. Around this time, there were two runners that came along and I asked if I could tag along for the climb…and it turned out one of them from Aaron from SD, who I met descending Mingus. He was happy to return the favor…and I committed to not slowing them down. The funny thing was, at this time, the desert was no longer a festive party, but I was transported into a village built into the mountainside. As we were climbing and descending, I didn’t envision this as rock but rather as moving through people’s houses. I know it sounds weird, but that’s what 4-5 hours of sleep over a week (while traversing ~240 miles at the time) will do to a person’s mind. Aaron and his pacer helped me until around a mile from the Elden AS, but it was apparent that I was slowing them down a bit. It was so windy up there and some stretches were very technical. So, they were going to go ahead and see if the Elden AS could have someone help guide me into the AS. A few minutes later, Nich, the Elden AS captain came along and help pace me the rest of the way into the AS. At the AS, the Medics checked out my vitals and made sure I was all good…I was personally feeling great outside of the hallucinations. Now was the time to fuel up and get some sleep…Nich recommended around an hour of sleep and then we would double-check where I was at mentally to move on to the finish. I really appreciate this staff for doing what they could to get me to the finish line…it would have been a huge blow to be pulled from the race with 8 miles to go.
Day #5…Saturday, May 7th…Somewhere on Mount Elden to the Finish (16 miles)
When I woke up from my short nap and some solid foods, I felt super energized and ready for the final push. At this time, Steve from CA was in the AS as well and we decided to move towards the finish together. The first few miles were a slow hike with the poles out for assistance as we descended down the backside of Elden. We linked up with a few more people as we hit Buffalo Park in Flagstaff at sunrise. When we were around three miles from the finish, I started to get into a groove and started to click off some quick climbing miles. The final two miles were flat or downhill…I put on an old Dead show on the phone speaker and started grooving. I was ripping off some solid miles and then Morgan from CO passed me with about a mile to go. I yelled to her that she better drop the hammer because I’m coming to take my place back. I dropped the hammer, running around an 8:30 pace, but she was faster. There was a point on the downhill that I looked at my watch and I was clipping 6:30 pace…just goes to show what the body is able to do physically if the mind will come along for the ride. When I turned the corner for Heritage Square and saw the finish line, I erupted with a primal yell…the finish was here. I came to the finish line and just let out a sigh of relief. Then I saw Mario (who returned to see Eduardo finish), Cliff (who ended up finishing five hours before me), Jodi (who had another top 10 finish), and so many other runners.
I just want to thank so many people for helping me obtain this new milestone in my “weekend warrior” ultrarunning career. First, there is my wife and kids…this is a huge sacrifice having me physically away for a week – and considering the post-race blues, it is sure to be longer than that mentally. They are my number one cheerleaders and motivation to keep doing epic stuff. Second, there is my training and running people – my coach Asher, pacer Wes (dude, you rock for giving up time to help me out and I can’t wait to return the favor), and all my running squad in Holly Springs and New Jersey…you are what got me ready to obtain this goal and I will forever be grateful. Next, there is the fantastic ultra community – most notably my new Omaha, NE family (Jodi, Amber, Mindy, Brady, Mike) for all the pre-race guidance and in-race support and additionally, Eduardo, Mario, Cliff, Steve, Aaron, and Hector. And finally, my non-running community of family and friends in NC, NJ, and elsewhere…I know it can be hard to understand these types of adventures, but I appreciate your support on this journey nonetheless!
Final statistics:
Finish time – 116:22:24 (4 days, 20 hours, 22 mins)
Total elevation change – 28k feet up, 26k feet down
Gear:
Salomon ADV Skin 12 Pack w/ 1.5L bladder and two soft flasks
Black Diamond Carbon Z poles w/ Salomon quick quiver for storing
Three pairs of Altra Lone Peak 6 shoes
Patagonia Houdini Jacket
Sun gloves for day & winter gloves for night
Many pairs of Smartwool socks