Rachel Entrekin has taken hold of the 2026 Cocodona 250 on its third morning across Arizona, running through the 75-mile mark out of Prescott with a 50-minute cushion over the chasing field. The 31-year-old, who placed 11th overall and first woman in her 2024 debut at the race, was restocked by her crew in Prescott on Tuesday morning and pushed back out into the Bradshaw foothills looking unhurried, well-fuelled and visibly comfortable in an event that has already eaten through the early leaderboard.
Day one and day two belonged to a faster, more frenetic story. Newcomer Kevin Taddonio took the opening miles out hard, pulling ahead through the Black Canyon Trail before being shadowed by 2025 200 Triple Crown champion Kilian Korth and Courtney Dauwalter. By Tuesday morning the running order had reshuffled the way Cocodona always reshuffles deep-field 250s: not with a single dramatic blow-up but through a steady redistribution of energy, sleep choices and stomach problems across the long climbs out of Crown King, the Bumble Bee descent and the technical singletrack into Prescott.
Entrekin’s lead is significant rather than insurmountable. Behind her in second and third are Kilian Korth and Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy, two of the most experienced ultrarunners in the field, who have been running close together for much of the race and are likely to take turns pushing the pace through the Mingus Mountain section that comes next. Heather Jackson and Courtney Dauwalter, who departed Prescott just three minutes apart in fourth and fifth overall, are running their own race within the race and have plenty of course left in which to make a move.
The middle section of Cocodona is widely regarded as where the race is decided. From Prescott the route climbs through Mingus Mountain, drops into Jerome and crosses the high desert toward Sedona before the brutal Schnebly Hill push out of Oak Creek Canyon. With overnight temperatures in the Bradshaws still touching freezing and afternoon highs into the high 20s Celsius down on the desert floor, the field is now in the part of the course where sleep deprivation, blistering and quad-trashing technical descents typically separate finishers from non-finishers. Entrekin’s splits suggest she has banked enough time to take a slightly longer rest at the Mingus Mountain aid station without losing the lead.
Race organisers Aravaipa Running are streaming live coverage from Mountain Outpost throughout the week, with daily livestreams from key aid stations and continuous tracking on the Trackleaders feed. The cut-off of 125 hours leaves competitors until Saturday morning to complete the course, and based on current pace the leaders are projected to finish at Flagstaff City Hall some time late on Wednesday or in the small hours of Thursday. For now the story is Entrekin: methodical, unflustered, and daring the chase pack to catch her on the climbs that lie ahead.