In the first week in May, Rachel Entrekin made trail running history. She was the first woman to win the Cocodona 250 outright, being the fastest woman in the field and faster than the fastest man in the field too. She also set the overall course record for the 253-mile race in 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 48 seconds. The men’s course record was also broken by the overall 2nd place finisher, Kilian Korth. It is unheard of that the men’s record is not the overall record too, but Entrekin changed that for the Cocodona 250.

The race starts in Black Canyon City, Arizona, and finishes in Flagstaff, AZ, covering incredible desert and canyon terrain. The race was 3 miles shorter in the 2026 rendition with 2,000 ft less elevation gain but that isn’t enough to make the course records less impressive.

Decorated ultra athlete, Courtney Dauwalter, was the 2nd woman across the line. It was Entrekin’s 3rd consecutive victory in the women’s race.

Entrekin was also the 2nd place woman at Hoka UTMB Mont-Blanc in August, perhaps the premier ultramarathon race in the world. Well known for her unusually unstructured training for such a successful athlete, Entrekin opens the door for both women and athletes without access to professional coaching to enter the sport and have explosive success. Leading up to ultra running success, Entrekin worked as a physical therapist.