Courtney Dauwalter's Cocodona 250 dreams came to an end a short while ago, according to her team.
The ultra running queen, who announced her 250-mile intentions in January, made it to mile 108 before pulling off the course. She started out strong despite challenging weather conditions, including hail and rain, and at the 100-mile marker, footage showed her leading overall as she cruised into Prescott.
Only eight miles later, however, the 40-year-old called the race, with crew members updating her Instagram page with the following: "Well, shoot. Court finished her run this morning at mile 108. She’s doing fine and very thankful for all the cheers both in person and from afar."
Dauwalter's supporters were quick to send their support, with the Salomon team commenting: "So proud of you for taking a big swing at a new challenge! That’s where greatness is found. You’ve inspired us all."
West Virginia's Dan Green has been in the lead since just after sunset local time, and is currently 129 miles into the course. South Africa's Ryan Sandes is holding second place, four miles behind Green, while Michael Versteeg (2021 Cocodona winner) and Rachel Entrekin (2024 women's winner) are currently battling it out for third place. However, at this distance, anything could happen.
The Cocodona 250 takes runners across extremely varied terrain from the Sonoran desert to the 9,301ft summit of Mount Elden and through the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world. The course is 91 percent trail (45 percent of that is singletrack) and nine percent pavement.
We're nearly 27 hours into the race at the time of publication, and most of the 309 starters are still on the course. The runners have 125 hours to finish, so pull up the livestream and settle in for a long show.
