A participant in the Cocodona 250 ultramarathon, a 250-mile race across northern Arizona, died Tuesday after experiencing a medical emergency. First responders attended to a woman in her 40s who collapsed at a trailhead in the Groom Creek community south of Prescott, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. Race organizers confirmed the death but declined to provide further details at the request of the runner's relatives.
The Cocodona 250 is one of the toughest ultramarathons in the U.S., featuring a course that rises more than a mile in elevation twice while passing through Sedona from its start in Black Canyon City. Runners have 125 hours to complete the race, which links some of Arizona's most iconic trails. This year's race started Monday before dawn, and the overall winner, Rachel Entrekin, finished Wednesday afternoon to a roaring crowd in Flagstaff while setting a course record.
Organizers say they're moving to a lottery registration system next year because of the race's popularity. Aid stations provide opportunities to eat, hydrate, and adjust equipment, with a team of medical professionals stationed across the course. Racers often nap on the ground along the way in a race that can last five days.
Ultramarathons can test the boundaries of human endurance, but deaths are very rare relative to the total number of participants in a sport that has grown in popularity worldwide. Last year, a Michigan woman collapsed and died during a 100-mile race in the southwest Colorado mountains. In 2021, freezing rain and high winds were linked to the deaths of 21 runners at an ultramarathon through mountains in northwestern China.