"If the winner thinks that everyone's important, then goddamnit I must be right."
Rachel Entrekin arrived at the start line of the Cocodona 250 ultramarathon in May having already won the women's race twice. But as Rachel says, "You don't start and finish Cocodona as the same person." And this year, Rachel finished the race as a history-maker and record breaker. The women's defending champion became the first woman to win Cocodona outright. She finished the 253.3-mile race from Phoenix to Flagstaff — through the desert and the mountains, climbing more than 39,000 feet along the way — in 56 hours 9 minutes and 48 seconds. She finished seven hours faster than she did last year. She beat the entire men's elite field, and beat the existing course record by more than two hours. In this conversation, Rachel breaks down everything from her approach to training ("vibes-based") and her goals for Cocodona 2026 to her mid-race encounter with a very special woman and what the finish line was really like.
FOLLOW RACHEL @rachel__entrekin
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