UPDATE:
According to Courtney Dauwalter’s @instagram page she has dropped out of the race at mile 108. That would mean that she called it quits at Mt. Mingus Camp aid-station in the night. The post claims she is okay, and is grateful for having been part of the experience and wants fans to turn their attention to all of the other amazing runners in this 250-mile long race.
There has been talk that Dauwalter fell or that she became hypothermic, but there is no official word as to what transpired to lead her to stop the race which she had been leading since mile 70 and well ahead of course-record pace until she pulled the plug.
A caveat here for those who are hopeful that Dauwalter could make a return. In last year’s race, Mika Thewes, who had also been leading the women’s race by a large margin, had a bad fall and left the race, going to a hotel to tend to her injuries. She ended up coming back to the race, where she left off, a full 24-hours later, and charged her way back to finish in 3d place.
The moral of the story being, that Courtney could, technically, still get back in the race. The post sounded definitive, but it’s in the realm of possibilities.
Meanwhile Dan Green of West Virginia, who has looked sprite the entire 1st day of the race and even into the rainy, muddy conditions of Mingus and Jerome is now in 1st place, approximately 4-miles ahead of South African ultrarunning phenom, Ryan Sandes.
Last year’s female winner, Rachel Entrekin, who has been flying through the first half of this race (which is 125 miles worth of running) came through Jerome aid station cold and muddy but still laughing and smiling. She is now leading the women’s race and is 3d place overall as she makes her way to Dead Horse aid station.
Jack Scott of the UK is officially out of the race due to a torn hamstring, but the rest of the men’s field is looking solid with Michael Versteeg, the first year winner of Cocodona and bib #666 sliding into 3d place for the men.
It’s been cold and rainy and muddy and runners are being put the test. Typically it’s the heat that can knock out the competitors in Cocodona 250 as scorching temperatures, particularly on those first 2 days can lead to a lot of carnage. This year, they’ve experienced hail and rain and thick mud on the already-challenging terrain.
Georgia Porter, no stranger to tough terrain, having just set the Fastest Known Time on the Arizona Trail, has taken over the F2 position with Lindsey Dwyer and Sarah Ostaszewski still in 3d and 4th place respectively. Ostaszewski and Keep Hammering podcaster and ultrarunner, Cameron Hanes came in together to Whiskey Row in the middle of the night. Hanes, 57, is holding steady at M20.
There has been some great live coverage from the runners themselves, including an Instagram live with Kevin Goldberg from Distance to Empty Podcast as he charged up Mingus Mountain and Andrew Glaze, who claimed to have had a very tough night but was making his way out of Whiskey Row and over the slick, Granite Dells where you have to follow a white dot on the rock maze through Watson Lake.
BIG MEDIA
The ultrarunning podcasters and media personalities have been putting in the work for the past 30 hours! Goldberg, otherwise known as the “People’s Runner,” is M13. Jeff Garmire of The Free Outside Podcast is M15, Hanes M20 and Finn Melanson of the Singletrack Podcast is holding tight in the top 10 at 7th place. Andy Jones-Wilkins of Crack a Brew with AJW, 57, is getting close to mile 85 as he makes his way towards Fain Ranch and the Satisfy aid station. Those white couches that Satisfy uses to create a homey atmosphere in a racetrack parking lot must be dirty by now!
Last year’s winner, Harry Subertas, took a nap at the Jerome aid station and was full of positive comments in his interview with Tara Dower. He said he’d crawl to Flagstaff if he had to. Subertas took an early and bold lead, bringing the pack with him but slowed down some around mile 70 when he was overtaken by Dauwalter. He’s still in 6th place and is making his way to Dead Horse aid station. He talked about the mud which seems to be a part of every runner’s experience right now. They’re taking part of the trail with them on their shoes, their legs and in their soul.
The race positions are changing as fast and there is still a lot of race out there. Anything can happen. And it has. And it does. And it will.
Welcome to Cocodona Day 2. For all live updates go to the Mountain Outpost livestream
— Erin Quinn
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Erin Quinn 
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