Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

How do you like to spend your weekends? Visiting with friends or family? Maybe going to a show, or out to eat? Perhaps just chilling out? Or going for a hike or long walk? A few weeks ago, there was an opportunity to enjoy all the amazing regions of our beautiful state. A good pair of running shoes would have been required.

Run baby, run. Yep, that is the mantra for the ultra-marathoners who participated in the 250-mile Cocodona race. That’s right, no typo. A marathon in our own backyard that starts out in Black Canyon City up into the Bradshaw Mountains to Crown King, up over Mount Union, snaking down to Prescott straight through town on Whiskey Row. Are runners tempted to stop for a drink? Not unless it’s a glass of electrolytes.

From Whiskey Row to the Granite Dells, up and over Mingus Mountain in Jerome, onward to Sedona and over Mt. Elden. And then onto the finish line, which is downtown Flagstaff. The elite athlete, Rachel Entrekin, made history by becoming the first woman to win this grueling race. The man who came in second was two hours behind her. Entrekin broke the record at 56 hours and nine minutes. She did take several five-minute naps along the way, totaling nineteen minutes of sleep. I would love to walk that scenic route with my dog, Teddy. I bet we could do it in 56 days (weeks).

Run for 250 miles, gain over 40,000 feet of elevation and 35,000 of descent, jog all day, all night, stopping briefly for a break, fluids and nourishment. Rachel only ate little bowls of mashed potatoes. Okay, I have no understanding of how the human body can be pushed this far, this fast, with only minutes of rest and mashed potatoes. But why ask why? These are athletes who are pushing the boundaries of what is humanly possible.

The man who came in second suffered throughout the run, losing both big toenails, a leg stress fracture and vision problems. The race is timed out at 125 hours, which means the athletes who crossed the finish on a Wednesday were refreshed and able to greet the rest of the pack on Saturday.

I used to jog and felt that I achieved greatness when I made it around eight miles. My favorite distance was five miles (or less). Well, I was young then. But 250 miles? l wonder what would possess someone to even consider doing a 250-mile race. Are these robots? Don’t people require rest, sleep, and food? Running on dirt trails with headlamps at night, jogging up mountains, down steeply winding jeep paths, over boulders, through the Sonoran Desert, is this a sport or a punishment?

Over fourteen hundred athletes registered for the Cocodona 250, which is considered the longest, most challenging ultrarunning event in North America. It is test of endurance on a scale that seems almost impossible to imagine.

Winner, Rachel Entrekin, was quoted as saying, “This is not a sport for a sane person.” In other words, the Cocodona race is not on a trail, but a psycho path. One step at a time.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Contact Judy at [email protected] or visit www.aroundthebluhmintown.com