Cocodona includes three race distances. Adventure awaits!
Cocodona250 – May 5th – 10th, 2025
The original epic of the Cocodona name starts at Deep Canyon Ranch in Black Canyon City and traverses a continuous 250 mile point-to-point route, ending in Flagstaff, Arizona. Arguably the most diverse 200+miler on the map. Be prepared for a life changing epic adventure.
Sedona Canyons 125 – May 7th – 10th, 2025
This 125-mile point-to-point adventure runs the back half of the full Cocodona course. You’ll start in Jerome, run through Sedona, and finish in Flagstaff, alongside runners competing in the 250-miler. Get the best sections of the full course with half the pain.
Elden Crest 38 – May 9th – 10th, 2025
The last 38 miles of the full Cocodona course is a Tour-de-Flagstaff. Start at Fort Tuthill, run in the Walnut Canyon area, around Mt Elden, and finish in downtown Flagstaff.
Want to see all the race details? Checkout the RUNNER GUIDE for all the latest details.
Weather
Expect and plan for it all. Temperatures in the low desert regions could be warm to very hot during the day. High desert sections will be warm during the day and cool in the evenings. Once runners reach the higher altitudes temperatures may drop to freezing overnight and rain or even snow is possible. Many sections of the course are open and exposed with little to no shade.
Aid Stations
Aid stations will all have water, an electrolyte drink, sodas, sweet snacks, salty snacks, and fruit. Most aid stations will also have a substantial hot meal. All aid stations will have vegan options available – please ask.
Cocodona250 – 20 aid stations and 4 water stations.
Sedona Canyons 125 – 9 aid stations and 2 water stations.
Elden Crest 38 – 2 aid stations and 2 water stations.
Race Schedule
Sunday May 4th, 2025
2:00pm – 5:00pm Cocodona250 Race check-in and drop-bag drop off at the Start Line (Deep Canyon Ranch, Black Canyon City)
5:30pm Cocodona250 Race Briefing / Q&A . Highly recommended but not mandatory. Start Line (Deep Canyon Ranch, Black Canyon City).
Monday May 5th, 2025
3:45-4:45am Cocodona250 SPOT Trackers issued
5:00am Cocodona250 Mass start of race
Tuesday May 6th, 2025
4:00pm – 7:00pm Sedona Canyons 125 Race check-in and drop-bag drop off at the Start Line (Jerome)
7:00pm Sedona Canyons 125 Race Briefing / Q&A . Highly recommended but not mandatory. Start Line area (Jerome).
Wednesday May 7th, 2025
5:45-6:45am Sedona Canyons 125 SPOT Trackers issued
7:00am Sedona Canyons 125 Mass start of race
Thursday May 8th, 2025
4:00pm – 7:00pm Elden Crest 38 Race check-in and drop-bag drop-off (OPTION 2) at the Start Line (Fort Tuthill County Park).
Friday May 9th, 2025
7:00am Elden Crest 38 Mass start of race.
10:00am – 10:00pm Aravaipa and Cocodona specific merchandise available for purchase at the finish at Heritage Square in Flagstaff.
Saturday May 10th, 2025
6:00am – ???? Aravaipa and Cocodona specific merchandise available for purchase at the finish at Heritage Square in Flagstaff. Sat 6am-until 30 mins after last finisher
???am Last Cocodona250 finisher celebration. Heritage Square in Flagstaff. Come spirit tunnel in the last finisher and see them receive the DFL award. Typically, sometime between 7:00am-10:00am.
Crew
Runners are not required but certainly encouraged to have a crew.* Crews are allowed at most aid stations along the course (reference Runner Guide for details). We ask crews to please follow any signage and directions from aid station staff at each aid station and please do not block any public roadways. Check out the Runner Guide for a ton of crew info and resources.
Crew may not meet their runner at any point on the course other than designated crew access aid stations. Runners will be automatically disqualified or receive a time penalty at the race director’s discretion for receiving aid from crew outside of crew access aid stations.
*Elden Crest 38 runners are not allowed crew at any aid stations.
Pacers
Pacers are allowed on the Cocodona250 course starting at mile 79 (Whiskey Row). Pacers are allowed on the Sedona Canyons 125 course starting at mile 55 (Munds Park). Pacers are to accompany their runner on foot (no bikes). Multiple pacers may be used, but only one at a time and must swap out at designated pacer access aid stations.
Pacers will need to sign a pacer waiver which will be available at each pacer-access aid station. Pacers will be provided with a pacer bib which must be worn and visible while out on the course. Checkout more info for pacers in the Runner Guide.
*Pacers are not allowed for the Elden Crest 38 mile race.
Volunteers
This race would not be possible without an incredible team of volunteers. Come help the dreams and goals of our runners become a reality on race day by volunteering. We have roles from aid station captains and volunteers, to course sweeps, to setup/breakdown, and more. See the volunteer page of this website for more info and a link to signup for a volunteer shift.
Runner Guide
The Runner Guide has all the information runners, pacers, and crew will need to successfully navigate the race.
Check out the Runner Guide here.
Course Marking
The course will be marked with orange plastic ribbons with black polka dots. Please pay attention to these signs at each junction. In addition, WRONG WAY flagging (blue & white checkerboard). Although the course will be adequately marked, runners will be required to carry a GPS enabled device with the course file and are responsible for understanding the layout of the course. Please familiarize yourself with the course maps on our website prior to race day.
Sustainability
We are so lucky to make the outdoors our passion and we want to continue to keep the beautiful trails we enjoy clean and open for future use. We realize that an event of this magnitude has an environmental impact but Aravaipa has committed to minimizing that impact. To that end, Aravaipa will have recycling and Terracycling of wrappers at aid stations, will offset carbon footprint from staff travel, and the race will be cupless. We encourage runners to offset their own carbon footprint and we welcome any ideas you may have to increase the race’s environmental sustainability. Explore, enjoy, protect!
What does CUPLESS mean? There will be no paper cups for cold drinks at the aid stations. Runners will be responsible for carrying their own containers to refill along the way. Grab a cup, a hydration vest, pouch, or water bottle and we will fill it at each aid station along the way. We ask you to help us in our efforts by preparing for a cup-free race day and thank you in advance for being good stewards of the trail. We will provide hot cups for coffee, broth, and soup.
We have paired with Terracycle to help collect and recycle gel packets, energy bar wrappers, and other generally non-recyclable materials that we find every day in the running community. Look for our Terracycle containers at each aid station.
Race History
Cocodona links up some of the most diverse terrain that Arizona has to offer and it also runs through the most important historical towns in the State. Event founder Jamil Coury wanted to find a way to run from the outskirts of Phoenix to downtown Flagstaff – from the Sonoran Desert to the ponderosa pine forest of his home State while also incorporating some of Arizona’s oldest towns. The goal is to inspire not only those participating in this grand adventure on foot, but also the people who breathe life into these amazing communities the race traverses through.
The name Cocodona is derived from “Coconino”, the county and National Forest where the race ends and “Sedona” one of the most iconic towns surrounded by incredible red rocks we’ll traverse through.
2021 was the inaugural year for the event and we had 174 starters and 108 finishers (62% finish rate). Original course progressed west out of Sedona and up onto the Coconino Plateau via the Casner Mountain Grade.
2022 gave us the Crooks Fire and a major reroute (85 miles) of the course. The start line was changed to Prescott with a counterclockwise loop around town and an out-n-back to Skull Valley. Another out-n-back was added in the Munds Park area to keep the mileage up to 250. In addition to the route changes from the fire, we changed the course to leave Sedona to the east and climbed onto the Coconino Plateau via the Casner Canyon Trail. We had 220 starters and 151 finishers (69% finish rate).
2023 was the year we found our final home for the Cocodona course. No more major course changes to the 250 course. We also added the Sedona Canyons 125 and the Elden Crest 38 race distances to the event. We had 193 starters and 139 finishers (72% finish rate) for Cocodona, 65 starters and 52 finishers for Sedona Canyons, and 112 starters and 105 finishers for Elden Crest.
2024 saw no major reroutes for the Cocodona course. Although the 250 course stayed untouched, the Sedona Canyons 125 and Elden Crest 38 race distances saw significant course changes due to Forest Service permitting complications. We had 278 starters and 202 finishers (72%) for Cocodona, 197 starters and 142 finishers for Sedona Canyons, and 162 starters and 158 finishers for Elden Crest.
