Cocodona 250 Death halts no race as Jamil Coury says event continues
A participant in the cocodona 250 death died after a medical emergency late Tuesday night, and race founder Jamil Coury said the 253-mile event to Flagstaff would continue in the runner’s honor. Organizers said they would not release additional personal details out of respect for the runner’s family and loved ones.
Jamil Coury and the livestream announcement
Coury delivered the news on the race livestream and said, “Out of respect for their family and loved ones, we are not sharing additional personal details at this time, but our team is supporting those directly involved and will share more only if and when appropriate.” He followed that with a direct appeal to the field: “The race is continuing on, but now in the runner’s honor, we ask all participants and crew to carry the memory of this runner with you on the trails, the rest of this week and into the future.”
The death came during the sixth edition of the Cocodona 250, a race that Coury had described on the eve of the event as having “the competitiveness of the fields is just unbelievable, on both the men’s and women’s side.” Four past champions are in the field, a detail that had already made the race one of the deepest editions yet.
Rachel Entrekin at Munds Park
Rachel Entrekin, the two-time winner and defending champ, was leading at Munds Park, mile 190.6, at sunset on night two. She spent 20 minutes in the aid station’s warming tent there, while also carrying the pace that has her holding the current women’s course record of 63:50:55.
Kilian Korth arrived at Munds Park about five minutes after Entrekin left. He told his crew that his glute “isn’t working,” then spent about 20 minutes in the warming tent after receiving a massage and doing side step activations. The course was still moving through a front-running stretch that had Cody Poskin with a healthy gap over Heather Jackson coming into Munds Park.
Schnebly Hill and the field
The race for fifth had stalled at Schnebly Hill, where Courtney Dauwalter, Zach Hauer, DJ Fox and Joe McConaughy were all in the aid station at once. Dauwalter had DNFed at mile 108 last year, while Entrekin had come through Munds Park hours after dark in third place overall during that same race.
Now the event keeps going under the weight of late Tuesday night’s death. Coury’s message made the immediate expectation clear for runners and crew: continue, but carry the runner’s memory on the trails through the rest of the week and beyond.
