A trail runner on a grassy ridge above a sea of clouds

Cocodona 250

The Cocodona 250 crosses Arizona from south to north, starting in Black Canyon City and finishing in Flagstaff.

Prepare for Cocodona 250

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

The Cocodona 250 crosses Arizona from south to north, starting in Black Canyon City and finishing in Flagstaff. The route leaves the cactus desert of the central part of the state, works through the canyon country around Sedona, then climbs into the pine forest and high plateau of the north. Mountain singletrack, dirt roads and a few town crossings alternate.

3 km. 4 km. All distances here are converted from the mileage published by the organisers.

The formats

5 formats on the program.

Format	Distance
Cocodona 250 (250 miles)	250 mi
Sedona Canyons 125	125 mi
Bradshaw Brute 100	100 mi
Mingus Traverse 80	80 mi
Flagstaff Crest 40	40 mi

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · aravaiparunning.com

When to start

A build for this distance usually runs 12 to 24 weeks. Counted back from race day, that puts the start somewhere between November 9, 2026 and February 1, 2027.

These ranges are working conventions, not a research finding — no trial has compared plan lengths against each other. What matters more is that the plan was built for the weeks you actually have, rather than shrunk down from a longer one.

How to choose your start date

When to start

November 9, 2026

→ February 1, 2027

Worth reading before you enter

Races and distances Trail distances: what changes off the road Distance stops being the useful number. What decides a trail race is how long you are out, how much you climb, and how much the descents have wrecked your legs by the end. Read Training Eating and drinking: what’s proven, what isn’t This is where confident advice most often runs ahead of the evidence. Some of it is well tested. Some is opinion wearing a number. And one common habit can kill you. Read Races and distances When to start preparing your race Most plans fail before the first session, because the block started too late and everything had to be squeezed. Counting back from the date is the dullest and most useful thing you will do. Read

Questions

What is the date of Cocodona 250 in 2027?

Cocodona 250 is run on Sunday, May 2, 2027 from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff. Date published by the organizer, checked on September 21, 2026.

How hard is the Cocodona 250?

3 km route demands experience with multi-day efforts and night running, plus a plan for sleep and foot care. 7 km options give newer ultrarunners a way into the same terrain.

Other races

This list keeps growing; it draws no line. A race that is missing is prepared for in exactly the same way.

Honolulu · United StatesUltra HURT 100 Jan 16 Its five-loop, 20-mile-per-lap format carries a famously high drop-out rate. Bandera · United StatesUltra HOKA Bandera Endurance Trail Race January The HOKA Bandera Endurance Trail Race is a trail and ultra weekend held in Bandera, Texas, inside the Hil Moab · United StatesUltra Moab 240 Endurance Run January 7 km ultramarathon with 9,620 m of vertical gain, run as one continuous loop out of Moab, Utah. It is par Your race is not here? Tell us about your race You can prepare for it all the same. Any race, anywhere, and even a goal without a race.

Your race is on the calendar. Your plan should be too.

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