Sedona Canyon 125
May 6, 2026
AKA Cocodona “Half” - Jerome to Flagstaff, Arizona
50:20:38, with 100 miles in 37:35
90th hundred or more mile race
Short story is above
Long story-There are hundreds and then there are hundreds. I have grown fond of flat loopy hundreds. But every once in a while I want to challenge myself so why not sign up for a point to point race in the desert at elevation in the heat in May. !!!
Sedona Canyons 125 is the “half” of the Cocodona 250. So you get to run in the heat in May of Arizona and it wasn’t that hot but 70s felt hot with no shade on day one. The race started in Jerome at 5k elevation and went down to the 3k for a while then the last 75 miles was mostly near or above 7k and Seattle Jill trains mostly at sea level. But the most exciting part of this course are the views through and around Sedona. The first 40 miles includes some downhill, some gnarly steep trail near the beginning with ugly rocks, they call them baby head sized rock, then a river crossing at 8 miles, then beautiful single track as you get closer and closer to Sedona’s red rock. I would recommend this first 40 miles as it is beautiful and the running is fun. Then just stop, stay in a hotel and hike the Hangover trail the next day during daylight hours so you can see the views. Climbing up over hangover at night and trying to stay on course was thrilling. I am so glad there were others along with me trying to find the course as it took a village.
The course then goes up Schnebly Road so you can run as the rocks are hiding on the trails. But first some where near the Huckaby Trail you get off course and your watch beeps at you. Yes, I learned how to use a new tech at 64 years old, quite proud of myself, until I started my watch five minutes before the actual race started and then hit a button that made it beep at me incessantly for every ascent and decent, ugh, but the navigation was really helpful to have on my wrist so I could use poles on some sections. Apparently I was lost and my watch beeped at me in the dark and I was alone and a bit wigged out so I got myself turned around and started looking for flags and boom, of course I tripped and fell. I landed hard and said smooth move Hudson. I picked myself up and checked for damage more concerned about finding the marked trail than if I broke anything. I checked out fine, nothing broken because I landed on my upper arm, how I do that I do not know. I have done this before at Coldwater Rumble. I have an affinity or fall in such a way as to not injure my legs, arms you don’t really need arms for running so they are expendable. Well it is a pretty purple bruise and really didn’t hurt so off I run.
Chris came along on the trip as I thought it would be nice to have a crew. I usually don’t have crew or pacers but we were heading to Tucson after the race to celebrate our daughter graduating from University of Arizona. So he came with me and planned to meet me at Sedona, Schnebly, and Fort Tuthill. Chris was very helpful as I had to retape some toes at Sedona and it is always good to look forward to seeing the love of your life waiting for you at an aid station in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. However because of the heat of the day (survive the day, own the night)I was a bit late and the night of sleep he was supposed to have on day one turned into a couple of hours. Oops, for a guy who always gets his sleep, welcome to ultra running.
I had planned to go the next two sections with just a drop bag for support. Munds Park and Kelly Canyon, both aid stations about 18 miles apart. Most of the aid stations were between 15 and 18 miles and so in the desert you have to carry a lot of water which is heavy and then because you are going up in elevation you also have to carry cold weather gear, ugh my pack was heavy. With snacks, and other essentials my pack was likely 12 pounds. I know not that heavy for most people but for me that is heavy. The next sections were up on the Coconino plateau with pine trees, in reality it was a trail that meandered through the woods and felt like you were going around in circles. One section had a lot of downed trees and most of the trails were runnable as long as you picked up those feet as rocks, baby head sized rocks were everywhere.
I thought of the race in three sections and getting to Sedona was section one, 40 miles. Section two was 60 miles when you reached a 100 you were at Fort Tuthill where I would see Chris again. I needed to get to Tuthill before 48 hours for this hundred to count for my 100x100 list and I did in 37:35. That was the only time pressure I had as the race has a lovely 75 hour cutoff. So I wanted to take a wee nap or at least a rest before going through the second night. I did rest, no sleep but it felt good to lay flat in the back of our rented SUV for about 25-30 minutes. I changed socks again before heading out and drained a couple of huge blisters. The fine dust of Arizona really does a number on feet. Usually I can run a hundred with no sock changes and no blisters. This race, 3 sock changes and 5 blisters, ick.
I was happy at this point because there always is a certain point in a race when you have gone too far to quit. There was no quitting now as I just had to get through the last 25 miles and I had all the time in the world. My neck and back were really hurting and I was having a tough time finding the course in the night. Fortunately I had my phone as I wasn’t always trusting the beeps on my watch about the course. So there was a lot of stopping and checking to see that I was on course. A lot of kicking rocks and cussing rocks. I was done with so many rocks on the trails. Then my neck started not working. I was having a difficult time holding my head up so I could see in front of me. This makes it difficult to find the trail…in a trail race…just saying.
Finally I get to the last aid station and am so happy to see Chris I begin to cry, happy cry, neck hurting cry, whatever, I’m happy. But my neck hurts like heck. Chris gives me the best neck rub and I eat the best quesadillas ever and off I go for the last 11.5 miles to finish.
Crap I can’t keep my head up, my neck is not working and because of this I’m a bit wobbly. So I use one of my poles to keep me steady and the other arm to push up my neck so I can see ahead. I alternate arms every so often and this works well for a while. The last hill or mountain is Flagstaff Crest. This is where they have dumped all the rocks in the world on the trails. I trip and stumble and resign myself to just walking in the last 8-10 miles as it is just to difficult to go any faster with my neck not cooperating. I think huh this is a first for me, having this kind of issue, and I share a picture of my sad self with the BIRCs, Bad Influence Running Club (we have an addiction to running races every weekend). They are very supportive and remind me I have all the time in the world to get this done. I of course want to be done yesterday so I push on feeling their support from afar.
I’m about a mile out from the finish and this guy from Flagstaff says he is going to walk it in with me. I must look bad. He tells me his life story, he is a professor at the college and has three kids, etc. I usually wanna have my ugly cry during the last mile of a race and almost try to shoo him off but in reality I cannot see well enough to cross the streets because I cannot turn my head. So it is a comfort to have him with me, as I’m a bit more wobbly now, I almost run into a pole, well I did actually just graze it, geesh. I usually take great pride in finishing strong and look at me I can still walk after a hundred. Not today. I finish and try not to fall, make some jokes about the nasty rocks and my heavy pack wreaking havoc on my neck and then collapse in the nearest chair. That last bit was rough. Did it, don’t wanna do that one again. I joke that I actually might sign up again and just stop at Sedona, the first forty miles are quite lovely.
So the back story is that recently I dropped down to the 100k at Badger and dropped down to the 55k at Ancient Lakes and my confidence was in the toilet. If you know anything about ultra running it is that we train for races with our body but we really finish races with our mind. The mental part is the key and my mental was a bit off (some would say it’s always been off, ha). So I needed to finish this one to get back on track.
Thank you Karen and Nattu for training with me and allowing me to stay in your home in Flagstaff. Seeing parts of the course ahead of time and being at 7k so I knew what to expect was key. Even though I didn’t want to, I filled up that water reservoir at each station and drank almost all of it before the next station, so thankful for your suggestions. Always learning. Grateful for my friends who sent me texts or messages. They made me smile and smiles help the miles go by. Thank you to my husband Chris. Maybe I should use crew more often as it is fun to look forward to seeing him at the next stop. Your support was invaluable and sorry you missed out of the sleep. So glad I have a partner who supports my eccentricities.