The Ultra Minute: May 6, 2026
Rachel's outright win, Kilian's fourth-try breakthrough, the front of Cocodona rolling in, and a few non-Arizona notes worth catching.
Hey y’all,
It’s been a minute. Hope you’re well. I took a bit of a break from publishing TUM (my last issue was just after Javelina!). My wife and I have 3 boys (5, 3, and 1), and I was too often finding myself checking the latest ultra news on IG while one of my sons was tugging at my leg for my attention. Not cool, Ken, not cool.
Recently I’ve been building a bunch of stuff with AI. One of those projects was my new pal, Walm-E (Wall-E + Walmsley.. get it, hah, lol?). He’s an AI agent I’ve tasked with becoming the most well informed fan of the sport (don’t worry Liam, he’s got nothing on you), and his primary responsibility is scouring the internet looking for the day’s nuggets, which saves me from having to spend so much time on my phone.
My hope is that with Walm-E by my side we can get TUM shipping regularly again. To help facilitate that, I’m also trimming the format down and aiming to publish more frequently. It’s still very much an experiment, though, and life is crazier than ever, so no promises :)
Anyway, let’s get right to it:
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We processed 120+ IG posts, 10 articles, 2 podcast episodes, Outside's live race report, Mountain Outpost's feed, and Trackleaders so you can stay on top of trail and ultra without living on your phone. Here’s what happened:
Rachel Entrekin won Cocodona 250 outright (!) in 56:09:48, becoming the first woman to finish first overall at the race and taking down Dan Green’s 2025 overall course record of 58:47:18 by 2:37:30. Her progression here is wild: first woman and 11th overall in 73:31:25 in 2024, first woman and fourth overall in 63:50:55 in 2025, and now first overall in 56:09:48. Incredible run, Rachel.
Kilian Korth won the men’s race and finished second overall in 57:28:36, the second-fastest time in race history, after past Cocodona heartbreak that included DNFs in 2022 and 2024. Cody Poskin was second man and third overall in 58:13:44, and DJ Fox was third man and fourth overall, improving from seventh overall last year. Outside RUN reported that his back half included moves past Joe McConaughy, Courtney Dauwalter, and Heather Jackson over the final 70 miles.
Courtney Dauwalter and Megan Eckert made the women’s podium official, with Dauwalter second woman and sixth overall, and Eckert third woman.
Cameron Hanes, Max Jolliffe, Michael Versteeg, and Kevin Taddonio were all notable DNFs before halfway. Hanes said his stop was an official medical DNF for concussion after a fall, while Mountain Outpost reported Jolliffe withdrawn at Mingus Mountain, mile 107.5, and Trackleaders had Versteeg also stopped around Mingus. Taddonio, the early leader through Crown King, later showed stopped at Watson Lake, mile 83.0.
Cocodona organizers also shared the tragic news that a participant died after a medical emergency during the event on Tuesday, May 5. The runner’s name has not been released out of respect for the family. iRunFar
Will “Sisyphus” Peterson is nine days into a self-supported Appalachian Trail FKT attempt, with his latest update putting him 398 miles in and 19 miles ahead of plan after a 52-mile day. Instagram update
Ben Dhiman, Andreas Reiterer, Ekaterina Mityaeva, and Blandine L'Hirondel headline the iRunFar Transvulcania Ultramarathon preview for Saturday's 75k on La Palma. The men's course record is Luis Alberto Hernando's 6:52:39 from 2015, and Ruth Croft's women's mark is 8:02:49 from 2024. iRunFar
Transvulcania also brings the Mountain Running World Cup to La Palma for the first time, with Thursday's 7.3k uphill race and Saturday's 25k long-distance race. Joyce Muthoni Njeru, Ruth Mwihaki Gitonga, Philaries Jeruto Kisang, Camilla Magliano, Philemon Ombogo Kiriago, Richard Omaya Atuya, and Tyler McCandless are among the names WMRA called out across the fields. WMRA / iRunFar
UltraSignup has a beta map search live for finding races near home or around travel plans. Electric Cable Car compared the new interface to an Airbnb-style search window. Electric Cable Car / UltraSignup
So nice to see you back!!
Walm-E is incredible 😂