Having seen a documentary on the Cocodona 250-mile ultramarathon in Arizona, former Powell River resident Chase Martinig knew he had to run it.
“Oddly enough, I’ve been dreaming of it since they first ran it in 2021,” said Martinig. “I was new to trail running at the time. I saw the documentary and thought, that’s insane. How can somebody do that?
“Then, I kind of became obsessed with it and I’ve been training for the last few years and expanding on the distances I’ve run to try to get myself into shape to do it myself. So, in May 2024, I signed up and had time to prepare, training hard.”
Martinig, who lived here until he was 18, and still has family in town, now lives in Port Moody. He said he ran in various places in BC to train, but mostly in the Lower Mainland. His training involved running to and from work a couple of times a week, even in the dark and the rain of January.
“I was probably running close to 120 kilometres a week from January to April in preparation for the Cocodona 250,” said Martinig. “I work full time, from Monday to Friday, and in my spare time, I was out on the trails, running, which didn’t really leave much time for a social life. But, this was the goal that I wanted so I made that sacrifice, knowing it would give me the best chance to succeed.”
Martinig began his 250-mile race just outside Phoenix, Arizona, on May 5 at 5 am and finished just after 10 pm on May 9 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The terrain offered a little bit of everything.
“It started off desert – dry and hot – and then we went into the Bradshaw Mountains, north of Phoenix, and I actually hit falling snow,” said Martinig. “That was just the first night. Then, I dropped into the Prescott Valley, which was more like fields. It was muddy from the rain, then I went back up another mountain.”
According to the Cocodona 250 website, competitors have an elevation gain of roughly 40,000 feet and an elevation loss of 35,000 feet. Martinig said Flagstaff is at about 10,000 feet elevation, so coming into the finish, there is a real climb.
“They saved a big mountain for right at the end,” said Martinig. “So, we went through high desert mountain passes and through the Sonoran Desert, which is dry. We also had the red rocks of Sedona. It was a bit of everything.”
Martinig said he ran continuously over the course, taking a few naps along the way.
“I tried to sleep, and they had bunks set up at some of the aid stations,” said Martinig. “At the top of one mountain, they had a bunk there and I tried sleeping, but I wasn’t successful. I think, all in all, I maybe got three hours of sleep. So, you start getting sleep deprived and tired and you don’t move as fast as you did at the start.”
Martinig said he wore one pair of shoes for 95 per cent of the race, changing them for one section where he had to cross a river. He said his watch gave him a total of 420 kilometres and he believes he wore the same high-end trail shoes for 410 of them. He said his feet didn’t suffer as badly as he expected.
“I had some pretty bad blisters, and the swelling at the end was the biggest factor, but other than that, they were in shockingly decent shape,” said Martinig. “I’ve run some shorter races and had them in worse condition, so I was pleasantly surprised.”
Martinig said he has been serious about trail running since 2020, during the height of the pandemic, when there wasn’t much to do.
“I used to hike, and then I thought, well, I’ll see if I can go faster,” said Martinig. “I just started running on the trails and found that I absolutely loved it.”
In preparing for Cocodona, Martinig wondered about his endurance, and whether he could stand up to the rigours of the tough course.
“It was definitely a concern of mine that I wouldn’t make it,” said Martinig. “I was ecstatic when I did. There was challenge after challenge. There was different weather, there was some pain in my legs, but I just toughed it out. The sleep deprivation made it tricky, but I kept telling myself to keep moving.”
To help him along the way, Martinig said the trail had markings, but it was also a requirement to carry GPS. He said he had it on his watch, so he followed it.
“When you’re out there for a while, your navigational skills aren’t as sharp as they would be on day one. There were a few times where it took me a little bit to make sure I was going the right way, but I didn’t have any directional issues overall. They ran a great race down there. They had stocked food at the aid stations – real meals. So, it was professionally done.”
Martinig said the ultramarathon was an amazing experience.
“I’m back to work now and back to reality, but I’m still daydreaming about it, to be honest,” he added. “I don’t know if that means I want to do it again, but I probably shouldn’t tell my wife that just yet.”
Martinig said he left Powell River because he had to find work, but he comes back frequently because his mother and grandmother both still live here.
“I miss home, to be honest,” said Martinig. “It’s a lot quieter and more peaceful there. There’s no shortage of trails to run there, either.”
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