She doesn’t measure her weekly mileage or follow a coaching plan, but she did eat plenty of mashed potatoes to fuel her to the finish line.
Rachel Entrekin won the Cocodona 250 ultramarathon earlier this month in Arizona in a historic feat with a record-breaking time of 56 hours, nine minutes and 48 seconds — and she did it by marching to her own unconventional beat.
The 34-year-old trail-running phenom bested even the men in the race, which is considered one of the most demanding ultramarathons in the world. Runners set off through the Sonoran Desert and Sedona before reaching the hills of Flagstaff, reaching a total elevation of 38,800 feet.
Along with eating mashed potatoes so she wouldn’t waste energy chewing and napping for a total of 19 minutes, Entrekin ran to her own personal mantra of “Why not you?” as she made history, becoming the first woman to win the overall race.
“If anyone’s going to win this, why can’t it be you?” she recalled when asked about her mindset, according to USA Today.
“Maybe even especially women, we tend to talk ourselves out of even trying to do things because we think that we’re not qualified or we don’t have the experience or whatever,” she continued. “But why not? Why not try?”
Entrekin may not be interested in humblebragging, but she is one of a few women who’ve drawn attention to running and elevated the sport to new heights. Notably, she’s been able to overcome mental and physical challenges that would keep any runner from surpassing their personal records, according to Amy Clark, editor of UltraRunning Magazine.
“She’s so tough, and she goes hard, but she just has such a positive attitude,” Clark said in a recent interview with the Washington Post. “She doesn’t let those lows pull her back.”
Entrekin attributed her success in the race to more than endurance.
“Top-end speed is not the be all, end all in the multi-day-running endurance scene,” Entrekin told the Post. “I think women have a lot more practice, maybe, dealing with adversity and managing our emotional state and communicating.”
