Ryan Sandes preparing for career defining challenge at Arizona’s grueling Cocodona 250

JOHANNESBURG - World-renowned ultra-runner Ryan Sandes is preparing for his toughest endurance challenge yet, the Cocodona 250, a 250-mile (400 km) non-stop trail race across Arizona, taking place from May 5-10, 2025.

The Cocodona Trail is a curated route through central Arizona linking historic towns and trails off the beaten path. The rich history of the towns linked up through little-travelled ranges makes this a one-of-a-kind tour of Arizona.

This race is set to be the longest non-stop race of Ryan’s career, more than doubling his previous ultra-distances.

The 43-year-old holds the fastest known time on the Great Himalaya Trail; Sandes has also won all four of the 4 Deserts events.

Eyewitness News had a chat with Ryan ahead of the race.

Mindset and training approach for this career-defining challenge

"My mindset leading into Cocadona, I guess in general, really excited and looking forward to it. But also it's quite daunting. I'm not too sure what to expect. I've never done anything like that before. But I've always said, for me, trail running is about adventure. And for me, I think Cocadona is going to be the perfect blend of adventure and both a race. And yeah, just this whole year, I felt really excited and motivated. I feel Cocadona has really lit that flame in me again and really excited.

"I've done a lot of running this year, probably the most consistent and biggest block of training I've done to date in my life. So yeah, I mean, I can't complain. Training and the build-up has gone really well," Sandes said.
 
What are you looking forward to mostly on this adventure?

"I've never done anything like this before or never kind of raced this distance nonstop. So really looking forward to that challenge and just, I guess, having to problem solve along the way. It's not just about kind of thinking about the next 20 or 30 Ks. It's kind of continuously looking ahead and thinking about the bigger distance. So it's kind of making sure you stay on top of your fueling and nutrition, looking after your feet. Yeah, there's just so much that goes into a race like this, the sleep deprivation. So yeah, I think really looking forward to that.

"And also just I've got a really awesome team around me. Rana Crystal is coming out to crew for me. The Salomon Global team have got a couple of their athletes coming out to help, like Lucy Bartholomew and Christian Meyer. And then also a lot of their staff and support team. So yeah, really looking forward to it and being back in the US. I haven't been there since 2019."
 
What's the greatest challenge you have faced so far?
 
"I mean, I think building up to Cocadona has definitely just been the volume of training. I mean, it's I guess I'm a bit older now being 43. So kind of just day in and day out, just like logging the miles. Some of my weeks have been 30-plus hours. So it's been a lot of training, a lot of volume. But as I mentioned, it's really kind of the process has really excited me and got me super motivated."
 
What are the physical and mental limits you expect to face?

"I'll have to push over the 400 kilometers. I think something like Cocadona, there's such a big mental element to it. I mean, physically, I've never done anything like that before. But I always say it's the person that can manage their low moments the best that ends up being the most successful. So I think it's gonna be really important for me just to I mean, it's a given that I'm going to go through a number of low moments. But when I'm going through those low moments, just really to keep it together mentally and have a very strong why. And also just, yeah, I really just break the race down into bite-sized chunks. Just focus on getting from one aid station to the next or kind of if things are really bad from one tree to the next. So yeah, it's gonna be massive."
 
Preparation for unpredictable terrain, sleep deprivation, and extreme weather conditions.
 
"The race starts off, it's going to be really hot. Water is quite scarce. So I'll be running with up to four litres of water at a time. And then as I progress through the race, I'll be running through the night. It can get really cold at night and the sleep deprivation is going to be a big thing. My plan is to take kind of smaller 10-minute power naps when I need. I find that works best for me. But having said that, I've got a plan in place. But I think a lot will change out there along the way. But as I mentioned, I think that the terrain is going to be very similar in many ways to kind of Cape Town or the Cape Town surrounding areas. So, I feel like I've been able to really prepare well for this."