Ultrarunning legend Courtney Dauwalter tuned up for her tilt at the Cocodona 250 in early May with her latest record-breaking win at the Crown King Scramble 50K in Arizona.
Dauwalter has won pretty much every race she’s entered in recent years and after a perfect five-out-of-five in 2024, this was her opening hit-out of the 2025 campaign.
Her first big target is the mammoth 250-mile Cocodona, also in Arizona, and all the indications from the Crown King Scramble suggest everything is on track.
Another race win, another course record
A classic footrace from Lake Pleasant to the old mining town of Crown King, Dauwalter covered the 50km in 4:19:49, which took almost exactly seven minutes off Ida Nilsson’s previous best time (4:26:44).
She was also nearly half an hour in front of runner-up Arden Young, the only other woman to go under five hours.
![Courtney Dauwalter Transgrancanaria win [Photo credit: The Adventure Bakery / The North Face Transgrancanaria]](https://run247.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Courtney-Dauwalter-Transgrancanaria-win.jpg)
Dauwalter also finished second overall, with Eric Blake the one man ahead of her in 4:12:09.
Problem-solving
Speaking afterwards on the Aravaipa Running video which is embedded below, she said: “I had no idea what to expect, except that it was a 50k climb basically. It was a treat, I really enjoyed it and the road was really cool.
“I was kind of running with people on and off for the first couple of hours and then just trying to survive the rest of it!”
She will be back in Arizona in six weeks for Cocodona and added: “I am really looking forward to Cocodona. Crown King is part of it so we just sprinkled some good vibes around the area for everyone.
“After pacing some people in the very first year of Cocodona, I knew I wanted to do it myself at some point. So this year it fit perfectly on the schedule and was on our bucket list of whish races and all sort of worked out.
“I’m excited to try and move with my feet from Phoenix to Flagstaff. I’m definitely not an expert at 200-milers so I’ll take any advice there. But I’ve not been physically preparing for it any differently. I think more my hope is to show up at the start line physically ready, but more mentally ready to problem solve, be patient and just figure out the puzzle as we go. I think the mental side of a 200-plus-mile race is crucial.
“So hoping to show up with all my marbles in the right places, with the right mindset. I just think it’s a really cool adventure to travel that far.
