Distance To Empty

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

He won Cocodona 250 on his first attempt in 2022. He came back in 2024, had a great first 50 miles, couldn't sleep, slowly eroded, finished fourth, and watched Arlen Glick open a three-hour gap on him while he thought he was running decent. He is back for 2026. He also just had a baby, which according to Joe is actually race prep.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Joe McConaughy — Stringbean, returning champion, new dad, founding father of the All In Trail Collective, and the only person in this series who asked us to write "the rest of the race hinges on this shot" on his Mingus chalkboard. Joe talks about what went wrong in 2024, why Cocodona is getting closer to being the Western States of 200s but isn't quite there yet, and what it actually feels like to race something this demanding while running on newborn sleep deprivation. He also admits he told his partner Katie he might get to the finish line and immediately wish he was home cuddling his son instead, which is either the most honest thing anyone has said on this series or a sign the sleep deprivation has already started.
He is 6'3". He has dunked once in his life. He does not think Mingus will be the second time.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

She ran her first ultramarathon as a high school senior in road shoes, ate one spoonful of peanut butter for the entire race, finished second overall, cried at the finish line, drove home, and signed up for another one. She is 23 years old. This is her first 200-mile race.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Lila Gaudrault — nurse, Substack writer, self-coached, 10 FKTs, New England trail running ambassador, and the only person in the series who has trained for Cocodona 250 using something called Burrito League. Lila talks about building her own training plan that isn't really a training plan, what it feels like to step up to a distance 150 miles longer than anything she's ever done, and why she's approaching her first 200 as an adventure rather than a race.
She also has a message ready for herself at Mingus Mountain at mile 107 — the moment she'll cross into the longest she's ever gone. It is the most honest thing anyone has said in this entire series.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

He won the first one. He's been back every year since. He dropped in 2025 after running the first 160 miles better than he ever has, four hours ahead of his ghost from the previous year, and then sat in his van in Sedona in the worst storm of the worst weather year Cocodona has ever seen and decided he was done. He is back for year six.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Michael Versteeg, who is refreshingly honest about where he's at heading into 2026. He's not as prepared as last year. His goal is to finish. Not because he's given up on running it fast, he still thinks the course can be run faster than he's ever run it, but because if this is going to be his last Cocodona, he wants to leave it on a finish. His daughter is almost three and this is the first year she'll understand what's going on. Everything he does revolves around her.
He also wants to bring an adjustable basketball hoop to Mingus Mountain and potentially a skateboard to Sedona, because if you've run this course six times you need to find ways to keep it interesting.
His five-word description of Cocodona 250 is simply: no.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!
He went from 210 pounds to 150 pounds in a hospital bed, saw a Cameron Hanes Instagram post, and decided to become an endurance athlete. He has since won the World's Toughest Mudder, DNF'd a Colorado Trail FKT attempt at mile 420 with pneumonia, came back and broke the record anyway, and showed up to Cocodona 250 last year as a relative unknown and finished 7th overall.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with DJ Fox, who is back for 2026 with one goal — to be the first person across the finish line in Flagstaff. He breaks down exactly what went wrong last year: 17 hours of shuffling on dead legs through 40 miles because he missed his sleep window, watching Edher and Finn and Harry and Mike and Cody and Max all pass him, then waking up from a 90-minute nap and running those last 40 miles faster than anyone else on the course. He knows what he left out there. He spent this year actually learning how to run.
He also wants us to draw him a gauge on the chalkboard at Mingus. A tiny sliver of green in the middle. On one side, being an idiot. On the other, being something less than that. He wants to live in the sliver.
His caffeine consumption in the final 40 miles of last year was approximately 1,500 milligrams. He is not concerned about this.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

He started running at 27. He is not a professional athlete by his own description. He has run UTMB, Tor des Géants, the Swiss Alps 100, and Moab 240 — where he podiumed and then made a feature documentary about it, because finishing apparently wasn't enough. He spent the week before this recording running reconnaissance on the course. He has now covered about 150 miles of it on foot before the race even starts.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Jeff Pelletier — trail runner, filmmaker, and one of three Jeffs in this series — for a conversation about what it actually means to show up to one of the most competitive 250-mile races in the world as someone who approaches the whole thing cerebrally, documents everything with his partner Audrey, and genuinely believes that anyone with a healthy body could do what he does if they had the time and the mindset.
Jeff talks about why Cocodona appealed to him, what he learned at Mammoth 200 six months ago that he's bringing directly into this race, and why he's writing himself a pledge to sign before the start line — because that middle section will try to make you complacent, and he's not letting it.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel. Whatever happens out there will almost certainly end up on YouTube anyway.