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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utahn has won an ultramarathon in Arizona.
Every week, Michael McKnight runs approximately 70 miles.
His latest feat is the Cocodona 250. The distance of the race is what the name says it is: 250 miles. McKnight won the race earlier this month.
To give an idea of how far that is, to complete the Cocodona 250 it is about the same distance as running from Salt Lake City to Cedar City.
The enormous amount of mileage may leave one wondering, "Why?" and "How?"
McKnight's motivation started years ago.
"I actually grew up a little bit overweight. I came in last at all my track meets, and I rode the bench in football," McKnight said.
His sister eventually challenged him to run a half-marathon with her.
He took up the challenge and surprised himself with the results.
"I decided I wanted to train hard to walk on to the track team at Utah State, the college I was at," McKnight said.
In the middle of his training for the collegiate team, he broke his back in a skiing accident.
"Two rods. Nine screws were put into my spine, my back area, and the doctor told me I'd be in bed for quite a while," he explained.
On top of that, he lost his job and deferred his college classes for a full year. It brought him to a low point. But every runner knows about chasing something called the runner's high.
"I recovered a lot faster than what he said. I started my running about three weeks after my surgery," McKnight said.
He kept running 10 to 20 miles daily. He learned about long-distance races along the way, such as the Cocodona 250 in Arizona — 250 miles in one go.
"I ran my hardest ever," McKnight said.
He said a 200-mile race means a competitor will run for a minimum of over 48 hours.
With that in mind, taking care of oneself is key.
"It's a lot of training — and it does — it can weaken your immune system," McKnight explained.
The runners use everything from vitamins to nasal spray. McKnight said sleep is a must.
He said he can usually push through the entire first night of running.
For this race in Arizona, he took a nap.
"I woke up and my crew told me that I was about 10 hours behind first place, which I've never been that far back before. Somewhere between 62nd and 75th place is how far back I got," McKnight said.
This was not just any nap, though. This was a power nap.
"It was basically a marathon to go when I caught him. And so it took like 130 or 140 miles to catch him, but you know once I caught him, I ended up getting the course record, too," he said.
McKnight said he has laced up for more than the stats as he has made every step count.
"When you're put into a situation where you don't know if you're gonna walk again, that situation kind of almost forces you to, like, just want to just do everything and anything. You never know what's going to happen. So for me, it's just kind of like, 'My body can do it right now, so I wanna keep doing it until I can't do it anymore,'" he explained.
Running and winning the Cocodona 250 took McKnight 69 hours to complete, which is just shy of three days of running.
The winner of the men's division in 2022 completed this grueling test of endurance in about 59½ hours. The 2021 winner took almost 73 hours to finish the race.
For new, aspiring, curious, and seasoned runners, McKnight's best advice is to be committed and stay consistent.
