Races
Sedona Canyons 125
Jerome to Heritage Square. The back half of Cocodona. Red rock, then pine. Seventy-five hours.
The mountain
Gold King Mine in Jerome. Down through Clarkdale, then Sedona sandstone, then the Arizona Trail and the Flagstaff Loop into town. Sixty-two percent single-track. Twenty-nine double-track. Nine pavement. Low point three thousand two hundred fifty-eight feet. High point seven thousand four hundred fifty-eight. You skip the Bradshaws. You still get the Hangover and Elden.
The work
Less desert than the two-fifty, more technical rock. Practice heat in the canyons and a long climb into pine. Fourteen thousand feet of gain is not the story. Footing on slickrock and the night into Flagstaff is.
Race morning
Seven a.m. in Jerome. GPS required. Ten aid stations and two water stations. Check-in and drop bags at the start line the night before. Finish at Heritage Square on Leroux. Seventy-five hours closes at ten a.m. on the last day.
Watch outs
Jerome starts cool. Sedona does not stay that way. The red rock eats shoes. The last climb into Flagstaff is where people who treated this like a downhill tour sit down.