CHOOSING YOUR FIRST 200 MILER | Tahoe? Cocodona? Moab? Bigfoot?

#tahoe200 #cocodona250 #moab240 #bigfoot200
If you're considering diving into the crazy world of 200+ mile ultramarathons, I hope this video can provide some guidance for choosing your first race. In particular, I consider the Tahoe 200, Moab 240, Bigfoot 200, and Cocodona 250. I have started and finished each of these races alongside my brother Drew, and they've all been unforgettable journeys.
I offer a review of each race in terms of the course, logistics and overall difficulty, and at the end I give my (highly subjective) ranking of the order I recommend doing these races. There are so many variables to consider for choosing a 200 miler, so my goal is just to provide our firsthand experience of each race and hopefully convince you to try one of these incredible adventures!
photographers: @jdpetersdotcom @_anastasiawilde @sarahattar

[@mariaavinafranco8046]

Great info, thanks

[@michaelgay9989]

I did Moab in 2019 and just finished Tahoe and Bigfoot and going for the triple crown back in Moab in 1 month. Maybe I saw you guys at Tahoe. I also have signed up for Cocodona in 2023 and you got me a little nervous now. Sounds like a good crew will be key. When you were doing your rankings at the end they were in the exact order I would say as well. Bigfoot is definitely the toughest of the 3 Destination Trail races and kept kicking me in the face but the key is to just keep getting back up. Great video and summary. I really enjoyed it!!

[@staghoundfilms1789]

wow, best of luck wrapping up the triple crown in October, Michael! Amazing accomplishment. As for Cocodona, any inaugural race will have its issues. They kept extending the cut-off times during the race because they were realizing how crazy that first climb was and just how the heat was a major challenge throughout the race. With all the changes they've made to the course now (and especially the water drop halfway up that first climb!!!) I am already thinking about doing it again in 2024...but with a crew ;)

[@wplate]

Hi Michael, we met on the return towards Brockway Summit. We were together when you the discovered the magic rejuvenating properties of red licorice. Sorry I missed seeing you at Bigfoot. It is such a strong course, and having my low-point during the Klickitat section was no fun. See you in Moab!

[@mattspringer9298]

Great video. I’m heading up for Tahoe 200 In June Always wanted to loop the lake. Thanks for the video 👍

[@staghoundfilms1789]

Did you do Tahoe? We were signed up for June as well but couldn't do it when it got pushed to July. We'll be there in 2024 though!

[@joannakimmel8291]

awesome video! I'm registered for Bigfoot as my first one as well

[@averagewanderers]

This is great insight! Makes me play around with the idea of doing one, but definitely far off from it haha thank you for sharing this!

[@staghoundfilms1789]

Haha! Do it! Just did the inaugural Oregon 200. It would make for a great first 200!!!

[@futbolman15]

Thanks for this video. I've been thinking hard about doing my first 200. I run crewless so the logistics and planning will be pretty important.

[@staghoundfilms1789]

Awesome, hopefully this was helpful!

[@seans7513]

I did Tahoe crewless. It makes it harder in ways I didn't experience in my 100s, sleep. Many people sleep in their crew's vehicle. I had issues sleeping in aid stations and I failed at my one dirt nap. I did it on zero sleep(excluding micro sleep for a few seconds here and there), I don't suggest it. Plenty of getting to a drop bag this year with it being an out and back.

[@wplate]

Great roundup of the races Doug! I can confirm Pam Reed said that, she told me and Kerry that Cocodona was harder than Badwater.

[@staghoundfilms1789]

Setting aside "Tahoe lung" for now, I'm super curious how you would rank the 4. If you could do it all over again, what order would you choose?

[@wplate]

@@staghoundfilms1789 Ranking them in any way is difficult, each being so different. It was interesting to see your list, though. It made me realize I did have an option, and it different! I think my order would be Cocodona, Bigfoot (putting aside the nightmare it is for crew), Moab, then Tahoe.

[@douglaswatson6783]

@@wplate ha! So the exact opposite of my ranking 😂

[@luispalomeras5956]

Hi… I got selected to Bigfoot 200. Signed up on the lottery during a little existencial crisis… I live in Miami and my endurance curriculum consists in one full Ironman and 5 middle distance. Is it possible to get it done with one year of training ?

[@staghoundfilms1789]

You can definitely get it done with some smart, highly specific training. Bigfoot is very mountainous, so while you may have a good aerobic base from triathlon, I would recommend practicing spending long hours on your feet and doing lots of easy running. It would be ideal as you get closer to the race to try and get somewhere kind of close, like northern Georgia, and get a long weekend in with tons of steep hiking. Hope that helps, and best of luck!

[@luispalomeras5956]

@@staghoundfilms1789 LET THE HUNGER GAMES BEGIN 🔥… thanks amigo

[@joshbogaards7249]

I live in south Florida so elevation is nonexistent. In your honest opinion how doable are all of these races with little to no elevation training?

[@staghoundfilms1789]

Hey Josh, I live in pancake-flat central Florida, so here's my 2 cents: as long as you go in uninjured and absolutely determined to finish, you can get it done. For example, before Tahoe all I did was got to the UF stadium a few times and do a bunch of stair climbs and descents and did some hill repeats to shock the system, and I had a great race. You walk/hike a lot in these "races", and if you are committed to finishing I have no doubt you will!

[@joshbogaards7249]

@@staghoundfilms1789 great. Thanks for the info. Do you feel like the higher altitude had any impact on your breathing? Or made you feel any type of altitude sickness?

[@douglaswatson6783]

@@joshbogaards7249 the science seems to point to heat and especially humid as good proxies for altitude training. Similar physical adaptations. So we get plenty of that here in Florida! I had absolutely no issue with altitude at any of the races. I think the issues everyone was having with Tahoe this year was the dry dusty trail conditions and the huge amount of pollen in the air.

[@joshbogaards7249]

@@douglaswatson6783thanks for the explanation. Glad I don't have to pick up my family and move out west to adequately train for one. Now to find some local longer distance races and commit to the training so I can head out west for one sometime in the near future.

[@staghoundfilms1789]

@@joshbogaards7249 I've taken my family up to northern Georgia for races/mini vacations. Incredibly tough awesome mountain races that are perfect prep for 200 milers. Best of luck!

[@summercourvelle3588]

What are the chances of getting picked for the Bigfoot 200? If me & a friend both put in for the lottery.

[@staghoundfilms1789]

That's a great question. I honestly can't remember if Bigfoot was a lottery back in 2019. I know for the Tahoe lottery this year we requested that if only one of us got picked then to go ahead and give that spot to someone else because we wanted to do it together. I think Tahoe is more popular than Bigfoot in terms of number of applicants and we got in again for next year, so I bet your chances are pretty good. Good luck, Bigfoot is AMAZING!

[@michails.maipas814]

May I ask ? How many hours weekly yours job ??

[@staghoundfilms1789]

My job? Usually 40-45hrs per week.

[@user-bz5rj1mb7b]

Where would you put the Oregon 200 on this list?

[@staghoundfilms1789]

That's a great question! I do think it's a great first choice because it's so well organized and logistically pretty straightforward. The only downside is that an out and back is mentally pretty challenging for a 200. But I'd put it towards the top of the list.

[@user-bz5rj1mb7b]

@@staghoundfilms1789 thanks!