Why Not Me | Crewing the Cocodona 250 in Arizona

We celebrated our anniversary on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. By Monday we were following a 250+ mile foot race through the Arizona backcountry. We didn't plan that week. It turned out to be one of the best we've had.

We're back on the road, and this episode is the catch-up we owe you. We talk about what it felt like to go home, what we fixed, what we decided to keep, and why we're not selling the house after all. Then the episode goes somewhere we didn't see coming: a 253-mile ultramarathon through central Arizona, a brother-in-law who'd been training for a year, a crew of unpaid people who showed up with their whole hearts, and a 34-year-old woman who made history by becoming the first person ever to win the Cocodona 250 outright. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, a quiet realization: the things we really want have a way of arriving. Just not always in the shape we expected.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• What it felt like to go home after months on the road, and the surprisingly emotional decision to stop talking about selling the house
• The solar panel upgrade that changed everything (and the folding panel that quietly gave out)
• How we ended up crewing for a 250-mile ultramarathon
• What it means to truly let the people in your corner show up for you and why that's harder than it sounds
• Rachel Entrekin, 34, who became the first woman to win the Cocodona 250 outright, beating every man in the field and the course record by over two hours, and the "why not me" mantra she used to get there
• Why the mindset game and the physical game are the same game, and what that means for the rest of us
• What's coming: Santa Fe, Kansas City, Iowa, New Hampshire, Montana, Idaho, and James's son's new business launch
• An honest mention of The Reinvention Project and why this episode is the reason it exists

Resources & Mentions:

• Cocodona 250 — 253-mile ultramarathon, Black Canyon City to Flagstaff, Arizona: cocodona.com
• Rachel Entrekin — 2026 Cocodona 250 overall winner and course record holder
• Dr. Joe Dispenza — mentioned in relation to retreats, mind movies, and the "thoughts create your reality" framework
• Dr. Margaret Cochran — the "backseat driver" concept (the inner critic that wants to drive the bus)
• Dispersed Camping, Flagstaff, Arizona
• LA Comedy Club at the Edgewater, Laughlin/Bullhead City — anniversary comedy show
• The Reinvention Project: thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop

What you heard in this episode isn't a commercial break. It's the thing the episode is actually about. Watching Jeff run 250 miles. Watching Rachel win on "why not me." Watching a crew of people show up with everything they had without being asked. All of it points to the same thing: the gap between what you're capable of and what you've given yourself permission to believe. That gap has a name. The Reinvention Project is where we're working on it, with people who are ready. If something in this conversation is sitting with you, come find us when you're ready. thereinventionproject.podia.com/the-quiet-reinvention-workshop

If this conversation resonated with you, you're always welcome at our campfire.

For photos, reflections, and the companion blog, head to KerouacsCruising.com/blog.

To follow along in real time, find us on social @KerouacsCruising.

To support the journey, visit Ko-fi.com/KerouacsCruising.

And if something here made you think, feel, or see your life a little differently, we'd love to hear from you in the comments or at Join@KerouacsCruising.com.

However you choose to be here — thank you for being part of this. 💚🩷