# Joe 'Stringbean' McConaughy is Flagstaff Bound at the 2026 Cocodona 250

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/distance-to-empty-6729493/joe-stringbean-mcconaughy-is-flagstaff-bound-at-the-2026-cocodona-250
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/distance-to-empty-6729493/joe-stringbean-mcconaughy-is-flagstaff-bound-at-the-2026-cocodona-250.md
Podcast: [Distance To Empty](https://stenobird.com/podcast/distance-to-empty-6729493)
Published: 2026-04-17T18:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kevin-goldberg/episodes/Joe-Stringbean-McConaughy-is-Flagstaff-Bound-at-the-2026-Cocodona-250-e3i18gj
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/ef81d1e4/podcast/play/118579155/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-17%2F2885eb93-5d26-6b87-59ee-c88a8bc544da.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/distance-to-empty-6729493/episodes/joe-stringbean-mcconaughy-is-flagstaff-bound-at-the-2026-cocodona-250
Duration seconds: 1981

## Resource

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 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…

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## Transcript

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