Elevation Profile #2: Cocodona 250, Chiang Mai is Back, & All Chrome Everything

Elevation Profile is a weekly column from Doi Trail Research covering the world of trail running, running fashion, and outdoor culture, with a particular eye on Thailand and Southeast Asia.

History was made in the Arizona desert, Chiang Mai is finally back outside, and the chrome wave has peaked before the drop. A lot to get into this week. Let's go.

Cocodona 250: Rachel Entrekin Makes History, A Complicated Week for SATISFY

The Cocodona 250 delivered one of the most memorable results in ultrarunning this year. Rachel Entrekin, a runner based out of Colorado, won the race outright, not just the women's division, but the entire field. Finishing in 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 48 seconds, Rachel became the first woman in the race's five-year history to beat the men. She broke the previous overall course record, set by Dan Green, by more than two hours. Absolutely incredible to see her charging it in at the finish line, clearly emotional about the accomplishment.

Another cool thing to add, because I'm a shoe geek, is that Rachel did it in the unreleased Norda 055. Probably the most anticipated trail shoe of the year now has the most legendary story attached to it.

Rachel proves yet again a statement made back in an article titled The State of Ultra Running 2020, that "female ultra runners are faster than male ultra runners at distances over 195 miles."

Rachel isn't the first example of a woman pioneering an overall victory either. Pam Reed made international headlines by winning Badwater, a 135-mile race through Death Valley. What's even more incredible wasn't that Pam did it in such a harsh environment, nor that she beat every competitor regardless of gender, but that she did it back-to-back in 2002 and 2003. And more recently, Courtney Dauwalter won the Moab 240 back in 2017 by more than 10 hours ahead of the second-place male finisher. History has a pattern here.

This year, Courtney also ran the Cocodona 250 and finished 2nd female, 6th overall with a time of 61 hours, 58 minutes and 35 seconds. She was wearing her Salomon S/LAB Ultra Glide 2 Limited Courtney Edition and the matching shorts cleverly dubbed the Shortney. You can always count on some good name play when it comes to Courtney. Big fan of her Tailwind nutrition collaboration called the Dauwaltermelon, too.

Kilian Korth came in second overall and first among the men at 57:28:36, setting a new men's course record in the process. He was rocking the H1 by Mount to Coast, which I've heard amazing things about. Really want to get my hands on a pair, but in reality those Norda 055s are catching my eye more.

Team SATISFY was out there in full force, even rolling out the iconic Fain Ranch Aid Station at Mile 100, their 4th year doing so at Cocodona 250. Jakob Aberg led the charge for the brand, finishing 5th among men and 7th overall in his first-ever 250-miler. A big-time result in his debut at the distance.

On the gear side, SATISFY shared photos of The Rocker alongside his bib, which makes total sense from a brand perspective. However, it does appear like he ran a good amount in neon Hoka Tecton X 3s, with matching neon SATISFY socks to keep with the color palette. This probably speaks to how solid the Hokas are performance-wise, but I think I would have personally chosen the Hoka x SATISFY Mafate Speed 4 Lites. Either way, great race for Jakob.

Unfortunately, it was a tough day on the course for the rest of the SATISFY team. Max Joliffe, SATISFY's ultrarunner fan favorite, dropped out just after the 100-mile mark battling an aggravated hip. Michael Versteeg, who won the inaugural Cocodona 250, DNF'd just after Fain Ranch at mile 107.

This also lands in the same week that SATISFY CEO Antoine Auvinet announced he's stepping down after two years with the brand. The brand's creative identity remains as strong as ever and Brice Partouche continues to lead that vision. These transitions happen, and SATISFY has built something with real staying power.

Chiang Mai Is So Back

If you're based in Chiang Mai, you already know. If you're not, here's the context: every April, the city's air quality deteriorates sharply as farmers across the region burn fields and forest ahead of the rainy season.

This year was particularly bad. At its worst, Chiang Mai was ranked number one for worst air quality in the world, not exactly something to be proud of, and something that limits life here in ways that are hard to overstate.

Run clubs go quiet. Communities stop gathering. The trails and parks that make this city special become places you stay away from. For a city whose identity is so wrapped up in outdoor culture, it's a real loss every year.

But this past week was the first full week of clean air, and you could feel it immediately. BREATHE IT IN EVERYONE.

On Monday, our Doi Trail Research community got back to our sunset social run, the first one in about a month. New faces showed up, which was a good sign. Tuesday, we joined Basecamp Coffee Club and Kailas Thailand for a trail repeat session up Pilgrim's Trail. Hardcore Session is an understatement, but that's kind of the point.

Wednesday, we were back with Tann Nimman for their midweek morning run, which we also hadn't done in a month. Seeing familiar faces, running familiar trails, being social again. It sounds simple, but after a month of staying indoors, it felt even more meaningful.

All the run clubs were back out too. Most notably, Faburuns, the oldest and largest run club in Chiang Mai, returned with a trail run that included one of the better post-run ideas I've seen in a while: homemade ice cream. Attendees mixed basic ingredients into their packs before heading out, and by the end, the natural shaking during the run did most of the work.

Whether that holds up in Thailand's humidity, I cannot tell you. But I saw it on Instagram a month ago during smoky season lockdown and I've been thinking about it ever since. Someone, please confirm how good the ice cream turned out. Regardless, a really cool idea from Faburuns and it looked like a great event.

Introvert Running Club x Fringe: Run for Beer, Shop for Gear

On Sunday, the running community gathered for a secondhand running flea market hosted by Introvert Running Club and Fringe, a local café. The concept is exactly what it sounds like: a community market focused specifically on secondhand running gear, bringing the running crowd together around something other than a race or a timed run.

What makes it more interesting is the Run for Beer component. Run a certain number of kilometers, and you unlock free cans of Singha. First come, first served, and based on the volume of people who threw up the story on social this week, the beer did not last.

EOU x Carnival: Seoul Comes to Bangkok

If you've been paying attention to what Carnival has been building in the running space, this week's news is another piece of a very deliberate puzzle. For those who don't know, EOU is a South Korean wellness lifestyle brand whose name stands for "End of Universe," and they're landing in Bangkok with the help of Carnival. Carnival kicked things off with a launch event today called EOU THE FIRST LAUNCH AT CARNIVAL, alongside the EOU Crew and Cruise Control Run Club. Confirmed runners at the event receive an exclusive Carnival Running x EOU singlet.

What makes EOU interesting is precisely what they're not trying to be. They haven't pigeonholed themselves into running. Their brand is built around the idea that all movement has value, whether you're running, walking, or dancing. It's wellness as a wider philosophy rather than a performance category.

On first impression, they sit somewhere in the lane of what Alo is to the wellness space: fashion-forward, lifestyle-leaning, with enough design credibility to stand on its own without needing a race result to validate it. Smart positioning, especially as the lines between running gear and lifestyle apparel continue to blur.

For a brand based in Itaewon, Seoul, the Carnival partnership is a natural landing spot. And honestly, I love seeing Asian brands support each other.

What I think is really brilliant here is what Carnival continues to do as a brand. This isn't just a pop-up or a product moment. It's the same strategic move Carnival made when they started stocking SATISFY running apparel in-store. They're building bridges between Bangkok and the wider running fashion world, one market at a time. Saucony, SATISFY, Pleasures, and now EOU from Korea.

Each one is a deliberate step toward positioning Carnival, and by extension Bangkok, as a serious player in the global running fashion conversation, not just a regional consumer of it. That's a meaningful distinction and it's easy to underestimate how hard that positioning is to earn. Keep it going, Carnival.

Hyrox Hong Kong: Bangkok Represents

Hyrox descended on Hong Kong this week and Bangkok made its presence felt. On the Elite 15 side, Gabe Heck, an American who made Bangkok his home and as much a local as anyone training in this city, competed in the Pro division on Saturday alongside Australia's James Kelly.

Gabe finished 1st overall and set a new personal best of 55:17! Honestly, a big improvement, about 90 seconds to be exact. Gabe trains with some great athletes and even coaches clients in Bangkok. And he’s become a big part of the Hyrox and Spartan community in Bangkok. If you were at Hyrox Bangkok or our Hyrox recovery event at Ice House back in March, you know how much the community appreciates him.

Also flying out from Bangkok were our friends at Ironhive Hybrid Club and 247 Knowmesoon. Ironhive is one of Bangkok's prominent gyms, and they've recently started building Ironhive Training Club, their hybrid fitness community. 247 Knowmesoon, co-founded by our friend Pro, started as a cycling brand under the name CNCPTSPD before rebranding and expanding into running.

The two have been building something special together that speaks to a broader trend worth naming: the clubification of everything. Gyms becoming training clubs, brands becoming communities, retail spaces becoming run hubs. Community marketing isn't a strategy anymore. It's the product. Or maybe we all just miss the club but hate the hangovers now.

Anyway, we also want to celebrate some wins from our friends. Most notably:

• Dejjutha Clapp (Dino) and Pimvara Chongsanguan (Jassy) came in 5th in their age group in the doubles mixed race, both racing in some sweet 247 Knowmesoon kits.
• Norathai Panayong (Pat) and Chorsarun Bannawat (Pro) came in with a quick time of 1:00:33.
• Dino Clapp and Danny Chan rocked out with a 1:03.
• Vincent Sittl and Aidan Kean brought it home with a 1:07:56.

Congrats on all the PRs and we're excited to run it all back for Hyrox Bangkok in August.

Silver Everything: Running's Chrome Moment

I haven't even received my Minted x Saucony Endorphin Pro 5s yet and chrome is already making its rounds across the whole industry.

Minted NY set the tone. Their Endorphin Pro 5 collaboration gives a cool nod to the metallic space blankets that runners receive at the finish line of a marathon. Add in Marcus Milione's storytelling on Instagram and the brand's consistent energy, and you have a beautifully executed collab with a story that actually holds together.

What's interesting is how quickly the aesthetic traveled. The Pleasures x Altra Experience Flow 3 "Satellite" brings a metallic blue-silver palette inspired by satellites in orbit. Isamaya Ffrench x Nike's "Run Forever" collection centers on a grey-and-chrome Vomero Premium with a full gradient grey apparel lineup. The Adidas x Footpatrol Adizero Adios Pro 4 takes a more urban angle, pulling from the architecture and feeling of running through London and Paris, with chrome applied mostly to the three stripes. Each collab has its own angle and it's interesting to watch a visual idea move through the industry in real time.

SATISFY also got in on the moment with their new Justice Cordura Hydration Vest in Silver Foil. It doesn’t really speak me but I think there will be people who love it. SATISFY has built incredible brand loyalty and for a lot of their community, anything they put out is worth having. Kind of giving Supreme box logo energy whether you like it or not.

The chrome trend has clearly caught on in a big way this spring. And look, someone out there is absolutely going to put together a full chrome running outfit for the gram. Silver shoes, silver shorts, silver vest, silver foil tee. Might as well add body paint and go full Silver Surfer out there for Halloween. I’m kidding, please don’t do this.

Minted x Saucony Endorphin Pro 5 drops in London on May 16th and online May 19th at 11AM EST, if you still want in. I do still want in.

Goodpace: The Japanese Alps Are Calling

A new co-living house in the Japanese Alps is opening its doors to trail runners for a month-long stay this June, and it might be exactly what your summer needs.

Goodpace is launching a pilot program in Fujimi, Nagano from June 12 to July 12: a small group living, working, and running situation in a 650-square-metre villa set against the Japanese Southern Alps. The villa has six ensuite bedrooms, two Japanese bathing rooms, a gym, mountain bikes, and an outdoor BBQ setup. The key thing is the trail access, ranging from local loops to serious mountain routes including Mt. Akadake and Mt. Kaikomagatake. Now for the reality check. Pricing starts at ¥120,000 for a shared room and ¥190,000 for a private room for the full month.

What's interesting to me isn't just this particular house, but a growing trend. The travel-for-sport era is producing a new kind of experience: not a race, not a guided tour, but a basecamp for people who want to be around other like-minded people, access serious terrain, and actually stay long enough for it to mean something. We're seeing versions of this across Europe too with trail running weeks, cycling retreats, and climbing camps. So you can pass on Yacht Week or Contiki Tours and instead find your more fit-minded crew training in the mountains and coming back to a nice villa.

It's a model worth paying attention to. In fact, it's one we've been thinking about ourselves here at Doi Trail Research. But that's a conversation for another issue.