Ultra Marathon Man: Ricky Urias Conquers Cocodona 250 Race with Daughter’s Help

“Well, are we gonna finish this or what?”

At that precise moment, those were hardly the words Ricky Urias expected to hear from his daughter, Serina. After all, the then 20-year-old was exhausted, every fiber of her body was scorched and screaming, and tears were pouring down her face. Then again, she’d never hiked more than twelve miles or climbed more than 1,500 feet of elevation prior to that day back in May.

By the time she issued the challenge to her dad, Serena had covered a total of thirty-six miles in twenty-four hours—including 6,000 feet of climbing—pacing Ricky through the final stages of his most ambitious endurance run to date. When the pair made it to downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, ninety-seven hours and two minutes after Ricky had set out from Black Canyon City, he became one of just 202 intrepid souls who finished the 2024 Cocodona 250 (for the uninitiated, that is 250 miles). But in Ricky’s estimation, no accomplishment could have topped that of sharing the moment with his youngest daughter.

“It was absolutely amazing,” the Ivins resident confirmed. “We had many teary-eyed embraces at the end.”

Ricky’s conquest of the grueling event wasn’t exactly unexpected. His life has been devoted to fitness and physical prowess, encompassing stints as a semipro football player, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, coach, and highly competitive marathoner. He admits that it wasn’t until the latter role became obsessive that he found what he believes to be his true calling. 

A three-year stretch in semipro football had ended when Ricky was twenty-one, when he realized that feeding his young family needed to become his priority. “I was good but never great enough to play outside of a recreation league team,” Ricky admitted. “I had small kids and needed to provide for them versus chasing my football dreams.”

But first, there was the MMA chapter. In his mid-twenties, Ricky became a fan of cage fighting events. An ad seeking possible warriors attracted his attention. In short order, he was competing as “Rage Rhino,” a moniker born of a line from the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson movie Anger Management. Said Ricky, “We were watching the film one night, and in one scene Nicholson walks into Sandler’s house and says, ‘Well, isn’t this the lair of the rage rhino.’ My wife looked at me and said, ‘That’s you.’ It stuck perfectly.”

Due to fluctuations in Ricky’s weight and fitness levels, he faced off against every possible competitor, from 155-pounders to 205-pound opponents. Finding success—and feeling better—at a lower weight, Ricky mostly enjoyed MMA matches. But when he lost to a fighter who was revealed to have taken a performance-enhancing drug, his faith in the sport was shattered. Despite the judges overturning their decision, he chose to walk away from MMA. 

“It was so demoralizing; I’d spent two months of my life getting ready for that match. I’d fought wrestlers who were strong, but this guy just had weird strength, which made sense after he failed the drug test. I never went back,” Ricky said.

Fortunately, the universe had other plans for him. During his prefight prep, he’d run the 2010 Utah Valley Marathon. Despite over-training that resulted in a blown out IT band (the long, fibrous sheath stretching along the lateral thigh) and a final time of 5.5 hours, Ricky made it over the finish line. From then on, he was hooked on distance running. Promising himself that he’d never return to his heavier weight, Ricky eagerly registered for and completed a flurry of 26.2-mile races.

A chance chat with St. George Running Center employee and avid runner Levi Hawks was to change the trajectory of Ricky’s athletic career. Having just finished the Zion Half Marathon and placing fifty-fourth out of 1,000 competitors, Ricky shared his excitement about his time with Levi. “He said, ‘If you get some structural training or a coach, you’ll probably be in the top ten next year,’” recalled Ricky. “I found a coach and worked with her for about a year. Then I went back to the Zion Half, cut about twenty-four minutes off my time, finished fifth overall, and was the fourth male. I owe Levi a lot because he dropped that seed in my ear.”

Many of Ricky’s longer runs took him on Southern Utah’s most beautiful trails. To his surprise, he felt the happiest in that environment. “I realized that I really enjoy trail running; it was way more the vibe I was looking for,” he said. “Being out, seeing nature, and going at my own pace was much more enjoyable than the super competitive races. I could turn my brain off and just be free from any worries…well, aside from falling down!”

Fast-forward to 2024. With multiple half-marathons and 50Ks under his belt and having coached a number of local athletes through their first endurance runs, Ricky felt he was ready for the Cocodona challenge. He registered through the Wander Project, an organization that provides entrée into races for athletes who commit to raising funds for various charities. Ricky pledged his $1500 fundraising efforts to Bigger Than the Trail, a nonprofit that provides services to those struggling with mental health.

On race day, Michele, Ricky’s wife, served as crew chief, with Ricky’s father, Pat, as part of the support team. What followed were hours upon hours upon hours of the most challenging terrain and elevation gains imaginable. Sleeping less than an hour each of four days and struggling with exhaustion, caloric deficits, and hydration depletion (at one point, leading to hallucinations), Ricky and his pacers somehow kept going. Then, with twenty-two miles remaining, Ricky informed his wife that sleep and food were imperative. When he awoke forty minutes later, Serina, now beginning her second stint as his pacer, joined him. Together, they conquered the final 3,800-foot climb, which required forty-two switchbacks, and made the ultimate descent into Flagstaff. With a mile to go, Serina delivered her query: “Are we gonna finish this or what?” It was more than enough to propel Ricky across the finish line, tears of gratitude streaming down his face.

“I could tell she was dying. Her body was on fire, but she didn’t want to disappoint me. It was such a special moment,” Ricky said. Then pausing to reflect on his achievement, he added, “I haven’t really posted about it on social media because I still don’t believe it was real…and I don’t want to lose that feeling. My time didn’t matter; getting to finish with Serina was one of the very best moments and memories from that race.”

These days, Ricky works in customer service for UltrAspire, makers of hydration and lighting gear for ultra runners. He’s also transitioning into a coaching role, encouraging and instructing new endurance athletes to discover the joys of trail running. He stays race-ready, putting in sixty-five to seventy miles weekly. But his focus now is on the journey and not on how quickly he reaches his destination. 

“If I turn in a good time, that’s great, and if I set a personal record, even better,” he noted. “But now, I don’t want the stress of having to prove anything else.”