HOMETOWN HERO

CONIFER, COLO. – Though she exited Madison 16 years ago and has traveled the world and currently lives just outside Denver in Conifer, Colo., Rachel Entrekin is a Madison “Hometown Hero.” The 34-year old is regarded as one of the top ultra-marathon runners in the world and currently holds the fastest times for 16 different ultra-marathon routes in the states of Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona.

You would think her success should be enough, but, as in the words of the 1970 hit song by the Carpenters, “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

“Why put my body and mind through such stressful exercise you may ask, because it’s fun and you get to explore so much stuff while you’re in these races as the biggest hook for me is I see lots of the world in a short time frame,” said Entrekin, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the world in the 100mile ultra-marathon race and has been featured in numerous national publications and was once on the cover of Ultra Running Magazine. Ultra-marathon is any road race longer than the traditional marathon of 26.2 miles. Entrekin has participated in 50 marathons, 20 half-marathons and 97 ultra-marathons, which includes 20 events 100 miles or greater. This week she will be among 250 elite athletes for the 100-mile High Lonesome/Colorado Ultra-Marathon set for Buena Vista, Colorado two hours away from her home. She heads into the race as the No. 1 seed non-professional in a field Entrekin said, “Is stacked with really great runners.”

A 2009 graduate of Bob Jones High, Entrekin did not participate in school related athletics, but did play youth soccer and basketball within the City of Madison programs. She felt she wasn’t good enough to play in team sports and stayed active by taking up running while attending UAB in Birmingham where she earned her degree in Exercise Science in 2012 and her Doctorate in 2016. She currently works as a physical therapist on what is called a travel contract. After completing her education she moved to Seattle, Wash. in 2016 and then moved to Los Angeles in 2021 where she remained until moving to the incredible beautiful scenery of the mountains of Colorado in December of last year.

Her career path began years ago when her mother, Karen Entrekin, underwent physical therapy for a shoulder injury. Entrekin sort of shadowed the therapist at Johnson and Hayes Therapy and thought that’s the type of work she wanted to get into, which is a little different path than she originally thought of traveling as she first had aspirations of becoming a physician.

“I took up running while at college in Birmingham and the more miles I put in, the better I did, so I thought why not try the long distance races as it wasn’t that difficult for me to do those miles,” said Entrekin. “My first half-marathon was the Huntsville Half-Marathon in 2010 and then I raised the bar a little by running my first marathon in 2011. I did some trails runs, too, and moved to the ultra-distance races in 2013. I participated in races around the South and while in Birmingham, I was one of the founding members of the Birmingham Ultra-Trail Society. At the beginning, I started to stay in good physical shape and I figured out I was pretty good at the races and just gradually increased the mileage and soon made the descent into insanity.”

In early May, Entrekin successfully defended her 2024 title as women’s winner of the Cocodona Ultra-Marathon, a 257-mile trek in Black Canyon City, Ariz. as she posted a new course record by over eight hours at 63 hours, 50 minutes and thus became the first woman to win back-to-back races on the desert course. Her time was 18 hours ahead of her nearest competitor and fourth overall best in the standings.

Besides the upcoming High Lonesome race, Entrekin has already registered for the 200-mile The Mammoth Ultra-Marathon scheduled for Sept. 26 where first place pays out $5-thousand. The event is expected to be an epic, breathtaking trek through the Eastern Sierras with a start and finish in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. She preps for all of her races alongside her boyfriend, Kevin, a runner in own right.

Making her way through the array of trails along mountains and deserts she has encountered many wild animals including bears and mountain lions. But nothing can top what she came across while on a run in the state of Montana.

“I swear I saw an UFO as I was up on this ridgeline around 2:00 a.m. and I definitely was not hallucinating, it was real,” said Entrekin. “I looked up in the sky and I saw this perfect cylinder that looked as though it was made of some sort of metallic material and it just sat there slowing moving as it looked massive. It lite up spectacularly and then just disappeared. The whole experience lasted maybe 30 seconds. I was close to a race aid station so I ran there and asked did anyone just see that object in the sky, but no one else saw it. I swear it was real.”

The daughter of Robin and Karen Entrekin, who still call Madison home, and call their daughter a “certifiable rock star in the running community,” even supports a Blog that began as race reports and has morphed into her thoughts on running. She has the knowledge and experience to be the correct person to listen to and follow should running be your athletic endeavor. She plays piano and can do so without the help of sheet music, loves to cook and houses two adorable cats.

“I love the efficiently of running as the main hook for me is being able to see the world in short time frames,” said Entrekin. “Physically and mentally this type of running can be very difficult, but I’m lucky I can figure out what I need to do. I’m in tune with my body and for the most part been mostly injury free.”

For Entrekin, being in tune is most important for racing, her current lifestyle and race success that can easily match the label of “Hometown Hero.”