Race Across the Sky: Coco Dughi Claims F60-69 in Leadville's Thin Air

• Coco Dughi, 63, finished in 26:15:18 — earning her Leadville belt buckle with nearly four hours to spare before the 30-hour cutoff.
• Steady climber through the field: Dughi moved from 71st among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 28th by the final stretch, a gain of 43 places across the women's field.
• Standout split: She posted the 15th-fastest women's split on the 40.5M→45.6M segment — a sharp effort in the heart of a 100-mile slog at altitude.
• Solo podium: The only finisher in F60-69, Dughi owned every place from first to last — and made it count.

Coco Dughi of Boulder, CO came to Leadville and did what so few athletes at any age manage: she finished the Race Across the Sky. Covering 100 miles through terrain that ranges from 9,400 to over 12,500 feet — including two crossings of Hope Pass — Dughi completed the course in 26:15:18 at a 15:45/mi average, a pace that reflects the relentless demands of high-altitude mountain ultrarunning rather than any lack of engine.

What makes her run particularly compelling is the arc she drew through the women's field. Starting the day ranked 71st among women, she was a methodical mover — 43rd by the midpoint, 40th, then 30th — before settling into 28th at the finish. That's not a late fade; that's a controlled, intelligent race through one of the most punishing courses in American ultrarunning. Along the way, she clocked the 15th-fastest women's split on the 40.5M-to-45.6M stretch, a sign that she still had legs when others were beginning to come apart.

At 63, running alone in the F60-69 field, Dughi carried the full weight of the result herself — no rivals to chase, no pack to hide in, just the mountains and the clock. She beat that clock by a comfortable margin, and in Leadville, that silver buckle is the whole story.