Shiny belt buckles have been a staple in the wardrobes of performers for years. What’s not so common is when a musician walks on stage wearing a copper finisher’s buckle from the Cocodona 250. That’s exactly what Aaron Reed was donning when playing with his brother, Phil, as The Brothers Reed, at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend, Oregon, in the fall of 2024.
In what began as a fascination with the northern Arizona terrain while on tour throughout the region, his race ended in a long, painful walk toward the finish line where the seasoned ultrarunner had previously been running in 21st place with no reason to doubt he would continue to move up in the field. “No race had ever scared me,” said Reed, “but at Cocodona, you can see the whole course (250 miles) in the first 15 miles.”
As touring musicians, The Brothers Reed play up and down the West Coast twice a year and have toured to New York and back. Always on the road, they play for a dedicated fan base across the country – and for good reason. Their music is a soulful mix of folk, Americana and bluegrass, brightening any dark room with lyrics that ring true of life and love—in the most genuine and real ways that can only surface from the unbridled banter between brothers.
But the traveling can take its toll. “Touring is monastic,” said Aaron. “Ultrarunning definitely helps with the music, writing and touring.”
After finding the sport of running at an early age, Aaron ran his first Siskiyou Out Back (SOB) 50-miler at age 32. Living in southern Oregon during the mid-2000s and running the surrounding trails, he has had the company of local ultrarunners pushing him to run faster and farther – legends including Hal Koerner and Scott Jurek, along with other big names in the sport.
Aaron (right) ran to a finish at the 2022 Pine to Palm 100 in 25:08. Photo: Jesse Ellis | Let’s Wander Photography
“Aaron and Phil have been synonymous with running in Ashland,” said Koerner. “They’ll be running shirtless through downtown, show up at the store (Rogue Valley Runners) and support every event.”
One of those events is the Pine to Palm (P2P), a 100-mile point-to-point course in southern Oregon’s rugged Siskiyou mountains. A mixture of single-track trails and dirt roads, the elevation gain is over 20,000 feet, with an equal amount of loss, and includes three climbs up to 7,000 feet. Aaron finally ran P2P in 2022 after both touring and COVID prevented him from toeing the line previously, and finished in 12th place with a time of 25:08. He came back again in 2023 with the goal to finish under 24 hours.
After running a significant amount of the course with the lead pack, he and another runner missed a prominent turn. Having run the race the year before, Aaron quickly knew they were headed in the wrong direction and alerted the runner ahead of him. While it was a setback considering he had been on pace, he said his mindset quickly shifted.
Aaron continued his pursuit of a sub-24-hour finish as he pushed on the climbs as well as the descents which, as he pointed out, are incredibly steep and unforgiving. He crossed the finish line in second place in 21:47. “I was hammering on a really brutal part of the course after I missed the turn, and it just liquified my brain,” he said.
The brothers have a large fan base in northern Arizona and play shows in Flagstaff, Prescott, Tuscon, Phoenix and Yuma. After spending so much time there on tour, Aaron fell in love with the area which led him to develop a fascination with Cocodona and eventually, he found himself lined up at the start of the fourth running of the event in 2024.
Finding himself in 21st place during the race, he continued to maintain a comfortable pace from Black Canyon City toward the finish in Flagstaff. However, with 89 miles to go, something went really wrong. He had fractured his shin and proceeded to walk – broken leg and all – to the finish. While it was the first major injury Aaron had sustained during a race, he finished in 75th place with a time of 104 hours and 33 minutes.
Aaron makes his way through the 250-mile Cocodona course in 2024. Photo courtesy Aaron Reed
Aaron planned to take some time off after Cocodona, giving himself the summer to recover and then jumping into a 50-miler in the fall. However, another break—unplanned this time—was mandatory when he had emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor in late December of 2024. While the diagnosis was sudden, recovery from surgery and follow-up treatment has kept Aaron extremely optimistic about the future, and The Brothers Reed is planning their first international tour this summer. For now, the band continues to tour up and down the West Coast while Aaron undergoes radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
“Aaron had already come to us and said, ‘I’d like our name to be thrown in the hat to play at SOB next year,” said Koerner, referring to the annual SOB trail running festival that takes place every July in Ashland, and where Aaron won the 50k in 2023. Given the tremendous support from the southern Oregon ultrarunning community, Koerner and the organizers of SOB scheduled a registration party in February in Ashland, a little over a month after Aaron’s surgery, that featured the music of The Brothers Reed and doubled as a fundraiser for Aaron.
Bridging their music and running seems to create a bit of magic for both Aaron and Phil.
“People know me as a musician, but I have a genuine connection with athletes,” said Aaron, “Ultrarunners are into rooting for each other.”
A Gofundme has been set up to help Aaron with his medical expenses.