Cody Poskin is a recent Ole Miss graduate who rose to prominence with a win at the Jackpot 100 in February, and a top 10 finish at Cocodona this past May. Cody’s love for running and adventure is infectious, and he shared with us what keeps him motivated to try new things.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How did you start running and then make the jump into ultras?
In high school, I quit soccer to run cross country. I wanted to run in college, but between going to an SEC (Southeastern Conference) school and the COVID era, it didn’t work out, so I set my sights on the Boston Marathon. I ran a different marathon to qualify, and then I got captivated by the ultra space. I fell down the rabbit hole, and I’m still falling, and I love it.
Why couldn’t you run in college?
I wanted to walk on and wasn’t allowed to. I kept trying to contact the coach, and eventually he DM’ed me and said, “Please stop trying to contact me; you will never contribute to our team.” That lit a fire under me. I was going to run some unattached races and show him that I was faster than some guys on the team before I lost motivation. I didn’t run for a couple weeks, almost a month, and then I realized I really missed it.
Once you started running ultras, you built up quickly. How was your first 100-miler (a win)?
I was nursing an Achilles injury right before and 99% of my training was on roads, so the training was not ideal. I went out with the lead pack and eventually took the lead. As the margin increased, I kept waiting for the ball to drop, and it never did. I ate Cheez-Its and soup out of the aid stations, had a hamburger halfway through and a chicken burrito, which didn’t settle very well.
This year, you had your highest-profile performance, a top 10 at Cocodona. How was your first 200-miler?
Going in, there were a bunch of question marks because the furthest I had gone before that was 130 miles in a backyard (ultra). Those last 100 miles were more of a suffer-fest and pity party than an actual race. When I go back — and I intend to go back — I hope to survive those first 150 miles in a competitive spot, and then have some fight left in the tank to start mowing the miles down, no matter how bad it hurts.
Cody at the finish of the 2025 Cocodona. Photo Matt Shapiro
You race with spontaneity and a giant smile. Is that intentional on your part?
I ran my first race in a Hawaiian shirt last summer. I just threw the shirt on, and I got so many compliments I’ve been wearing them ever since. The races are supposed to be fun. It’s my passion; it’s what I love to do. Why should I be miserable? I’m still really working on developing a race strategy, but I don’t want to succeed at the cost of having fun.
You mentioned a thirst for adventure. Is that what drives you to try nearly every ultra format?
Running allows me to see things in a way that you can’t in a car, plane or anything else. What I’m passionate about is doing random, off the wall stuff in cool places that are physically super taxing. I was in Egypt last summer, and sitting on a boat eating dinner on the Nile River, I booked a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and it was a cool adventure that I’ll remember forever.
Looking forward, what’s your goal for Black Canyon in 2026?
Western States is a goal, but I think from a passion and love of the game standpoint, the 200-mile races and the super rugged mountain races excite me more. I want to be at races like Western States, though. I care about them, and it would be cool to throw down and see how fast you can run against those guys, when someone is breathing down your neck and someone is right ahead of you, and everyone there at the race is part of your people.
What do you do when you’re not out running or adventuring?
I work in finance at an HVAC company. They’re training me to take over a CFO role, but that doesn’t excite me. I don’t think I want to wake up every day for the next 40 years and sit at that same desk and solve the same problems. It doesn’t light me up nearly as much as climbing a different mountain would. I like the people I work with, and I like the company, but I want to do something where I can talk to people, and it doesn’t stress me, and I have ample time to go run and do adventures.
How do you feel like being a young ultrarunner has impacted your journey through the sport?
I feel like every race I go to I’m the dark horse, and I feed off that. I feel like I can win, even though that’s completely impractical half the time. I think being young also helps me recover faster.
Here are a few rapid-fire questions to close it out:
Favorite race you’ve done? There was one, around 40 miles, in Germany that I ran on a whim. I vividly remember going up a big hill, and I just heard all these cowbells everywhere, and I was like, “Where the heck are all the fans?” I looked around, and it’s literally just cows wearing bells in the fields. I’m like, “Oh, geez, I just got bamboozled by these cows.”
Favorite pre-race meal? A 6-inch Subway turkey club
Favorite in-race fuel? Brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tarts, the only flavor there is!
Favorite thing to listen to while running? I’d rather be alone with my thoughts and hear the world wake up and shut down.
And finally, favorite weather to run in? A nice early fall morning