"Born to Run" Hero Runs through New Canaan

The man who inspired Christopher McDougall's bestseller, Born to Run, shared his powerful story and love of the Raramuri Indian culture with a room filled with runners and admirers in a Thursday event sponsored by New Balance of New Canaan. 

Tall, lean, and sporting a  Copper Canyon tan, Caballo Blanco, (Spanish for "White Horse"), shared the story of how he became one of the world's best-known long distance runners.  Blanco, whose "real" name is Micah True, is a native Californian who found himself wandering on foot through Mexico and Central America.  "It was pretty cool to be self-propelled and travel with just a small pack on my back," the happy wanderer relates.  He didn't run competitively until age 32. 

While competing in the Leadville Trail 100 ultramarathon in 1993, Blanco had a humbling experience.  "Blazing right past me at mile 60 was a 55-year-old guy in a skirt," he laughs.  That man - who went on to win the grueling race - was a member of the Raramuri Indian tribe of Copper Canyon, Mexico, among the most elite athletes in the world.

The Raramuri (also known as Taramuhara) are god-like among runners.  In primitive times these hardy people - who lived at high altitude - hunted deer and mountain goats by running them down on foot to the point of exhaustion.  While there are no longer deer in the ultra-rugged Copper Canyon, the Raramuri now run the Copper Canyon Ultra-Marathon, which Blanco proudly founded in 2003.  The race draws mostly Taramuhara but also some of the world's most elite endurance athletes. 

Blanco jokes that this annual run is, "The greatest 47-mile race the world has never seen."  That may have been the case, but New York Times reporter Christopher McDougall learned of the race, which inspired his runaway bestseller on the 2006 race, Born to Run, soon to be a major motion picture.  Blanco isn't speculating on who will play him in the movie, though he says, "It really ought to be me."

Blanco is soft-spoken and lives simply.  He wears running shoes, shorts, and a clay-colored "Club Mas Loco" t-shirt, which each finisher of the grueling race receives, along with 500 pounds of corn.  What inspired him to dedicate his life to these proud and humble people?   "I wanted to help them help themselves ...to continue to run free," Blanco explains.  And he admits, beaming his wide, endorphin-fueled smile, "I wanted to run with them."

The Raramuri are a short and powerfully-built.  They made waves here in the United States by running ultramarathons wearing hand-made tire treads, lashed to their feet as sandals.  Efforts by a Leadville Trail 100 sponsor to get them to wear fancy running shoes failed miserably.   

Americans would no doubt love the Raramuri training regimen.  The runners of Copper Canyon "don't train, stretch, or warm up," Blanco observes, sipping a Corona,  "They also make a corn beer and drink it for days until they pass out."    

Blanco and his petite girlfriend Maria Walton received applause from the crowd when they announced they'll be running in Sunday's Leatherman's Loop 10-K trail run in Pound Ridge. 

How is it different to run with a Raramuri than a Gringo? "They run like children.  They run happy," Blanco explains, "We all overthink running, from footwear to running techniques.  Ultimately it's what's in your heart that matters."