In Mexico, Sierra Tarahumara, where natural beauty flows endlessly and canyons, forests, and mountain peaks are ever-present, the indigenous people of Tarahumara, usually referred to as the Raramuri are known for their extreme long-distance running ability.
In this particular area of Mexico, life has proven difficult and tough with economical issues such as high unemployment, low opportunity and so many drug cartels. This has prompted many Raramuri to flee the isolated villages in their ancestral homeland.
However, not all of them run away; some of them just choose to run. For decades, the Raramuri’s only means of transportation between remote, far-flung communities have been by foot.
This culture of extreme travel, born from necessity, has translated fluently to the field of competition. Raramuri runners, often lacking modern athletic gear, have found success in ultramarathons up to 100 kilometres (about 62 miles).
This includes a 22-year-old woman who earlier this year topped a field of 500 runners from 12 countries to win a 50K race while wearing huarache sandals and a traditional skirt.
The issue for Raramuri runners is usually that the longest Olympic race, the marathon, covers “only” 26.2 miles (around 42 kilometers), a distance at which they were just finding their rhythm.
Two Raramuri marathoners ran into the problem while competing in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. After finishing 32nd and 35th, they complained that the race was too short.
This extreme-long distance ability proves to be a strength in rare cases, and a weakness in cases such as the Olympic marathon, which is “too short” for them.
One might think that their experience in running long distance would help them win these races, but the reverse has proven to be the case.
