The running community lost one of its greatest proponents recently with the passing of Micah True, the ultra-marathon trail runner who gained worldwide notoriety as Caballo Blanco by author Chris McDougall in his book ‘Born to Run’. He was found dead in Gila National Forest after an extensive search when he did not return from a 12-mile trail run he’d left to do the previous day. True is the person who more than anyone may be responsible for bringing the Tarahumara people of Copper Canyon, Mexico and their unique running culture to the attention of the running world. More than any one person, he also brought us barefoot running. I’ve copied over a portion of the tribute written about him in the Runner’s World magazine forum:
True was also a raw athletic specimen blessed with both a big aerobic engine and the keen sense of adventure necessary to excel as a trail runner. He had dabbled in a lot of sports when he was younger, including running, cycling, mountain biking, boxing and kick boxing. But by the mid-1980s, when Boulder was mostly known as a training ground for national- and world-class marathoners and cyclists, True was out running trails too rugged for most people to hike, taking a penchant to ultra-distance trail running long before it was recognized on the mainstream radar.
True won a handful of races before veering away from racing in the early 1990s, but more important than his foot speed was how he embodied the salt-of-the-earth spirit of trail running. In a town that became known for top-tier athletes in a dozen sports, True saw himself as a mere commoner who understood the physical and spiritual dynamics of ultrarunning.
True became a reluctant celebrity after Christopher McDougall’s mythical portrayal of him as “Caballo Blanco” in the 2009 bestseller Born to Run. It was never his intent to profit off the Tarahumara; instead it was much the opposite. He started the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon because he was inspired by how distance running was ingrained in the life of the Tarahumara at such a primal level and wanted to find a way to help the impoverished peoples help themselves. Although he later embraced the notoriety because he knew it gave him a greater platform to help the Tarahumara, he didn’t seek it out and was never completely comfortable with how he was portrayed in the book.
He may not have been comfortable with his portrayal in the book…but what a character he made and what fantastic story. Any runner would enjoy it and his story, but so would anyone with a sense of adventure and an interest in a free spirit.
Having watched Graeme Obree breaking the one hour cycling record in the movie ‘The Flying Scotsman’ the previous day, I rode out of my driveway inspired. I wasn’t trying to ride particularly hard for the first 30 minutes, but when I found myself at Cedar and County Line Road only a minute behind my pr pace for a one hour ride on that course, I began to push. I cruised past my previous one hour record in 58 minutes, meaning that I’d made up 3 minutes over the second half of the ride…and kept on going. I rode Pekin out to State Route 44 before turning for home…a good 42 mile effort.
Bike Duration: Two hours and 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2200.
I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of Micah True. After reading "Born to Run" I was really inspired by the way he viewed running and life. I believe it was his character that sold me on the idea of barefoot running and taught me to think of running in a more wholesome way.
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