Still, They Endure: The Paradox Of Mexico’s Legendary Tarahumara Runners

*Another intersection of Latino legend, sports and hollywood. This time, a movie is in production about the famed Mexican Tarahumara runners. It stars Matthew McConaughey, and is about an American runner’s quest to learn aboout the Tarahumara’s incredible endurance. There’s much to unravel here, even though the film has yet to be completed. The Tarahumara are among the most impoverished and neglected native tribe in Mexico. Much of it has to do with the tribe’s isolation in the mountains of northern Mexico.  For many decades they have been tubmling in a cycle of being recognized, revered and ignored. My question would be, how will this movie affect the Tarahumara, if at all? And also, why is the mainstream American film industry making this movie? Why isn’t a Mexican or U.S. Latino film maker doing this from a Tarahumara point of view? VL

By Raul Vilchis, Remezcla

Last weekend, organizers of Mexico’s famous Caballo Blanco ultra-marathon cancelled the race for the first time in 12 years. Violence in Chihuahua, where barefoot runners endure a grueling 60-miles on dirt trails, is endangering the future of a tradition inspired by indigenous Tarahumara runners. The tribe is also in danger, suffering endemic poverty and hunger in their own homeland.

The legendary endurance of the Tarahumara was popularized in the bookBorn To Run, by Chris McDougall, which is now being made into a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey. McDougall told an autobiographical tale of his own running injuries and his quest to discover how the Tarahumara developed the ability to run for hundreds of miles without rest or injury. Along the way he met a fellow running enthusiast named Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, who died in 2012. Last weekend’s race was named in his memory.

Even as outsiders marvel at their running abilities, the Tarahumara living in isolated communities in the Copper Canyon remain largely ignored. This has been the case for nearly a century.

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