Running with the Tarahumara
Last weekend Beto and I traveled to the Sierra Tarahumara to run Caballo Blanco’s Copper Canyon Ultramarathon. We flew from Mexico City to Los Mochis on Thursday then rode the Chepe train at first hour on Friday’s morning. Last time I was in the Sierra was a little more than 10 years ago. This time we had the opportunity to travel in the Eastern direction of the train’s route, passing along places I haven’t seen before in my previous trips.
We arrived to Bahuichivo around 3 p.m. and the truck we previously hired was already there waiting to take us deep down into the canyons and to the town of Urique. We were in the middle of the Sierra and very happy of the great time we were having. Once at Urique we found a hotel room to drop our things and headed out for a short hike around town. We encountered a lot of people from the US which arrived earlier in the week to hike in the canyons as well as to run the race with the Tarahumaras.
Saturday was all about resting, eating and having fun in Urique. We attended the race briefing in the afternoon, where we got a real idea of the amount of people that would be running the race. A little bit more than 300 runners showed up, roughly consisting of 70 foreigners, 30 nationals and 200+ Tarahumaras. The weather forecast for the race was a good one, with cloudy skies for most part of the day and some probability of rain. Compared to last year’s weather conditions (35-40º C), this was going to be a totally different game.
Race begun at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, Beto and I shook hands and wished luck for what was going to be a strenuous but fun adventure. The Tarahumaras immediately took the lead, demonstrating that even though most of them run in huaraches their genes have evolved over centuries for this kind of activity. The first loop in the course was of 18+ miles and consisted of running up river to the little village of Guadalupe and back, then turn right just before returning to Urique and climb uphill along a single track trail that headed to Mesa Naranjo. The views at all times were amazing and the weather remained good for most of the morning. A long and winding dirt road took me back to Urique after 5 hours of running, Beto was about 1 hour behind me at this point.
I grabbed more energy gels and a bar from my dropbag and went out of town in down river direction. A long and mostly flat dirt road lead us along the river shore. A little bit before arriving to the town of Guapalayna I saw the first Tarahumara runners coming back from the turnaround point. While I was completing my 22nd mile these guys were reaching their 34th, 12 miles ahead of me and still going very strong. It was obvious that 2 different races were taking place, while they struggled to arrive in the first places and win a respectable amount of money, I was running comfortably and enjoying the beauty of the Sierra.
A hanging bridge took me out of the dirt road and into a single track trail that consisted of a very strenuous climb towards Los Alisos, a remote ranch in the middle of the mountain. Most of the runners were coming back at this point, the sun was out and the temperature started to rise considerably. The trail was beautiful and a little bit exposed, the hills were so steep at some places that a bad step could turn into a nasty fall through the woods. A little bit before arriving to Los Alisos it started to rain, it lasted for a few minutes but was good enough to cool me down a little bit. I checked into the aid station, got the proof bracelet and ate some fruits. I ran for most of the return, then found Beto at the very bottom of the climb, he had some problems with a long-time injured knee but was still in the game. I provided some advice on the beautiful trail ahead of him then wished luck and continued running.
Back in Guapalayna my feet plants started to hurt, I developed huge blisters because of getting wet shoes after having crossed some rivers, shoes weren’t drying due to the mostly shady day. I walked for most of the flat dirt road as its gravel wasn’t helping much to relieve the pain. I got back to Urique at 5 p.m., I had 40 miles traveled and didn’t feel like completing the full 50-mile race. The last 10 miles were an out and back short loop in the previously run Guadalupe dirt road so there was nothing new to see for the rest of the race. I opted to call it a good day in the canyons and ended my journey there. I wasn’t tired, only aching from my blistered feet but extremely happy, I logged 10 hours and 30 minutes. Beto finished the 40 miles 3 hours after I did, he exceeded the race cut-off but, just as me, wanted to take things easily and enjoy the day.
We rode the van back to Bahuichivo on Monday morning, then catched the afternoon train to Los Mochis. On Thursday morning we were flying back to Mexico City, extremely happy of the adventure we just had and already daydreaming about future projects. Even though it was a short time in the Sierra, we were very pleased of having had the opportunity to run side by side with the legendary Tarahumaras. At least for a couple of hours… 
Rest of the pictures are here.
4 Comments:
Muy bien socio
Un pendiente menos
By Anonymous , at March 15th, 2010 5:02 PM
Vientos por el post y por compartir la experiencia…te amo
By 111 , at March 16th, 2010 3:38 PM
Queeee experieeencia tan chida ! Me da gusto que lo hayan hecho y lo hayan disfrutado !
By ecogirl , at March 28th, 2010 12:25 AM
[...] traveled to the Sierra for the 2010 edition of the race, my cousin Beto joined me for the adventure. It was great to see Micah in person once again, but it was even greater to see him working so hard [...]
By Farewell, Caballo « www.arareko.net , at April 8th, 2012 10:25 PM