Indigenous Raramuri Runners of the Sierra Tarahumara Chase Olympic Dreams Nathaniel Janowitz - ESPN.com
go to original November 3, 2017

The Sierra Tarahumara in the southwest portion of the northern border state of Chihuahua is known for its natural beauty. Here, among canyons, forests and mountain peaks, the indigenous Tarahumara people, often called the Raramuri, have lived for centuries.

Life is difficult in this picturesque but impoverished area, with high unemployment, low opportunity and rampant drug cartels having prompted many Raramuri to flee the isolated villages in their ancestral homeland. But not all choose to run away; some just run.

For decades, the Raramuri's only means of transportation between remote, far-flung communities has 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 kilometers (about 62 miles), including 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 Raramuri runners remind me a lot of the famous Kenyan long-distance runners," former marathoner Carlos Ortega said in Spanish. "They've also learned how to turn the difficulties of their circumstances into a talent, the talent to run."

Although the Raramuri have mastered extreme distances, they've fallen short in even the longest of Olympic events.

"They need to learn how to run shorter distances, faster," said Ortega, who is on a mission to transform the Raramuri's inherent ability into success at the Olympic level. "No one was teaching them how."

Until now.

After nearly a decade of seeking financial backing, Ortega last year secured funding from the Telmex Foundation, one of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's philanthropic organizations, for a program to train the country's indigenous athletes for Olympic-length races. He has since been working with more than 500 runners in six states. Few have shown as much promise as the Raramuri.

Read the rest at ESPN.com

Related: Indigenous Raramuri Runners Begin Olympic Training (teleSUR)

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