For them, running is a way of life.
Every spring, the top runners from all over the globe journey down to the base of the Copper Canyons of Northern Mexico for the Copper Canyon Ultramarathon, a 47-Mile footrace competing against the top Raramuri runners.
- " The reclusive Raramuri people are suddenly world-famous, thanks to Chris McDougall’s bestselling book Born to Run. The Raramuri—also called the Tarahumara—run virtually barefoot for hundreds of miles through the continent’s deepest canyons. McDougall’s book follows the Raramuri and American runners at the Copper Canyon Ultramarathon, a footrace where international elite runners like Western States champ Scott Jurek race alongside the Raramuri in their native canyons.
Sharing the trail with the Raramuri was the most powerful running experience of my life. I learned a lot from observing their graceful stride and smooth running form, but I gained even more from seeing the pure joy on their normally stoic faces. The Raramuri understand something about running that has taken me a lifetime to learn: running is not a chore one endures to lose weight or look good; it is instead a joyful expression of the human spirit. For the Raramuri, running is a spiritual act that deepens their connection to the divine."
--writes Will Harlan, a runner from Asheville North Carolina
who won the annual UltraMarathon in 2009.
We are working on documentary film about the Tarahumara, their lives, their history and their penchant for long distance running.
The documentary will explore the culture of the Tarahumara and the simple subsistience lives they live in remote villages at the base of the Copper Canyons of Northern Mexico.
The documentary will be seen through the eyes of Will Harlan, past winner of the event.
