Micah True - A Life Well Lived

Micah True - curtesy of RunTramp.com

The dominant news story in the running world this weekend is the passing of trail running icon Micah True. Also known as Caballo Blanco in the Mexican villages where he ran out thousands of miles, True was a passionate advocate for the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyon. He brought attention to their plight as the race director for the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, run each March in Urique, Mexico. True was elevated to trail icon status from his prominent depiction in Chris McDougall's influential trail bible Born to Run (c. 2009).

I thought I might not write about Micah's passing because I haven't read McDougall's book and I didn't know the man myself, but several area runners did, (Gabe, Mariam, Ruthanne, Daniel, Marc). Many had made the trip down to Urique to meet the legend and the quiet people for whom he advocated, and to run the trails that he made famous. Others had met him or heard him speak at trail and mountain events around the southwest over the last couple years. He was very well liked and highly respected. It was this network of people who held him in such high regard that first brought media attention to his disappearance near Silver City earlier last week, and it was the same mass of well-wishers that drove the growing media attention as large search parties formed to aid in the rescue effort. For an athlete in a very niche, non-commercial sport, the bright spotlight that his passing has attracted is an impressive testament to what kind of a man he was and what kind of effect he inspired in others. 

In the canyons of Mexico - curtesy of Ryan Heffernan

  

Coverage of his passing in the Boulder Daily Camera can be found here.

Notable acknowledgments to the man in the blogosphere can be found here, here, and here.

A photo album of the Copper Canyon Ultra can be found here (Outside Magazine)