On Saturday, March 31st, the body of Michael
Randall Hickman (aka Mikah True, aka Caballo Blanco, the great ultra-marathoner)
was found near the Little Creek in the Gila Wilderness Area in southwest New
Mexico. He had gone out for a 12 mile
run, a short jaunt for him, on Tuesday.
When he did not return, nearly 200 local officials and volunteers
searched over 200,000 acres.
The cause of death was idiopathic cardiomyopathy, a heart
ailment. It is not clear if the cardiac
event caused Mikah to fall into the creek bed or if he fell, then had the
attack. He was 58 years old and had
achieved mythic renown. Mikah died while
running through a spectacular wilderness area.
He was at peace with himself.
Mikah’s story became legend in the 2009 best-seller “Born to
Run” by Christopher McDougall. He was a
free spirit, a modern day Thoreau; shunning money and possessions. Mikah represented the “what if” fantasies I
sometimes have. What if I walked off the
professional path? No more buttons to
push. No cranks to turn. A simpler way of living. What if I never walked that path to begin
with?
At the 1993 Leadville 100 two peasants from Chihuahua,
Mexico, wearing huaraches they’d made from tires they found in the city dump
finished an hour ahead of the nearest competitor. These were the Tarahumara. Mikah finished 28th with a time of
about 24 hours. What is particularly
impressive is that he was recovering from a bike crash from which he was hospitalized.
For years Mikah alternated living six months in Boulder, CO,
where he worked as a furniture mover, and Chihuahua, Mexico. It was there that he became obsessed with the
Tarahumara. The locals call themselves
Rarumuri which loosely translates into the running people. He built a tiny home in the town of Botopila,
carrying rocks from the river valley to use as a foundation and erecting walls
with cement and adobe.
In 2003 Mikah organized a race to help the Rarumuri preserve
their running heritage. Seven runners
showed up. The race became an annual
event called the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon.
In 2006 Scott Jurek and six other Americans made the trek to
compete. Jurek finished second to a
Rarumuri. The 2012 race, held on March 4th,
attracted over 550 runners, including 350 Rarumuri. Runners received 110 lbs of corn for every 10
miles they ran. All told, Mikah True
gave away $40,000 in food; a life saver for the Rarumuri. The Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon will live on
as Mikah’s legacy.
I am more like the social butterfly of the High Line than
the Lone Wanderer of the High Sierra. I
am soft and I like my little luxuries. I
am an extrovert, which means I am energized by being around other people. This Saturday I ran 14 miles with Tim and
Scott D. It was the first time I had run
since the Colfax Marathon and it was challenging to keep pace.
Mikah described himself in this way: “Caballo Blanco is no hero. Not a great anything. Just a Horse of a little different color dancing
to the beat of a peaceful drum and wanting to help make a little difference in
some lives.”
What can we learn from Caballo Blanco?
Be true to your spirit
Care for others – spread good karma
Exert your body to its limits – they are greater than you
think
Leave a legacy – add to the universe
Find bliss in simple tasks done well
Mikah True was but a small piece in the great mosaic of
humanity. He was a prophet for a new generation of runner. Fame illuminated him for a
moment and he shined. That light
inspired many.
No comments:
Post a Comment