Why We Run - What I Know About Micah True

For a few weeks now, I’ve been trying to sort through the words I want to say about Micah True.  I really don’t know much about the man, save for what Christopher McDougall wrote about him in Born to Run and a few things he’d posted to his Facebook site (which I only began following a few weeks before his passing).  But what I did learn about him was enough to change my feelings about running.

One piece of information that I’m not sure anyone can answer about him is “why?”  I’m sure many in the running community are familiar with his story - leaving the Colorado trail running scene to live in the Copper Canyons and fill his days with meandering runs through the hills – but why?  Leaving what we know as civilization to live among the Tarahumara tribes, jotting out for runs of unpredictable distances, leaving no word of where he was heading, usually not knowing, himself – why?

Most of us can pinpoint the reason why we run.  We know why we started running however long ago, we know why we took time off from it, and we know why, today, we call ourselves “Runners” with a capital “R”.

My own history can be summed up in a few incomplete simple sentences: 1) Joined high school cross country team due to boredom with soccer. 2) Stopped running once high school sport seasons ended. 3) Joined college running club to be part of a club and perhaps cope with a breakup. 4) Stopped running to spend time with a girl (Burgess Meredith was right, “women weaken legs!”). 5) Began running to cope with breakup. 6) With the encouragement of several wonderful running buddies and one incredibly supportive wife, I have continued running.  Longer distances and faster times that I never thought were possible are only the bi-products of my desire to make myself better in some way everyday, to test my own limits and discover new possibilities, and to thoroughly enjoy the intangible gifts of this life.

Although it’s not always easy to express or admit, most of us know why we run.

But does it matter?  I’ve probably run with 1/3 or more of my Facebook friends, and, I’m sorry guys, but I don’t really know why any of you run (strike that; I know Ernie’s in it for the post-run bacon).  What I do know is that every lap, mile, and water break has been more enjoyable when I’ve had the privilege of sharing it with someone.

Somewhere inside, we all know why we run.  But whether you do it to lose weight, chase a PR, or meet people who look good in short shorts, what matters to most people is that you run.

And that’s how I feel about Micah True aka Caballo Blanco.  His reasons mean little to me.  I know that he left what he knew to do what he loved and live among a people he respected and admired.  I know that he went to great lengths to organize (and sustain) a small race that would be critical in changing society’s perception of the almost forgotten Tarahumara people, fueling the Distance Running Renaissance, and providing a new outlook on the human body and its abilities.  I’m not sure if he considered all of that when he organized his first ultra marathon in the Copper Canyons; I like to think he was just chasing a dream he wanted to see come true.

I sincerely hope that during his last run through the Gila Wilderness, he went peacefully, doing what he loved.  I’ll never know why the man ran, but knowing that he did, knowing that someone like him was in this world, makes life a little more enjoyable.

For more information on Micah True (Caballo Blanco), I highly recommend reading Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run.  A must read for anyone at all interested in running, it is, and probably always will be, the best book I have ever read.  The author also recently published an article describing the search for Caballo Blanco after he went missing.  It’s an interesting piece, and his words describe what the White Horse meant to people far better than mine can.  Here’s the link: On the Trail of the White Horse