CHIHUAHUA, M茅xico (AP) 鈥� Miguel Lara was born to run. It鈥檚 in his blood, his people鈥檚 history and tied to the land he calls 鈥渉ome.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we do,鈥� said the 34-year-old ultramarathoner near his cabin in Porochi, an Indigenous community in the remote Tarahumara mountains of northern Mexico.
鈥淭arahumara means 鈥榯he light-footed,鈥欌�� Lara said. 鈥淟ong before marathons existed, the Tarahumara people were already running.鈥�
Deep in the mountain range, along the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango and Sonora, live about 56,000 Indigenous people. Though they are mostly known as Tarahumaras, they identify themselves as Rar谩muris.
Lacking vehicles, paved roads and basic services such as clinics and telephone lines, communities got used to running to cope with long distances, scarcity and isolation.
鈥淲hen we got married, we used to head to Urique ( 24 miles or 39 kilometers away) to get food,鈥� said Maribel Estrada, Lara鈥檚 wife and mother to their 3- and 11-year-old children.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a four- or five-hour walk, but running takes less, like three.鈥�
With no vehicles at hand, she runs to pick up her children from school, to attend Mass and to visit her mother, who lives 160 miles (nearly 260 kilometers) away.
鈥淲hen one runs, one is happy,鈥� she said, her feet wrapped in rubber sandals with white leather laces.
Like her, Lara and fellow Tarahumaras get used to running long distances with no manuals or coaches. They listen to their bodies鈥� needs; they skip food supplements, smart watches and sportswear.
鈥淲e run because we love to,鈥� said Lara, who has caught sports brands鈥� attention, but has rejected any sponsorship. 鈥淲e, the Tarahumara, don鈥檛 wish to make money; we do this for the thrill of running.鈥�
And so he runs. He gets lost in the mountains by himself. He crosses paved roads, rocky terrain and dusty slopes. He sometimes runs for 12 or 20 hours non-stop.
鈥淚t鈥檚 part of our culture,鈥� Lara said. 鈥淲hen I was a kid, I watched the elders running for hours and I wondered: How can they endure for so many kilometers? Couldn鈥檛 I do the same?鈥�
Among his people, running is almost sacred. Local communities organize competitions as part of their religious ceremonies and bet clothing, money and livestock, which inspire runners to run not for themselves, but for their people.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the goal,鈥� Lara said. 鈥淵ou make a commitment to win for the entire community.鈥�
One of these spiritual celebrations 鈥� Y煤mari 鈥� took place recently in the town of Cuiteco, where dozens of Tarahumaras danced and .
Between prayers, 13-year-old Evelyn Rasc贸n competed with one of the women's teams.
鈥淚 started running as soon as I entered primary school, when I was 6,鈥� said Rasc贸n, dressed in a bright, violet skirt. 鈥淢y aunt taught me. She used to run a lot and loved it.鈥�
Shyly, the young runner said that 鈥減rofessionally鈥� she has only run half marathons 鈥� around 13 miles 鈥� in 鈥渘o less鈥� than an hour and a half. Average runners rarely travel that distance faster than two hours, but Rasc贸n wishes to break her own record and works hard for her dream.
鈥淲hen they send me out to pick up something, I run,鈥� Rasc贸n said. 鈥淎nd when I head back home from school, I also run through the slopes.鈥�
Although Rasc贸n jogs in sneakers, her stepmother Teresa S谩nchez 鈥� the fastest runner during the Y煤mari in Cuiteco 鈥� never abandons her rubber sandals with leather straps.
鈥淚 always run in sandals,鈥� S谩nchez said. 鈥淚 wear them every day and they last up to 2 or 3 years.鈥�
S谩nchez's mother 鈥� a runner, of course 鈥� inspired her as a child, but she achieved speed and resistance by working her land. 鈥淏y walking through the mountain, taking care of the crops and watching my goats,鈥� she said.
In her community, the land is what identifies the people as Rar谩muri.
鈥淭he Earth is our mother because she provides us with everything,鈥� said Candelaria Lechuga, an Indigenous woman who placed a bet during the Cuiteco race. 鈥淓verything around us connects us. The air, the sun, the trees, the plants.鈥�
Living simply, close to their land, is inherent to the local culture, said Michael Miller, an American ultramarathoner who treasures the lessons he has learned from the Tarahumaras and works at , an organization that supports local runners.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e dealt with centuries of challenges 鈥� , logging, drought 鈥� and they still have their connection to the Earth,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the wisdom that we, outsiders, have to understand and appreciate.鈥�
A few decades ago, his friend Michael Randall Hickman 鈥� another American athlete better known as 鈥淢icah鈥濃�� met some Tarahumara runners at a race in Colorado. He soon fell in love with their culture, moved to the mountains and spent the rest of his life among the locals.
鈥淚 knew him well,鈥� said Lara, who has won several , the annual race founded by Hickman, who died in 2012. 鈥淗e told me: You have to compete with yourself, to break your own record.鈥�
His advice touched his heart. Since then, Lara has run side-by-side with the best ultramarathon runners in the world.
Yet he always yearns to come back home. 鈥淚鈥檝e never thought about moving to another country,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e, the Tarahumaras, are not used to the cities.鈥�
When he鈥檚 not racing against international champions, Lara does construction work in nearby villages and raises crops that feed his family. This is the land where his mother 鈥� the only coach he has had 鈥� became a runner and shared her wisdom with him.
鈥淪he didn鈥檛 tell me how many kilometers to run,鈥� Lara said. 鈥淪he taught me what I would feel while running, what I would suffer.鈥�
At the beginning, his mother told him: You鈥檙e going to be fine, but after two or three hours, you鈥檒l get hungry and thirsty. Eight or nine hours later, she said, when the cramps hit you, you will need to ignore them, because if you sit and cool down, they will hit harder.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about enduring,鈥� Lara said. 鈥淵ou have to finish the race no matter how long it takes.鈥�
He has no rituals or special pre-race routines prior, but he always turns to God. 鈥淚 ask him to take care of me, to allow me to get safely to the finish line even if I don鈥檛 win鈥�.
Injuries are common among long-distance runners, Lara said, which makes him hesitate to encourage his youngest admirers to follow in his footsteps.
He asks his children, ages 3 and 11, to be patient, to grow up a bit more before becoming long-distance runners like their ancestors. They nonetheless wait near the finish line at the local races he usually wins.
鈥淭hey feel the thrills and run the last five, 10 kilometers with me,鈥� Lara said. 鈥淎nd not just them. When their classmates watch them running with me, they run too. We call them 鈥楾he Little Horses.鈥欌��
And so, during those sunny, magical days, Lara, his children and a dozen Tarahumara kids, cross the finish line as one.
鈥淭hey tell me they feel the emotion, and I tell them that鈥檚 okay,鈥� Lara said.
鈥淢aybe one day, if they like to run, they will be champions too.鈥�
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Mar铆a Teresa Hern谩ndez, The Associated Press
