Miguel Lara was born to run. He belongs to the Tarahumara mountain people of northern Mexico. “Tarahumara” means “light-footed.” 

“That’s what we do,” says the ultramarathoner. He’s talking about running. (A marathon is a footrace that’s a little more than 26 miles long. An ultramarathon is longer. Think between 31 miles and 3,100 miles!) Mr. Lara has run side-by-side with the best ultramarathon runners in the world. He sometimes runs unremittingly for 12 to 20 hours. He says, “Long before marathons existed, the Tarahumara people were already running.”

About 56,000 Indigenous people live in Mr. Lara’s mountains. They don’t have cars. No paved roads, medical clinics, or telephone lines either. So what do they do? They run! They run to find food and friends. And they’ve done so for generations.

“When we got married, we used to head to Urique to get food,” says Maribel Estrada. She is Mr. Lara’s wife. Urique is 24 miles away. “It’s a four- or five-hour walk, but running takes less, like three.”

Mrs. Estrada runs to meet her children after school. She runs to attend Mass (Catholic church services). She runs to visit her mother, who lives 160 miles away. 

“When one runs, one is happy,” she says. Her feet are wrapped in rubber sandals with white leather laces.

Tarahumaras get used to running long distances with no manuals or coaches. They listen to their bodies’ needs. No protein shakes, smart watches, or running clothes required.

Why? You don’t have to be an Olympian to run well. These mountain people run for pleasure and to meet their needs.

For more about runners, see Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold by Janet and Geoff Benge in our Recommended Reading.