Following Micah True’s death, future of Copper Canyon ultra in question

Micah True

A report from The Associated Press indicates that the future of the Copper Canyon ultramarathon race may be in question after the death of its founder and organizer, Micah True.

The body of True, 58, was found Saturday night in a wilderness area in New Mexico. True, also known as Caballo Blanco, was last seen alive last week as he set out for what was seen as a routine trail run on paths he knew fairly well. An autopsy to determine a cause of death is pending.

The report indicates that it’s uncertain who will take over managing the race, which takes place in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. The race is held there as a sort of homage to the Tarahumara Indians, who True befriended and used as his inspiration to take up barefoot and minimalist running. His story, as well as that of the tribe, was captured in the best-selling book “Born to Run.” The book and the publicity that followed it is largely credited with a boom in interest and participation in barefoot and minimalist running.

You can read the full AP report here.

Bob Doucette

On Twitter @RMHigh7088

2 thoughts on “Following Micah True’s death, future of Copper Canyon ultra in question

  1. Sad event but the one thing can be said is that he died doing what he loved. Hopefully it won’t mean the end of the Copper Canyon event.

    • Agreed. Way too young to go. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I think people will look on him in similar ways to some other running greats. Look at how huge barefoot/minimalist is now. And see how much athletic wear manufacturers have moved their product lines to meet the surge in demand. The cultural and commercial change from “Burn to Run” and the things Mr. True did are pretty huge. Can we call him this generations Pre?

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