Runners of the Sierra Tarahumara

Located in northern Mexico in the southwestern part of Chihuahua state, Copper Canyon, or Barranca del Cobre, is made up of a series of canyons comprising an area four times larger than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. A train ride through the canyon region, or Sierra Tarahumara, on the Chihuahua-Pacific Railway is one of the world’s great scenic rail journeys and tops the list of must-see attractions in northern Mexico.

I just started reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, a book that’s most often credited with popularizing the practice of barefoot running. In the book McDougall travels to northern Mexico to learn what makes the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) — the indigenous peoples who inhabit Mexico’s Copper Canyon region — some of the best distance runners in the world. The name Rarámuri translates roughly to “runners on foot” or “those who run,” and the Rarámuri are known for running very long distances over rough terrain wearing huaraches, or thin sandals made from tire tread and strips of leather.

Each year Rarámuri runners compete alongside some of the world’s best ultra-runners in the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, a 51 mile trail run through the rugged and beautiful Urique canyon, the deepest canyon (6,200 ft.) in the Sierra Tarahumara. This year’s Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon is scheduled to take place on March 4, 2012.

Photo credit: via flickr