The legendary white runner from Colorado is at the center of McDougall's account of the Tarahumara tribe and the Americans who seek their secrets. It is this mysterious gringo who bridges the distance between the hidden tribe and the writer, literally in miles and in cultural understanding. Despite the difficulty that McDougall has in tracking him down, and the challenges inherent in staying in touch when one party spends most of his time running and living in the Copper Canyons of Mexico far from telephones, Internet, or even postal mail, Caballo becomes McDougall's guide in introducing him to the native runners and cofounding the Copper Canyon Ultramarathon.
McDougall reveals to readers the surprising history of this enigma as though peeling off layers of onion skin. By the end, the man who has been called Caballo Blanco, the Cowboy Gypsy, Micah True, and Mike Hickman is perhaps more of a mystery than when he was simply a flash of pale skin and wild hair running by on the trail. And yet, he is more authentic than anyone else in the book. His philosophies on life and running are simple. His joy in running is infectious. His material needs are few - and usually supplied by the generosity of strangers and ready friends. He is as generous with his gifts as others are to him. It is as though he has stripped himself bare of all the hangups, crutches, and excuses we pile on ourselves and has returned to a more primitive, organic form of humanity. There is no pretense with this "gringo Indio" - and while I can't relate to that either, I can crave it, and admire it, and feel somehow better that at least there is someone out there in the world who has cast off his modern, materialistic fetters and found his true self.
At least there was.
Micah True, the name by which he was most recently officially known, left this world sometime between last Wednesday and Saturday when he did not return home from a 12-mile run in New Mexico. His body was found in the wilderness, and the cause of his death is yet unknown. But perhaps we already do know - he predicted it himself, to McDougall, when he said, "When I get too old to work, I'll do what Geronimo would've if they'd left him alone... I'll walk off into the deep canyons and find a quiet place to lie down" (Born to Run 281).
I was touched by this man's integrity, his commitment to his life style, to be poor and free, to be true and loving. And I only know him from reading one book. Imagine the impression he made on the many people who knew him well, and those who were fortunate enough to run with him, or meet him in his element.
He gave a pep talk to the motley group that assembled for the first ever Copper Canyon Run in Urique, Mexico, and told them that, "Americans are supposed to be greedy and selfish, but then I see you acting with good a heart. Acting out of love, doing good things for no reason" (Born to Run 255). And he encouraged this craziness, calling them Mas Locos, making it into an affectionate nickname, as he did with all of his friends.
I sure hope that his crazy influence will flourish even after his death, and that his message of "truth, beauty, love, hope, and peace" will live on in his legacy.
Viva, Caballo. Run free in peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment