Running with the Tarahumara Indians - Part 2 - Blog Post

Once we had arrived in the canyon and got that first run in our legs, life started to slow down a bit and for the first time I was able to thinking about what was about to happen. For years now I had been researching as much as I could about the Running People of the Copper Canyon. Now I was about to trek 30 miles in their company. You could tell Caballo Blanco was getting a little anxious for the trek and how the Indians would react to us. We left Batopilas early in the morning and headed down the road and onto dirt. This was the quietest the group had been the entire trip and you could feel the anticipation. The plan was to trek to the homes of the Batopilas Tribe who were planning to race and journey the 30 miles with them up and over the canyon walls into the town of Urique, the race site. The following pictures were taken during our ascent up the canyon:

Ironically, I took this shot of the same rock, just moments after Luis capture the shot for the cover of Born To Run

As we ascended the canyon with the Tarahumara runners, it was very quiet and everyone just hiked. You could here whispers every once in a while, but for the most part, all you could hear was respect! Once we hit the top of the canyon, you could see for miles and how expansive the canyon(s) were. On the ridge we stopped for fuel and Jenn broke the ice with her trademark handstand. This got everyone smiling and just like that, the air was lifted and the group started to talk and laugh and interact. This was the first time I felt comfortable taking out my camera and here are the shots I took as we ate and became friends with the indians.

Scott, Luis, and Barefoot Ted's sunburned shoulders.

Jenn and Billy - All is Good!

Scott and Caballo Blanco fueling up for the descent into Urique

Luis and Arnolfo

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Comments

simon henley June 16, 2009 at 9:58am

Just finished the book and emailed multiple running buddies to go out and buy it. Great photos. What an amazing adventure for you guys. Thanks for sharing via your blog.
Eric Orton June 11, 2009 at 11:44am

Hey Jason - Glad to enjoyed the pictures. I am working on a slide show, so stay tuned - E.
Jason Long June 11, 2009 at 11:16am

Awesome photos, Eric. Thanks for posting these. I, too, read the book (and found this site afterwards) and it's very interesting to see what the people look like. It makes them feel much more real.
Dustin Hucks June 4, 2009 at 6:47pm

...and the scenery is fantastic too.
Dustin Hucks June 4, 2009 at 6:47pm

It's nice to put faces to names.
Eric Orton June 3, 2009 at 8:10pm

Hey John - That was the idea behind no pictures in the book, to give the feel of a novel. So, glad you enjoyed the images and more to come - E
John Mullican June 3, 2009 at 7:41pm

Thanks for the photos Eric. I read the book without knowing about your site and formed my own ideas about what each person looked like from McDougall's book. It's nice to catch a glimpse of the real people and geography of the place.

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