A map of sorts ...

As the final arrangements are all lining up and the kit faff is reaching an end, I sat thinking about how I ended up getting ready to head that much further west to Texas and more importantly, deep into northern Mexico to line up beside the international Mas Loco family to run with the Raramuri and celebrate the life of Micah True aka Caballo Blanco.

Suppose it started back in May 2010 and the Australian Blues Mountains and running along a ridge during the North Face 100km event. A small group had been supporting & encouraging each other as we made our way towards the spectacular fixed ladder section when I noticed that one of the guys was running in a pair of Vibram KSO Five Fingers. We got chatting about the growing minimalist movement within running and he asked if I had read “Born to Run”. I hadn’t but it intrigued me especially when he told me the story of the “running people” who lived in a remote area in Mexico and who ran huge distances in homemade sandals. Back in Sydney after the race, I looked up the Vibram shop and went to treat myself to a pair before heading to the airport. On the counter was “Born to Run” – I asked about the book but short on cash I only made a note to read it at some later date.

Via a number of sources and over a period of time, I continued to hear stories of the “running people” and sometime in late 2011, I finally picked up a copy of “Born to Run”. About the same time my use of Facebook had increased and after commenting on a few threads was surprised and pleased to receive a friend request from Micah. A few messages were passed back and forth and my commitment to making the journey out to the Barranca del Cobre grew to the point of capturing my imagination in a way only previously matched by the Marathon des Sables and the Sahara. My original plan had been to head out to Mexico for the 2012 event but dates clashed with the Haute Route trip to the Alps and I decided to postpone the Canyons until 2013.

The Haute Route was a blast and I loved every minute of the adventure. Arriving back in Glasgow towards the end of March, it was good to read about what I had missed out on. But tragically, a few days later I was reading about how Micah had gone missing in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. A a search and rescue mission by both the authorities and many of Micah’s friends was launched. The following weekend I had combined a gig by the band The New Madrids with a run into the Cairngorm Mountains. As I climbed into my sleeping bag in the back of my van I tried in vain to get a 3g signal on my phone to catch up on any news of Micah but with no success. Shortly after dawn, I got up and headed into the mountains …still wondering. On the summit of a small hill called Creag Mhor, I was finally able to get a signal and tragically read that Micah’s body had been found and the recovery operation had begun. As I sat taking in the news (didn’t make sense how I felt so sad for a man I had never met in person …something I still struggle to fully reconcile), I decided that as a mark of respect that rather than simply return to the van, the appropriate thing to do was to actually run as deep into the mountains as I could. My route took in the Loch Avon basin and climbed over the Cairngorm Plateau itself before returning to Glenmore and my van.

What exactly happened in the Gila Wilderness is in the past and sadly nothing can now change that outcome. Those close to Micah were united – don’t ask how he died, ask how he lived.

So, when Maria Walton and Josue Stephens announced the Caballo Blanco Ultra Marathon would continue, the decision to head west was easy. So very soon, I will visit Fort Worth, Austin (and the Chili Parlour Bar) & San Antonio before meeting up with other Mas Loco in El Paso and head down to the Canyons to run free as Micah intended.

Nice wee side link …my favourite bit in “Born to Run” was when The North Face offered to sponsor the race Micah had created. His reply was “no thanks” – it was about bringing people together to run and not to get people to buy stuff. Thinking back to where my own adventure had begun in the Australian Blue Mountains …this made me grin – a full circle.

See you soon amigos !