Sacramento Running News

Micah True (AKA Caballo Blanco)

In the days immediately following the death of Micah True (AKA Caballo Blanco), there was much written about the man and the mystique.

In contrast to all the hype, reporter Barry Bearak has a beautifully written article in yesterday’s New York Times, that is well worth the read.

Since Born to Run was published, I don’t think I’ve read much of anything surrounding the legend of Micah True/Caballo Blanco that wasn’t groaning under the weight of a canyon-full of hyperbole.

It turns out, we learn from Bearak’s piece, that Micah True’s true name was Michael Randall Hickman and he was born and raised in Northern California. These details matter, because we owe True the respect of remembering him as a person–even if to most of us he was the legendary running phantom, Caballo Blanco, of the book Born to Run.

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Reuters and other news services are reporting that the autopsy results on Micah True, AKA Caballo Blanco, indicate he died of natural causes.

True, the iconic ultrarunner made famous by Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run, was found dead in a New Mexico wilderness area on March 31st.

The autopsy revealed that the runner had heart disease.

True, 58, was found to have idiopathic cardiomyopathy, heart disease with an unknown cause, the state’s Office of the Medical Investigator found.

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Dakota Jones and Joelle Vaught set new course records on a muddy Lake Sonoma 50 Mile, yesterday.

Dakota Jones, of Durango, Colorado, ran 6:17:27, beating Hal Korner’s course record of 7:08:20 that was set in 2010. In fact, the field was stacked with so many ultra-talented ultrarunners, the top seven men, including the 4th place Hal Korner, were under the old course record.

On the women’s side, Joelle Vaught, of Boise, Idaho, set a new course record of 7:52:44, knocking more than 30 minutes off the 8:26:53 set by Devon Crosby-Helms in 2010. As with the men, the top women in this field were throwing down and six of them went under the old course record!

Tyler Stewart, of Novato, was the second woman with 7:56:30. You might remember that Stewart was the women’s winner in her ultrarunning debut at last month’s Way Too Cool 50K.

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Ellie Greenwood is all smiles after 40 miles. (SRN photo)

This past Saturday, under ideal conditions, some of the best runners in the world gathered in Sacramento for one of North America’s largest ultras.

This was the first time in several years that the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run was not part of the Montrail Cup. As a result, the depth of talent at the front of the race was not quite as robust as we’ve come to expect and yet there were still some extraordinary times.

Although the race was won by New Zelander Vajin Armstrong in a respectable time of 5:53:32, the star of the show was the Scottish/Canadian Ellie Greenwood.

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Yesterday, I made a brief mention of the passing of ultrarunning ambassador Micah True (AKA Caballo Blanco). I felt like there really needed to be more said about this famous but not fame-seeking runner.

Brian Metzler wrote a great tribute for True that is now up on Runners World online.

“Many people have been saying that ultrarunner Micah True died doing what he loved to do most. That’s correct, but in reality, he lived most of his life doing what he enjoyed most and on his own terms, not just the final moment.”

It’s definitely worth a read.

Try to remember what is important.

Like many of you, I heard about Micah True going missing via Facebook and I prepared myself for the worst.

It looks like the worst has come to pass as his body was found Saturday evening in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest. No news yet as to the cause.

The ultrarunner Micah True was also known as Caballo Blanco and was introduced to the world in Chris McDougall’s bestselling book, Born To Run.

The lead pack after 8-miles: Gary Gellin, Rich Hanna, Shaun Martin and Sam Robinson

This past weekend featured two of the regions most popular races.

On Saturday, over 700 ultrarunners, including some of the top names in the sport, lined up near the Cool Firehouse for a go at the remarkably dry Way Too Cool 50K.

This was the second running on a new and designed to be faster course. For last year’s debut of the new course, mud was the theme of the day and thigh-deep stream crossings kept a lid on the pace.

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The Napa Valley Marathon was this morning and if you were hoping for a top-spot, you had better have brought your long-game. A quick survey of the results shows a surprising number of the region’s top ultrarunners among the top finishers.

The winning woman was San Francisco’s Devon Crosby-Helms, whose 2:39:37 appears to be a new course record. According to my March issue of Ultrarunning, Crosby-Helms is also the woman who ran the fastest 100Km in the North America last year. (7:46:33 at the Mad City 100Km)

I don’t recognize any of the other top women, but the men’s field was stacked with some of the top ultra guys.

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Meghan Arbogast on her way to a new American age group record for 50 miles. (SRN Photo)

If you were looking for a top finish at this weekend’s Jed Smith Ultra Classic, you’d better have brought your “A game” because some of the country’s top talent was there throwing down.

There are many (many!) ultras in California and they are all, for the most part, pretty long. Some of them are known to be beautiful. Others are popular, mountainous, hot, sadistic, and sometimes famously hard to get into. Jed Smith has always been about speed.

The Jed Smith Ultra Classic, put on by the Buffalo Chips for the past 34 years, includes three events–a 30km, a 50km, and a 50 mile race. They are all run on an accurately measured, 4.85 mile loop course along the American River that is ideal for setting records and running 100k team qualifying times–as long as the weather on the first day in February is fine.

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