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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Your brain wants to go for a run.

By now, we’ve all read Born to Run and maybe some of the science behind the assertions in McDougall book.

Generally, it turns out we humans have many physiological features indicating that running (as apposed to walking or sitting in an office chair) was a significant driver in our evolutionary past.

But now that we no longer benefit from our ability to hunt down the occasional antelope, why do we still like to run? (I’ll assume that since you are reading this, you do like to run.)

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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.

If you read this website regularly, you’ll know that while I do like to make fun of barefoot running zealots, I’m actually supportive of some amount of barefoot running.

What I’m nervous about is the lack of solid science about what it’s good for and what it’s not going to help.

Thankfully, in large part due to the enthusiasm engendered by Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, there is a growing body of science regarding the ins and outs of barefoot versus shod running.

There is also a growing body of medical anecdotes about injury rates and barefoot running zombies who are ready to shout down any nay-sayers. (Of course, there are also anti-barefoot running zealots, too.)

The New York Times Well blog has a nice wrap-up of current science. Here’s the money quote: (more…)

In the very popular book Born To Run, author Christopher McDougall describes how humans were evolved to hunt by simply outrunning the animals they were hunting. In the book, he tells of a researcher who was able to join a hunter gatherer tribe and run down wild game in Africa.

Sadly, this has never been duplicated in the US, even though it would likely be the premise of a wickedly popular reality television program. This could be because of inadequate hunting and tracking ability on the part of those individuals who have tried. It could also be because the runners weren’t hungry enough.

In this month’s Outside Magazine, they describe the experience of a group of very fast marathoners attempting to chase down a pronghorn in New Mexico.

Entertaining reading. You should check it out!.