Sacramento Running News

Micah True (AKA Caballo Blanco)

Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco, a feature-length documentary about ultra-running legend Micah True, will screen at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento on Monday, September 21 at 7 p.m. This one-night-only event is sponsored by the Buffalo Chips Running Club.

Micah True, better known as Caballo Blanco – the White Horse – was the focal character of Christopher McDougall’s 2009 best-selling book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen about the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico. Also known as the Rarámuri, or Running People, they are some of the best long-distance runners in the world.

Caballo Blanco was an enigmatic visionary who lived and ran with the Tarahumara after moving to remote Copper Canyon in the 1990s, and who created the fifty-mile Copper Canyon Ultra-Marathon to honor their running traditions and aid in their sustainability.

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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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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.