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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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!.