Run With The Rarámuri (Tarahumara)
We are excited to welcome seven indigenous Tarahumara runners, musicians, and leaders to our race in 2024. In addition to racing the Flying Squirrel Ten Miler, they will also be performing in the Asheville/Hendersonville area from May 28 – June 4.
Organized by members of the Copper Canyon Alliance, the race is just part of a full week of events for the seven Tarahumara leaders, including elite runners, accomplished musicians, and inspiring speakers. The Tarahumara will race in the Flying Squirrel 10 Miler in downtown Asheville, attend a reception sponsored by Hola Carolina, and perform on stage at White Horse Black Mountain. Additional events are also planned across the region, and Copper Canyon Alliance is seeking donors and sponsors for the events.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run alongside the world’s greatest endurance athletes and interact with leaders of a remote indigenous culture,” says Mickey Mahaffey, lead organizer of the events.
A prolonged drought has devastated northern Mexico, and many Tarahumara subsistence farmers have lost their crops. Copper Canyon Alliance is organizing the week of events to raise funds Tarahumara communities suffering from drought and food shortages. 100% of the funds go directly to the communities in need.
The Tarahumara have endured for millennia in Mexico’s Copper Canyons—the deepest and most remote canyons on the continent. In recent years, they received global recognition as the world’s greatest endurance athletes from the bestselling book Born to Run and the ESPN documentary The Infinite Race. Today, the Tarahumara are also running for their lives and fighting for survival.
