They have been called the toughest race on Earth. “The greatest race the world has never seen (Christopher McDougall). ” They are a mysterious, peaceful and spiritual race of people who live off the land and have largely resisted the exploitatve advances of modern day civilization and a commercial economy. They can drink excessive amounts of corn beer well into the night, wake up the next morning and effortlessly run barefoot sixty miles or more through treacherous mountain terrain (you wouldn’t want to see me the morning after excessive drinking). They have been called the greatest runners on Earth. They are the personification of the notion of a simple life, wildly juxtaposed with our desire to accumulate material possessions and complicate our life with the stresses of modern day society.
Who are they? They are the Tarahumara Indians.
They live in what some travelers call a hostile and unforgiving landscape, the Sierra Madre Occidental or Sierra Tarahumara mountain range in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. They number about 70,000 and most still practice a traditional lifestyle, living in cliff overhangs, caves, or in some cases small cabins constructed of wood or stone.
Their staple crops are corn, beans and squash and they rarely eat meat, knowing that if their supply of food gets destroyed by the elements or rodents, they may need to trade a sheep or goat for more food supplies. Since their average life span is forty-five years, a live goat could mean the difference between life or death.
