If the drug war can start involving the Tarahumara, then no one is immune.
—Don Morrison, a borderlands attorney with a Tarahumara client in prison.

When I returned to the Copper Canyons in 2006 for Caballo’s race, I was heartsick to discover that Manuel Luna’s son — a kind and wonderfully talented young man who was barely a teenager — had been beaten to death by drug cartel thugs. Since then, according to this remarkable story by Newsweek‘s Aram Rostom, the situation has become even more dire. The drought, plus the loss of farmland to the cartels and strip-loggers and very little knowledge of the outside world, makes the Tarahumara easy prey for cartel recruiters. As Rostom reports:

According to defense lawyers, law-enforcement sources, and some Tarahumara Indians, drug traffickers are now exploiting the very Tarahumara trait—endurance—that has been crucial to their survival.

In Dec. 2008, Runner’s World slipped this footnote into its shoe review:

We’ve reported in the past that a more stable shoe will help relieve the pain you feel just ahead of the heel. But recent research has shown that stability shoes are unlikely to relieve plantar fasciitis and may even exacerbate the symptoms.

Translation: “Those $100 shoes we’ve been telling you to buy for years? Turns out they’re worse than worthless.”
RW’s excuse is the same one Citigroup and Countrywide and Fannie Mae deployed as it tried to scuttle away from the subprime mortgage crisis: “No one could have seen this coming. We acted as soon as we got the information.”

That’s not an alibi, of course; it’s an indictment. They pretended they were experts — and cashed in on that authority of expertise — when in truth, they didn’t know what they were talking about.

Now, Runner’s World is slipping in another correction. In the March, 2012 issue, it began slinking away from the once hugely-profitable, and now discredited, “motion-control” shoe. They did it so quietly I missed it, even though I’d been shocked to hear RW’s shoe reviewer, Warren Greene, hint as much at a seminar more than a year ago.

Barefoot in Arizona has the story, including this bullseye analysis:

why do so many people believe they need pronation-controlling posts to run but no one believes they need Reebok Pumps to play basketball? It isn’t because the runners were convinced by studies showing the benefits of motion-control shoes, because they aren’t any. It’s because two generations of runners have been told they need them by the only major source of independent shoe reviews.

Incidentally, this major source of “independent” shoe reviews has NEVER published a negative review — not, at least, since Nike temporarily pulled its advertising back in the ’80s. As Runner’s World’s founder laments, the shoe review he’d created as a form of consumer protection is now “a grading system where you can only get an A.”

Somewhere, a White Horse is reading this and rolling his eyes. Or saying, “De nada, McOso.”

Meanwhile, Scott Jurek is still on the road and killing it with his “Eat & Run” tour. The reception has been insane: I joined him for four events in three days in New York, Boston, and Chicago, and every one was standing room only. Boston was especially fun: we started the run right outside my old college dorm, and shared it with the great and super-cool Dr. Daniel Lieberman (who, incidentally, is not only a barefoot runner, but frighteningly fast).

Tickets are going fast. As of Thursday, May 31:
**Boston, June 6, is sold out.But the group run through Harvard is open to all-comers: 4:30 pm. Scroll down here for details.
**New York, June 5, is nearly full for the evening event. On Tuesday morning, Scott is leading a street party/group run all the way around Manhattan (with nearly 50 runners already signed up!), finishing at Bryant Park for an open-air lunchtime event in “The Reading Room.”
**Chicago, June 7, sold half of all tickets in the first two days.
So please, get them while you can. These are the only events I’ll be doing for the rest of the year.
************

I’ll be sharing the stage and the road with Scott Jurek next week in three cities: New York, Boston, and Chicago. Scott and I agree on some things, disagree on others (I’m so not vegan, for instance, that if Scott died in a plane crash in the Andes, I’d eat him at once. Even if I wasn’t on the plane. Lean, organically-grown, free-range… Jurek tenderloin is probably the healthiest food on earth). So the on-stage conversations should be spicy, and the pre-talk runs should be a blast. The kick-off will be Scott’s run all the way around Manhattan on Tuesday morning (which you’re welcome to join at any stage, by the way). Details for the other events are here.

“They rambled and ran, calling Caballo…”
The New York Times re-creates the final days and rollercoaster last years of Micah True, in both print and audio forms. Among the story’s other virtues, it’s the best-reported and most emotionally-moving account of the search — not a surprise, since it comes from narrative master Barry Bearak. This was a difficult story to get right, particularly since Caballo was such a storm cloud of conflicting emotions, and Bearak handles it with extraordinary skill.

Scott Jurek has some kind of wild fiesta planned for Tuesday, June 5, when he launches his new book, “Eat and Run.” We’ll be uncorking an epic run around Manhattan in the morning and speaking in Bryant Park at noon, but the showstopper will be this event on Tuesday night. I’ve only heard about half of what Scott has in store, and I already need more coffee.

On Wednesday, June 6, we’ll be in Cambridge, MA for a run through Harvard Square and along the Charles River, then an event that evening at Brattle Theatre. All you need to know, right here.

Thursday, June 7, it’s on to Chicago for a FleetFeet-sponsored extravaganza. Details and tickets, here.

**Update: Ok, details are up for the 1st event in NYC at Bryant Park. not ALL the details, though; we’re still brainstorming our plan to arrive on foot after an epic run. more on that once we nail it down.

Meanwhile:

On June 5, Scott Jurek is launching his great new book, “Eat and Run,” and to celebrate, I’ll be hitting the road with him for a few one-of-a-kind events. Some of the ideas we’re putting together are truly epic (like, if you’ve got an iPhone and you’re in New York, this could be your best fake sick-day of the year).
Scott will unveil the full agenda soon, but until then, save the dates and practice your really-can’t-make-it-coughcough-to-work-today phone voice.
Utica will be a solo operation; I’ll be there while Scott is in DC.
Expect runs, beers, tattoos, arrests.

Seattle’s “The Stranger” pulls back the curtain on Barefoot Ted, Inc. You heard it here first (well, assuming you’re not in touch with Roman Centurions and Biblical prophets):
Huaraches are about to become the next footwear sensation. In a year, Lunas could push aside Vibrams as the next less thing.

Sandal Factory
As Ballard makes mattresses, on the other side of town, in the quiet part of Capitol Hill (19th and Prospect), the people at Luna Sandals are drilling holes in the soles of minimalist running shoes. This factory is not your typical factory. It’s above a beauty salon and is surrounded by big trees, expensive houses, and private schools. It has four or so heavy machines (standard drill presses), shelves containing materials (fabric, straps, leather, vegan leather, rubber, buckles), a main desk (at which the founder, Barefoot Ted, sits and receives orders or makes deals), and a central table where the sandals are assembled.

During my visit, nine casually dressed women and men are at work at this table. On an internet radio station, Paul Banks revives Ian Curtis’s ghost: “Surprise, sometimes, will come around/Surprise, sometimes, will come around/I will surprise you sometime/I’ll come around when you’re down.” Sunlight fills the small space. One of the employees, Dylan Romero, guides me through the process of making a Luna sandal. (On the company’s website, Romero is pictured eating the leg of an animal that looks wild, recently killed, barely cooked. This image prepared me to meet the wrong person; instead of a lusty, loud, loquacious type, I met a very mellow and affable human being.)

We begin with the shelves by the factory’s entry, then proceed to the drills along the walls, then come upon a tree stump that’s used for hammering and banging things. The Luna sandal, he explains to me, is a part of the minimalist movement. What this movement wants more than anything else is to reduce the running shoe to the brink of nothingness. Purists, of course, want nothing but nothing. Barefoot Ted, a runner who is featured in the popular book Born to Run and heads a school of sorts for those who want to master the art of running with what god gave you, is not in this camp. Though committed to barefoot running, he believes there are exceptions: There are places (rocky hills or city streets) that require something to protect the human foot from the world. He discovered that something in Northern Mexico, where a rugged people (Tarahumara Indians) make the sandals out of old tires. These most rude/rudimentary of shoes are used for work and sport.

Barefoot Ted returned to Seattle with the idea of these sandals impressed on his mind. A little thought and a few experiments led him to replace the old tire with materials from Vibram, the makers of FiveFingers barefoot shoes. A company was eventually born and named after the Mexican runner Manuel Luna. All of this happened in 2006. Six years later, Barefoot Ted’s small-scale operation exports a variety of these sandals to any part of the world that the global mailing system can access.

“We are doing very well and growing,” explains Romero. He is a big fan of the sandals because they conform to his feet and don’t stress his joints the way regular running sneakers do. “But yesterday morning, Don Imus mentioned us on his radio show, so we are very busy today. We usually have three people working at a time, but today we had to call in friends to help us meet these orders. It’s pretty weird that a small hippie company got great publicity from Imus.” One of the factory workers, a tallish young man assembling sandals at the table, takes a break and hugs the woman working next to him. She hugs him back. They have a moment. CalPortland is about massive machines; Canvas Supplies, families; Luna Sandals, friends.

One thing I regret about “Born to Run” was not getting more of Luis Escobar into it. During the Copper Canyon adventure, he was always upbeat and up for anything. Caballo called him “Coyote,” and that pretty much nails it: without his quick eye and instincts, photos like this would never have existed:

Recently, he spoke with “Run Barefoot Girl” about everything from Barefoot Ted’s remarkable influence on the running industry to what it was like to hunt for Caballo and play the Tarahumara ball game with Silvino:

This is the kind of guy we’re talking about:
Running Man
Kenny Cress / Times Sports Writer |
Thursday, November 6, 2003

Last February Antonio Ortiz, an autistic eighth grader at McKenzie Junior High in Guadalupe, wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Lakers basketball organization.
He explained in detail how much he loved the team and requested a ticket to a game. The organization was so impressed it sent Antonio/s entire class tickets to see the club/s March 21 home game against the Boston Celtics.
Now he is applying the same zeal to cross country running as he did to letter writing that February day.
Ortiz is a freshman at Righetti High now, and he competes for the Warriors/ junior varsity boys cross country team.
“He comes in last, dead last, every race,” says Righetti cross country coach Luis Escobar. “But he never quits, he never walks.
“He/s the only kid out here who has been to every practice. He is the first one to get here and the last one to leave.”
Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder for which, as of now anyway, there is no cure. Autistic traits can include lack of empathy and problems forming interpersonal bonds.
However, “The kids love him,” Escobar says of Ortiz. “Sometimes he does drive them crazy 7 he can repeat things endlessly (an autistic trait), and the kids will tell him, /Antonio, SHUT UP./”
His fellow Righetti runners/ affection for him is obvious, though. They encourage him loudly during the races he/s in.
“The kids tease him a lot, good naturedly,” Escobar says. “He/s very open (about his autism).
“He was in special education at McKenzie, but he started in the regular ed program when he got to Righetti.”
“I take math, reading, P.E., study skills,” among other courses, Ortiz says.
“I really want to take home ec next because of all the girls in there.”
“I had never run cross country before in my life,” Ortiz adds. “Let me tell you something 7 Jesus Solis and Kenna Wolter inspire me.”
Solis and Wolter are Righetti/s top boys and girls runners respectively, and they are among the favorites in the PAC-5 League Finals varsity races today.
“Jesus Solis is a great runner,” Ortiz says.
The PAC-5 finals begin at 2 p.m. with junior varsity races at the Fairbanks Course across from Cuesta College. The top three varsity teams in each division are guaranteed berths in the CIF Preliminaries. Righetti/s boys and girls varsity teams both figure to qualify.
Ortiz is a first-time runner, but it did not take him long to decide his course preference 7 the flatter, the better.
“I hate all courses with hills,” he says, well, flatly. “I hate Mt. SAC. I hate Atascadero. I hate Atascadero the worst, because it makes my legs tight.”
Alas for him, his last race this year will be at a course with hills aplenty.
Regardless of how he finishes today, Ortiz/s season has been one of accomplishment 7 he ran a personal best late in the season, the ideal time to run one.
“He PR/d by 20 seconds at the Santa Barbara County meet,” says Escobar. “He ran 37:50,” over the flat three-mile course at River Park in Lompoc.
Not only that, he has lost weight, he points out proudly. “When I started, I weighed 250 pounds,” he says. “Now I weigh 237. I am 6-2, 237.
“The girls tell me I/ve lost weight.”
And he is bucking a trend. Because of poor coordination, studies cite, many autistic children are disinclined toward sports.
Ortiz has gone dead in the opposite direction. “I like all the sports 7 football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, cross country, track.
“My favorite sport to watch is basketball.” In fact, Escobar and others have said, Ortiz can rattle off reams of statistics concerning his beloved Lakers with dead on accuracy.
“Everything there is to know about the Lakers,” Escobar says, “He knows.”
Escobar adds, “Sometimes he forgets his shoes. But he knows what happened on June 15, 2001. He/s like Rainman.
“His nickname is /Ferocious./ That/s the boxer Fernando Vargas/ nickname. Antonio says he had it first.”
Escobar calls out, “Hey, Antonio!,” Ortiz inclines his head toward his coach and Escobar says, “When did you get the nickname /Ferocious?/”
“!995,” comes the immediately reply.
“What month?”
“May.”
Ortiz says he is running to get in shape “for wrestling. Then I want to do track. I/m a sprinter 7 I want to do the 100 meters. And I want to throw the shot put.”
Some of Ortiz/s struggles are typical of many who have autism. When other Righetti runners take off to do roadwork, Ortiz stays on the running track to do his workouts.
“He/s gotten lost before,” says Escobar. “He gets confused easily. I/m with him (for guidance) during the last two miles usually,” during races.
“Luis Escobar is the reason I am out for cross country,” says Ortiz. “I went out for cross country when I got cut from freshman football.
“When I was cut from (freshman) football, I was (ticked) off. I didn/t understand why I was cut.”
Escobar, whose son Brad is a star running back for St. Joseph, understands.
“It/s the football team/s loss, but really they just couldn/t have him out there,” Escobar says.
“He would have gotten his clock cleaned. He would have been a danger to himself and others 7 he wouldn/t have been able to think fast enough (during the course of the action). He would have been hurt.”
“He came to me after he got cut from football. He said /When are the cuts?/ I said, /There are no cuts. You come to practice, run every race, you/re on the team./”
There were uniform problems to overcome.
“Antonio took a double extra large shirt size,” says Escobar. “I looked around, and there really weren/t any.
“The day of our first race, at Morro Bay, Jeff Rubio, who owns Venue Sports in San Luis Obispo, brought over a double extra large shirt to us himself.”
“He doesn/t really have a pair of running shoes,” Escobar says of Ortiz. “He/s wearing Number 35, Phillip Adam/s shoes, right now.”
Adam is a linebacker-fullback for the St. Joseph football team. “I knew that Antonio wore about the same shoe size as Phillip and his brother Jeff,” says Escobar. “I called their mother to ask about it, and they brought over three pairs of shoes for Antonio to try. These are the ones we chose.”
Ortiz has worked hard in those shoes, and he expresses the same fondness for Escobar that his coach has for him.
“Luis Escobar,” Ortiz says, “is a great man.”

November 06, 2003