Apache Tears

"Maria Walton" (C) 2012, Miachelle DePiano Images

On March 27, 2012 the running world was rocked to hear that running legend Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, was missing.  On March 31, 2012, True’s friend, Ray Molina, found him.  True was lying beside a stream, his legs dangling in the water, his eyes looking up to the sky. The White Horse had gone for his last run. 

True’s love of running and his desire to help humanity continue to inspire. Thrust into the limelight after Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run became a national best seller, True sought to balance his popularity with his desire to remain authentic. One rewarding aspect of his sudden popularity was meeting his girlfriend, Maria Walton. Walton sought him out for advice on marathon training, and the two connected spiritually.

On May 6, 2012, Walton held a memorial run for True at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Friends and fans alike in the Phoenix area attended the run, and presented Walton with tributes to True. She held up well until it was time to speak to everyone before the run. She was choked with emotion as she thanked everyone. After the run, she opened up about her life with True, the difficulty of representing True, and  recounted fond memories.

"It's not the shoe..."

(C) 2011, Miachelle DePiano. Micah True speaks at AVE in Chandler, AZ.

Back in October, I was given the opportunity to hear ultra running icon Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, speak at AVE in Chandler, AZ and publish a story on his presentation in the Santan Sun. The presentation was a fundraiser benefiting True’s non-profit charity, Norawas de Rarámuri which works to preserve the Rarámuri, and their running culture.

Before the presentation began, I had a few quiet minutes with True. We talked about my recently torn calf muscle and the issue of running barefoot or in Vibrams. His next statement echoes in my mind to this day as I get back into running:

“It’s not the shoe, it’s what’s in the shoe.”