For experienced long-distance runners, the Tarahumara are almost legendary for their ability to run long distances in unforgiving conditions and without modern innovations like running shoes, electrolytic drinks, and high-energy snack bars. The tales of the Tarahumara’s races of 50, 60, or even 100 miles through the canyons of Mexico are hard to believe - but they are true. These people have developed a unique culture over the past several hundred years, as they sought to hide from their enemies and survive in some of the harshest terrain on the planet. And through this evolution, they have become revered as the greatest distance runners in the world.

The Tarahumara live in small villages that are accessible only by steep trails that snake in and out of the Copper Canyons in Mexico. The villages are disguised with brush, and some homes are in caves or dugouts, and visitors have said that it’s impossible to see the villages until you are within yards of them. They are almost invisible.

The Tarahumara, too, are described in ghost-like terms. They are said to quietly materialize out of nowhere, and to disappear at a glance. Their culture has remained remarkable untouched by the modern world. They don’t use money. They don’t use electricity. They don’t have running water or manufactured clothes. Occasionally, a Tarahumara will go to town and bring back a few useful items, but for the most part, the people seem content to do without what most of us consider to be necessities.

What the Tarahumara have developed is a remarkable culture based on communal support - a necessity in an environment in which death from heat, lack of water, and myriad other dangers is omnipresent - and running. From young ages, the children play running and chasing games, which are practice for the lifestyle they will adopt as adults. It’s nothing for a Tarahumara adult to wander 50 miles in a day, in search of food, or to visit another village, or even to get to the outside world for supplies. The paths that they use are almost impassable even for mules or donkeys, and scores of westerners have died on the trails after getting lost. But the Tarahumara are perfectly suited for their environment.

And there they sat quietly until the late 1990s. Occasionally, a sociologist or adventurer would visit for a week, and he or she would write a scientific paper about these “lost” people and their ancient ways. The visitor might mention feats of endurance that seemed hard to believe, and would marvel at the people’s ease in moving by foot across rocky, steep terrain. But for the most part, their story was unknown.

Then came Rick Fischer, a long-distance runner and entrepeneur. In the ’90s, Fischer “discovered’ these people and realized that they would be able to compete in the burgeoning field of ultramarathoning. Ultramarathons are any races of more than marathon distance: 26.2 miles. These races have grown in popularity in the last 20 years, as athletes sought challenges beyond the relatively mild conditions of a marathon on streets and pathways. Today, some ultras attact as many as 1,000 competitors for races that can last as long as 48 hours, and can go up and down mountain peaks and across deserts.

So, Rick Fischer figured that the Tarahumara would be a great draw for those races, and he would be able to both become famous for finding them and also help them ease their lives a bit with race winnings. Sure enough, the Tarahumara did well for several years in the top ultra of the day, the 100-mile race in Leadville, Colo., as all of their entries finished in the top 10. But they were unsettled by the publicity and by Fischer’s demanding presence, and they vanished again into the Mexican outback.

Then, in 2006, a freelance writer and runner named Chris McDougall rediscovered the Tarahumara. He replicated Fischer’s trek into the Copper Canyons, and he made a connection with an American who’d been living Tarahumara-style for 10 years. Coincidentally, this American wanted to bring the world’s great ultra runners to Tarahumura turf for another distance race, but this time without the glitz and pressures of doing it in America. McDougall and the other American (who calls himself Caballo Blanco), pulled this off in 2007, and now it’s become an annual event. Maybe this time, the Tarahumara can be exposed to the modern world in a more positive way - but the jury is still out on the final impact. For Chris McDougall’s story, check out the book: “Born to Run.”