Caballo Blanco

In the book

Micah True — born Michael Randall Hickman — was an ultrarunner from Boulder, Colorado, known in the Copper Canyons as Caballo Blanco, the White Horse. He is a central character of Born to Run, which tells the story of his Copper Canyon ultramarathon and the Rarámuri.¹

True organized his first race for the Rarámuri on March 23, 2003. In 2006 he invited American ultrarunners to race them. That is the race told in the book.¹²

Since 2009

• 2009Featured prominently in Born to Run, which brought him wide attention among ultrarunners.¹
• NorawasThe nonprofit Norawas de Rarámuri, created by True to support Rarámuri culture, organized the race.³⁴
• March 27, 2012Died during a run in the Gila Wilderness of southwestern New Mexico. Fellow runners, Scott Jurek among them, joined the search.¹⁵
• May 2012The New York Times published Barry Bearak’s long account of his life and death, “Caballo Blanco’s Last Run.”⁶
• 2015Sterling Noren’s documentary Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco.⁷
• 2026The race, now Ultra Maratón Caballo Blanco, ran its 23rd edition from February 27 to March 1.⁸ True Messages, which handles international registration, says it now draws more than 1,200 runners from more than 20 countries.⁹
• 2026 reunionOn the 20-year reunion podcast, Luis Escobar said a full-size bronze statue of True now stands in Urique’s plaza.¹⁰