[**post shared by Copper Canyons Events (www.coppercanyons.com) who organized the event with the help of the State of Chihuahua and Urique Municipal. True Messages was the sponsor for the events awards and supported all 14 Tarahumara athletes for the event]

Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra World Championship Mexico: October 17-19 Parque de Adventura, Urique Chihuahua Mexico (8,000 feet high in the magical Sierra Tarahumara

What an experience we all had at the first Big Dog Backyard Mexico race and all the Backyard Championship Races throughout the world. It will for sure be a few days that those who ran and those who were following along will not soon forget. With the added excitement and drama of having athletes from over 20 countries participating not only on their own, but also as a team member representing their country, incredible performances and dramatic moments were ongoing. The emotional aspect for those of us watching felt as draining as if we were running!

Big Dogs Backyard Ultra World Championship Mexico (3).JPG

Our race was won by Guachochi athlete Pedro Parra after 64 Yards (4.1 miles is a yard). An inspiring performance, Pedro outlasted legendary Tarahumara Corredore Miguel Lara who placed second after a shin injury finally slowed him too much on his 64th Yard after 12 hours of dealing with the extreme discomfort. In third place with 61 Yards was Juan Contraras. Juan, the oldest runner for Mexico at 47 had an incredible run and gave it all he had for his country and himself. Pedro, Miguel, and Juan also finished 5th, 6th, 7th in the overall world results among 300 elite runners. Fourth place in our event, the current 12, 24, and 48 hour record holder for Mexico, Marco Antonio Zaragoza also had a great run finishing tied for 21st in the world with 43 Yards.

Big Dogs Backyard Ultra World Championship Mexico (15).jpg

Mexico also performed well as a team finishing with the 8th most Yards with 447 for all 15 runners combined. With a slower start early in the team competition, they continued to climb as the team pushed for more and more – we were even the last team with 3 runners standing. Our runners adapted a mantra as the Last Man Standing race went on: “Team Mexico – Let’s Stand Together Forever”, which pays homage to the Raramuri proverb “when you run on the earth and when you run with the earth, you can run forever.”

The overall race was won by Karel Sabbe with an incredible 75 Yards with an equally special assist from his countryman Merjin Geerts. The only other team to have runners still going after 60 Yards was the American team and teammates Courtney Dauwalter and Harvey Lewis. Pushing one another to extremes Courtney outlasted Harvey finishing with 68 total Yards. Courtney continues to show she is one of the best endurance runners on the planet regardless of gender.

So many amazing stories are yet to be shared, we assume from around the world and for sure from our event. There are also many learnings that the team and the runners will take into the next race. Not one of the 15 runners on Team Mexico had previously ran a Backyard format and strategies were all trial by fire. Even as a race directing team we will be much better prepared for the next event. The team and everyone involved loved this format. We were still in the midst of the race when the ideas to improve and excitement for the next one was already reaching a frenzy. The dynamic of the team event also brought much attention on Social Media throughout the country and even with sports and Governmental agencies. It is nice to see that the sport of endurance running is getting some of the attention it has earned – so many amazing athletes that comprise our sport are deserving.

Big Dogs Backyard Ultra World Championship Mexico (4).JPG

The rest of the Elite Mexico Team was lead by legendary runner Arnulfo Quimare and Salvatore Ramirez and also included Martin Moreno, Florencia Quimare, Enrique Moreno, Teresa Sanchez, Hermilo Gardia, Reyes Sativo, Jose Rascon, Maria Ayala, and Carlos Concheno.

We will come back and share more individual stories over time, also keep an eye out for a special documentary that is being compiled for the worldwide event and is hoped to be available by Christmas. Hopefully you will get a chance to see a few of the incredible performances by our Mexico Team – which by the way included 14 Raramuri athletes all from the Sierra Tarahumara.

Also if you are intrigued by this format, keep a watch as we announce the date for the next race. While the invited athlete ‘Team Mexico’ will be limited, the race itself will be open to anyone who can do “Just one more Lap”

Results at: http://bigsbackyardultra.com/results/

Follow along on Facebook at: Big Dogs Backyard Ultra Group Page.