Mexican Indians race to win, for themselves and their tribe
Story-Date: 03:50 p.m. PST Sunday   , September 28, 1997

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Mexican Indians race to win, for themselves and their tribe


By Denise Levin
Associated Press Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Wearing sandals made from old car tires, a
Mexican Indian tribesman crossed the finish line on Sunday to win a
100-mile endurance race along rugged mountain trails.

Cirildo Chacarito, 52, finished his 19 1/2-hour run at 12:34 a.m. He and
eight other Tarahumara Indians took part in the annual Angeles Crest race
to focus attention on their tribe's poverty, said Dick Ryan, a member of
the team's crew.

"They do not train. There is no practicing. It is just their lifestyle.
They have a tradition of being foot runners," Ryan said.

Chacarito's time of 19 hours and 34 minutes failed to break the race record
of 17 hours and 35 minutes, Ryan said. He did not know who set that record
or when.

Chacarito's lead was jeopardized by a wrong turn, Ryan said.

"It was a misfortune. He got lost off the trail," Ryan said. "The trails
are just a scramble. This race is done mostly by volunteers, but markings
sometimes get people lost.

"He was running first the whole race then lost 15 minutes," said Ryan, who
buys art from the tribe to sell in the U.S.

The Tarahumara make their home in the remote mountain regions of northern
Mexico. After the Navajo, they are the second-largest Indian tribe in
North America.

A system of deep canyons isolates the tribe from civilization and adequate
health care and food. In recent years, a drought has cost the lives of
3,000 tribe members and stricken many with disease and malnourishment.

The tribe's running tradition is legendary. For hunting purposes, tribesmen
have been known to catch deer by simply outlasting the exhausted animal.

The 12th annual Angeles Crest race began at 5 a.m. Saturday at the
Wrightwood resort in the San Gabriel Mountains and ended in the northern
Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena.

Teams of three were supported by four-member crews. More than 150 runners
from all over the world took part this year, including three teams of
Tarahumara Indians, Ryan said.

The last leg of the race is the hardest, he said.

"They run in the dark with a flashlight," he said. "It's a killer."

He said a lot of the runners get disoriented or dehydrated and drop out.
Runners were counted as having completed the race only if they crossed the
finish line at Pasadena's Johnson Field by 2 p.m. Sunday, Ryan said.

Chacarito's team was arranged by Alberto Sanchez, a Mexican doctor who has
a clinic near the tribe. Sanchez brought the runners to the race hoping to
get help for the Indians, who live in unsanitary conditions and are badly
in need of medicine, Ryan said.

Corporate sponsors and contacts made for the race may provide help later
on, Ryan said.

For example, runners were allowed to be accompanied by a pacer for the last
half of the course.

A Spanish-speaking optometrist ran with Chacarito for the last 25 miles. In
addition to helping keep Chacarito's spirits up, he may become a resource
for the tribe, Ryan said.



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