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There's an aura of myth surrounding ultramarathon runner Micah True. Also known as "Caballo Blanco," he was the legendary "white horse" who joined Northern Mexico's Tarahumara—a tribe that run through the Copper Canyons as part of their daily routine.
Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco expands on Christopher McDougal's 2009 New York Times best-seller Born to Run, which made True a celebrity in the running community until he died running in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness in 2012.
Documentarian Sterling Noren begins and ends with True's death, trying valiantly to reveal the runner's character through the story of Ultra Maratón Caballo Blanco (aka the Copper Canyon Ultramarathon), the race that he created in 2003 to "save" the Tarahumara. True saw his tribal running companions as victims whose way of life was being torn apart by modernization and the rapid expansion of corporate interests.
Everything a runner might want to see is here: gorgeous panoramic landscapes, the world's fastest ultra runners competing alongside the fastest native people and story after endearing story about True's kinship with the Tarahumara. What's missing are the characters behind the race—there aren't interviews with any of the native tribe members, who live up to their reclusive reputation.
True's untimely death means there's not much of his story to be told either. The runner was unwilling to talk about his past, though it's rumored he was formerly a touring boxer who killed an opponent with one punch in the ring.
The film's real story is about the race itself. Overshadowing the disappointing lack of background, Noren fills his doc with accounts of camaraderie and positivity from other Born to Run characters like "Barefoot Ted," and True's annoyances about the rapid growth of his own race are balanced out by Ted's relentless positivity.
This is the kind of movie runners watch together (multiple times), wish they could make and discuss in vans during long relays, keeping the mythos of Caballo Blanco alive.
Critic's Grade: B+
SEE it: Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco screens at the Clinton Street Theater. 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 1. $12 in advance, $15 at the door.
Willamette Week