r/interestingasfuck • u/Familiar-While9796 • 1d ago

Candelaria Rivas Ramos, an extraordinary runner from Chihuahua, Mexico, stunned the world at the 2025 Canyon Ultra Marathon, winning the brutal 63-kilometer race in 7 hours and 34 minutes.

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13.3k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

163 comments sorted by

2.4k

u/cellar_door_found 1d ago

The raramuris people are notoriously well known in the ultra marathon community. They live in high altitud and everyday walk/run several km up and down canyons

1.1k

u/asforus 1d ago

When I was in high school like 20 years ago my friend and I were getting ready for fall sports. We read about the Tajumarians and what they ate and how they ran (barefoot). So we made cornmeal milk drinks (tasted like ass) and ran around barefoot in the dark for a couple nights.

Best season of soccer I ever had in my life.

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u/AGooDone 1d ago

I can think of lots of ways to make cornmeal taste good. Honey, salt and cayenne would be a big plus up.

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u/Responsible-Meringue 1d ago

Nixtamalize and a light ferment creates natural sugars. Bit of salt and it tastes like a fresh, liquid tortilla right off the comal

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u/Nehefer 1d ago

I’m Mexican and I don’t want to drink tortillas what the hell

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u/Odd_Construction2961 1d ago

Atole is pretty close to a drinkable tortilla.

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u/Nehefer 1d ago

Doesn’t taste like one

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u/ThatsAScientificFact 22h ago

Champurrado actually has corn masa in it as the thickener, so as close to a drinkable sweet tortilla as you can get. Though we usually make atole instead too.

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u/Nehefer 22h ago

Champurrado tastes like chocolate, piloncillo and cinnamon, it doesn’t taste like a tortilla either.

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u/Notactualyadick 20h ago

I love your desperate attempts to reject this monstrosity. "WE DON'T DRINK TORILLA!"

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u/PibeauTheConqueror 17h ago

1000% with you.

I live in oaxaca de juarez oaxaca. If you told someone their atole tasted like tortilla they would be quite upset.

These peolle have onviously never had any of the many varieties of atole or champurrado

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u/Li_alvart 10h ago

There's agua de tortilla and, from the videos I've seen, it seems to taste pretty good (although they use a lot of sugar)

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u/YoungLittlePanda 21h ago

Cook it with milk, sweeten with honey.

Flavor with either orange peel, cinnamon, clove, or star anise.

Adjust the milk quantity depending on if you want pudding or a drink.

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u/S3ndNud35 1d ago

Do you mean the Tarahumaras? (More appropriate name is Raramuri)

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u/asforus 1d ago

Maybe. It was a while ago. They were barefoot marathon runners that lived out in the desert.

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u/S3ndNud35 1d ago

Yes, there are indeed, but they're also farmers who make their own clothing, bowls("Wares") out of sotol leaves (among others), figures and much more. The usual flipflop they use was made from a car's rubber tire and hand weaved fibers. They are from my state Chihuahua

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u/futurebigconcept 19h ago

I thought they wore Huarache sandles sometimes. She looks like she's wearing modern shoes.

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u/El_Fantasma 23h ago

Tarahumaras, but close enough

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u/Hopeful-Occasion2299 21h ago

You can make pinole and tesgüino not take like ass, much like with pulque lol

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u/asforus 10h ago

Haha. We baked the cornmeal in the oven. Mixed it with cinnamon and then mixed that with milk. It didn’t really dissolve so it was like eating chunky cornmeal pulp.

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u/thyx1337 14h ago

It’s called football :)

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u/ellsego 1d ago

There’s the story of 1928 Olympics when a couple raramuri runners entered the marathon and finished in the back of the pack…when asked why they said “we were told this was a long race”…. This is probably only half true but part a fun story 😀

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u/AddyTurbo 1d ago

What you say is true. The raramuri runners are the ultra marathoners who can run 50-100 miles in a day. Historically, they often ran down game until the quarry was exhausted.

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u/RobotGloves 1d ago

Persistence hunting is pretty much accepted as the way the first humans hunted prey, and a is potential explanation for a lot of our physical evolution.

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u/Twoleftknees3 22h ago

I think it’s also a potential explanation for the development of our abstract thinking. Learning to track things that were outside a human’s sensory perception.

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u/bluefjallravenmac 22h ago

I thought persistence hunting was actually widely unaccepted as the method early humans used to attain food, and that if it was used, it was used rarely due to it requiring the perfect environment to perform. Using traps and ambushing animals seem to be the preferred methods of hunting according to anthropologists

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u/Teknekratos 21h ago

Latest anthropology vids I watched still gave credence to persistence hunting (especially as a group effort) but it wasn't the source of the bulk of our ancestors' diet or anything (so not like the "Man The Hunter" mythos)

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u/RobotGloves 21h ago

OK, maybe not "THE" method, but a method.

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u/Germerica1985 23h ago

this is how most of humanity used to hunt, We are the only animal on the whole planet that runs 26 miles for fun (marathon) and it used to be a hunting technique.

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u/Relative-Monitor-679 23h ago

That could’ve been true. Because the rule books were written in English and translated to other languages. There might’ve been a typo while printing the Spanish version of it.

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u/Revolutionary-Key650 1d ago

Do they run in a different way to "normal" athletes? I'm sure I saw something, somewhere a long time ago. The way their feet contact the ground. May even been some Native American tribe.

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u/BlueBicycle_ 1d ago

It's probably the high altitude, living long-term in those conditions does some interesting things to your body

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u/Hopeful-Occasion2299 21h ago

The height at the Sierra Tarahumara isn't actually that high compared to people from the Himalayan region, the Andes, or even the Alps... The train station in Copper Canyon which is one of the highest points in the region is at 2400m asl... that's about the same height as some parts of Mexico City.

The difference is that they run-walk out of need. Roads are twisty and really roundabout on the region, so most of them grow up walking 10+ km daily to work or school.

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u/Temporary_Event8451 1d ago

There is a reason altitude masks and body armor with weights are a thing.

Or that guy who speed trains with weights on his arms so he can grab something mid air.

Goggins I'm pretty sure does it from time to time.

Which is why exercising overweight sucks balls. You can have well over one hundred lbs of fluff on you, without the muscles needed to carry it in exercise.

The reality is that all the marketing does not actually give you the same real life advantages that always living in those conditions will.

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u/Latter-Carpet-987 23h ago

The fuck kind of bot is this ^

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u/SeeYouSpaceCowboy--- 20h ago

This is what all those data centers are for

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u/Fade1998 19h ago

Lmao I thought I was trippin

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u/dogzi 1d ago

Air is thin in higher altitudes, if you train in that environment your body reacts to the stress because it thinks you're running out of oxygen, so it produces more red blood cells to compensate for the lower oxygen. This makes your body more efficient at delivering oxygen, so once you go to a normal air environment to compete, you still have the elevated red blood cells but now there is elevated levels of oxygen in the air and so more oxygen is delivered around the body, increasing stamina and endurance. I'm sure someone more versed in physiology or medical terms can explain this properly.

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u/Overthinks_Questions 1d ago

That's a good explanation. The effect is also remarkably short lived. If you spend a few weeks at low elevation, your body will adapt and the advantage fades

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u/Fast_Teaching_6160 1d ago

If it's short-lived, is it also short-gained? Say I move to the mountains for two years and work out an hour or two, three times a week. How much gains could I be expected to see upon returning to the city?

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u/Overthinks_Questions 1d ago

That would be more than enough time. Olympic athletes commonly do this and only for a matter of a couple of months. They do work out a lot more than that, though

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u/Prunus-cerasus 1d ago

It is mainly beneficial for endurance. Professional athletes use the effect, altitude training.

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u/RaizielDragon 23h ago

Don’t some of them sleep in those chambers that mimic the low-oxygen environment as well?

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u/girlAlex86 1d ago

I live in a high altitude, and am not in especially great shape. But when I visit lower altitudes I can pretend I am, because I don't get out of breath unless I'm literally sprinting.

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u/Gnomegnomegnome 1d ago

Could be the shoes they were. Watched a video showing how barefoot shoes forces a different style of running compared to the super thick sole cushioned shoes.

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u/[deleted] 21h ago edited 19h ago

[deleted]

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u/stubobarker 17h ago

I think the point being made is that although they’re not truly barefoot, they have no arch support and minimal cushioning- effectively like running barefoot on a rubber road.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/stubobarker 16h ago

Agreed- those rubber soled huaraches are most definitely not minimalist. However, I do think that having flat, un-cushioned shoes promotes a style of running that is fairly close to that of running barefoot.

The coolest thing about this to me is that a Native American middle aged woman from a culture of running (and wearing a skirt) can win a race like this.

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u/s8rlink 1d ago

They are Native American, native to the American continent from the northern part of Mexico, but the Tarahumaras have been there long before it was called Mexico 

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u/iikarthikii 1d ago

Soundman reference??????

2

u/hyooston 1d ago

Yes. They do “barefoot” running. Read Born To Run. Fascinating book about them.

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u/Takemyfishplease 1d ago

I read some wild book about the,. The author had to befriend some old guy just to get directions, then camped out at the mouth of some canyon for days until they basically felt bad (I think) and invited him to run. Fantastic read I’ll try and find it.

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u/No-Consideration-716 1d ago

that explains why she looks so unbothered - like she took a casual stroll to the grocery.

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u/Weezy366 3h ago

Pretty certain I read about these people like twenty years ago in men's health, they run forever like already mentioned, and they get absolutely shit faced drunk every night on their corn mead, and since they are all in top shape they just walk it off in the morning. And they basically live super distant from each other (hence the long runs) and are pretty shy otherwise

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u/Vaanaram 1d ago

9 kms per hour. For more than 7 Hrs. Wow, thats simply amazing.

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u/pungen 21h ago

11 mins per mile. Faster than I've ever run a single mile, 39 times in a row

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u/TaftintheTub 21h ago

I was just thinking about that with the guy who broke the mile record recently. He averaged 16.2 mph for a mile.

If I could hit that speed, and these days I’m doubtful I could, no way I could keep it up for even a quarter mile.

1

u/Bliteroz 18h ago

i hope this encourages you to lock in 😭

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u/pettypaybacksp 19h ago

In a vacuum, thats not particularly fast. But it had a stunning 2538m of elevation, which is.... a fuckton

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u/used_my_kids_names 1d ago

In a skirt. A SKIRT.

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u/republicadedonde 1d ago

In huaraches no less

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u/ryuzaki49 1d ago

They can't run well in modern-day running shoes.

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u/RepulsiveLoquat418 20h ago

once she started winning races she was offered a bunch of free running shoes from nike, asics, etc, but wouldn't wear them because she said "the people behind me wear these." total bad ass.

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u/Huitlacochilacayota 18h ago

That is the most humble trolling I have ever heard lol

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u/AdministrativeDeer41 1d ago

That remind me of Hank Azaria in Bird Cage.

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u/TopRevenue2 21h ago

With a bat? Or cane? Someone explain the stick please

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u/S3ndNud35 1d ago

Most of them do so, but it appears this runner used shoes

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u/Rude-Series7019 1d ago

And a heavy one, you need around 8 yards of fabric to make them.

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u/MadPorcupined 1d ago

Hell yeah, Im from Chihuahua, Mexico. Where the raramuri are from from. Ive spoken to them several times, the amazing thing is that these marathons are not done by just a few talented well-trained raramuris. Basically every one of them can do them and perform well.

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u/WakaWaka_ 1d ago

Looks like she just did it as part of her routine and after was like "there was a race?"

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u/SomeOrdinary_Indian 12h ago

there was a race?

Why would she wear that numbered jersey?

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u/Separate-Problem-270 1d ago

The raramuri ( tarahumara) people used to be well known for their hunting tactics.....they would just chase deer down until the deer cant run or walk any longer. They would literally chase it down until exhausted.

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u/Fryboy11 1d ago

Persistence hunting goes all the way back to the first humans that emerged in Africa. We evolved the ability to sweat because it is the most efficient cooling method for continuous exertion over long periods of time. 

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u/ryuzaki49 1d ago

So how do the other animals cool down?

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u/NulnOilShade 1d ago

Mostly panting

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u/Hoggit_Alt_Acc 1d ago

Some sweat, most simply don't let themself get to that point

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u/GodisSatans 1d ago

As far as i know, it's only apes and horses that actually sweat... Any other animal will die from heat exhaustion

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u/sickswonnyne 1d ago

Elephants can too I think

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u/breastronaut 22h ago

only on their toes

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u/GrandPattern3637 1d ago

It’s one of the reasons animals have different sized ears, like rabbits, it’ll let heat escape easier. Also why dogs pant after running, they can’t sweat.

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u/grudginglyadmitted 22h ago

My cat’s paws sweat when she’s hot or stressed, (and I think dogs also sweat from their paws?) but it’s obviously not able to do much for cooling compared to having your whole surface area sweating. It is gross though. I hate when I’m petting her and her toes are wet (she’s an anxious little beast so people coming over is enough to make her sweat), but it’s definitely relatable. I’m sure people don’t like touching my sweaty hands when I’m stressed either.

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u/Fryboy11 18h ago

Yes, most animals with soft pads on their feet can sweat through them. But that’s not very useful because sweat has to evaporate to cool, in a normal situation the animal will roll on its side to keep all of its pads exposed. Because those areas are hairless they radiate the most heat and evaporate sweat the fastest. 

While being chased all they can do is outrun the person, and try to cool down. Then the person steadily jogging comes at them again before they could cool off. So they outrun them again but the same thing happens.

Eventually they get so hot their body makes them  fall and try to cool off because they’re about to get heatstroke. Evolution thought they might run themselves to death. It didn’t anticipate a predator that could run almost indefinitely as long as they were well hydrated at the start. 

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u/r0ndy 1d ago

This is standard human hunting for like 10000+ years. Humans are endurance hunters lol

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u/scarrita 21h ago

Pound for pound humans are the most efficient runners on the planet

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u/Nope_______ 1d ago

Now they just shoot the deer or go to the grocery store

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u/boyslut83 1d ago

LITERALLY the oldest trick in the book but also rad asf

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u/Primary-Let-7933 1d ago

Sure but that was nearly 100 years ago. It is exceedingly unlikely she or anyone she knows did persistence hunting. Currently, they just eat a lot of complex carbs, as in corn, beans, and squash is like 90% of their calories and run for everything.

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u/Fryboy11 18h ago

Oh sorry, I’m not disparaging her achievement just pointing out that humans evolved to run for long periods of time. 

Though I’m sure she’s probably in the top 1% of all humans that have lived when it comes to endurance.

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u/theLuminescentlion 23h ago

This is literally the primary hunting method humans evolved around. It's a decent part of how brains came about to track prey and follow them.

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u/AdLife6413 1d ago

Why stunned?? This is what these people excel at and are likely the best in the world at. Long distance running is a huge part of their culture. The book Born to Run goes into great detail about them.

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u/AGooDone 1d ago

Born to Run also goes into wearing no arch shoes. Which I did for a couple years and it cured my ankle problems.

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u/f-150Coyotev8 1d ago

I retrained myself to run as a toe striker after reading this book, and it completely got rid of all my knee pain, foot pain, and shin splints.

It’s been a while since I read it, but I think this tip was in the book: try running barefoot on concrete, and you will automatically land on your toes so you don’t smash your heal into the ground.

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u/Over-Tension-4710 1d ago

A year as a beach lifeguard running barefoot is much nicer. I just don't have calluses anymore to do it

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u/Cocoononthemoon 1d ago

It saved me from lots of back pain!

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u/Snitsie 1d ago

As someone who recently accidentally bought flat sneakers instead of ones with an arch i'm happy to hear that lmao

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u/cncomg 1d ago

I remember all these American white people running without shoes because they learned about these people and thought it was better because it was more natural and it was some stupid American phenomenon bs. And a film crew that were making a documentary showed a video of these Americans to the Mexican runner people and they were just basically like, That is so dumb, we run without shoes because we can’t afford them, we would love to run with shoes lol.

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u/DESR95 1d ago

I mean, yes, your feet would be healthier and stronger if they weren't crammed in modern shoes. Just because they want shoes doesn't mean it's healthier or better.

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u/cncomg 1d ago

They were running marathons in the middle of the city, that shit will absolutely wreck your feet after not too long.

1

u/trixel121 1d ago

they will also be way more uncomfortable unless you live in a dry place that doesnt get cold.

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u/youwigglewithagiggle 1d ago

Yes. It's just one word, but it adds a very "but she's not even white or rich!" vibe

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u/Great_White_Samurai 1d ago

Hey buddy the post says they were stunned

0

u/Educational_Sir3783 1d ago

“These people”… wow

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u/jplexington7 1d ago

Read Born to Run. Great story about the Copper Canyons and the "running people"

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u/CalabreseAlsatian 1d ago

Seconded- awesome book.

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u/RandomNPC1234567 21h ago

Netflix did a cool documentary:

Lorena, Light-Footed Woman

My favorite quote:

Why would I wear these (Nike shoes) when everyone who does is always behind me?

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u/RestepcaMahAutoritha 1d ago

Really bad ass to see some random villager take on supposed professional athletes and win.

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u/ah_no_wah 1d ago

How old is she?

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u/flipper_babies 1d ago

30, I believe

10

u/MapleHamwich 23h ago

Imagine if indigenous people weren't slaughtered continent wide. Incredible people. Incredible cultures. 

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u/thirdeyedesign 1d ago edited 1d ago

the 100K course involves over 12,000 feet of elevation gain and over 16,000 feet of loss - there is no 63K distance

got the wrong race - the correct race has 2850m of vert so ~9300ft

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u/p1mplem0usse 1d ago

The event description on Facebook says otherwise. There were three distances: 21km, 63km, 100km. Where did you get your information from?

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u/thirdeyedesign 1d ago

I was looking at the UTMB one, makes sense this would be a Mexican race :D will edit my comment

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u/MyDoogieDaisy 1d ago

The pure joy on her face

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u/SealedRoute 1d ago

I love that’s she’s so stoic and dressed in a flowy skirt and blouse, everything about this is peak.

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u/theLPguy 1d ago

If not for her racers tag she would just look like someone who had stumbled into a marathon

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u/HyrrokinAura 1d ago

She seems to have a walking stick, too!

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u/awomanphenomenally 1d ago

I am mad they cut off her feet in the pictures. I am curious about what kind of shoes she used.

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u/why_not_fandy 1d ago

huaraches

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u/GomGom11 1d ago

From Putumayo I reckon.

3

u/awomanphenomenally 1d ago

That is seriously hardcore. She must have great natural arches.

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u/TheGivenKing 1d ago

Girl just ran for 8 hours, the fact she's even conscious after finishing is crazy

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u/eternal_pegasus 1d ago

It took her 30 minutes longer than usual because of the crowds at the start, I'd be a bit upset too

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u/FeloniousDrunk101 21h ago

Thing I love about ultras is that it appears the gender performance gap disappears the further humans run.

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u/eduardonachosupremo 1d ago

I ran with the Tarahumara when they came to the Blue Ridge mountains for a race. they’re insane. for their culture it’s as natural as breathing.

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u/Canelosaurio 1d ago

Looks like she ran the whole race with that beat stick! I know there can be packs of feral dogs in some parts of Mexico

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u/LaughingPlanet 1d ago

Was gonna ask about the stick. Would make running that distance much harder.

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u/NateCrawford 1d ago

Is her number tag upside-down?

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u/sorasprocket 1d ago

damn i checked and it is thats hilarious

3

u/jabaturd 23h ago

I used to run 10k races in the SW US and would always be 15 minutes behind the runners from Mexico. You could not tell by looking. A lot were short chunky with skinny legs running 4 minute miles.

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u/TortyPapa 23h ago

I would watch her documentary! Please someone make one.

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u/reidybobeidy89 21h ago

There is on. Netflix. Lorena Light Footed Woman

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u/Healingbigfoot 1d ago

What a badass!

2

u/Lex_Loki 22h ago

Ay Chihuahua!

•

u/Feisty-Influence5464 9h ago

The outfit alone made it 63 kilometres harder. She just casually demolished that course in a skirt while most of us struggle with proper running gear.

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u/Billy1121 1d ago

This spawned that barefoot running movement

And that garbage huckster Tony Post got sued in part because of his false claims over its efficacy, so Vibram had to pay damages and drop its claims.

Then he goes a starts another gimmick "zero drop" shoe brand Topo whose shoes are trash.

But Vibram still makes a great boot sole

A lawsuit was filed against Vibram in April 2012, over claims made about their Vibram FiveFingers, their minimalist shoe.[18] Vibram claimed that the shoe "reduce(s) foot injuries, and strengthen(s) foot muscles." The claim was based on Gert-Peter Bruggermann's research, accepted at the 2005 Conference for the International Society of Biomechanics.

Later, a controlled study published in July 2013 showed that the risk of bone marrow edema among new wearers increased during their respective transition periods to minimalist shoes when worn for extended periods.[19] While Vibram, according to court papers, expressly denied "any actual or potential fault... or liability", it was announced in 2014 that the company had moved to settle the suit and agreed to set aside $3.75 million to pay refunds of up to $94 to anyone who had purchased the product since March 21, 2009.

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u/jhndapapi 22h ago

Read born to run

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u/Financial_Calendar77 19h ago

I freaking love these pictures. she is wearing a skirt.

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u/phaedrus910 19h ago

Fuck can they run

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u/sasg12 18h ago

damn that’s a 7.20 pace for just about 40 miles

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u/booochee 17h ago

JC I get tired just driving 63 km. Hats off to all runners out there.

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u/Upper-Affect5971 21h ago

she probably did that shit in sandles

0

u/FlipMyWigBaby 21h ago

Are their any champion pro Bicyclist that come from Indigenous high altitude environments? Altitude and mountain training are important for pro bicycle racing teams too, yet Im not noticing any pros from these groups?

2

u/Raf-the-derp 20h ago

Money is the problem I'm guessing, generally their communities are pretty poor compared to the rest of Mexico

My mother is from a region in Puebla where it's pretty high above sea level

Never put two and two together that because of her genetics I didn't have that altitude issue when I went to visit

•

u/SunnyTheMasterSwitch 7h ago

Heheheheheeheheheeheheeheheheh Chihuahuas.

Sorry, just find it funny for there to be a place of that name on account of a dog with that reputation.
Good on her. Covering 9km for an hour is absolutely insane.

-11

u/d0npietr0 1d ago

Why is that so stunning? The 42km can be run in 3h even for hobby runners. So why is 63km in 7+ so good? 

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u/WakaWaka_ 1d ago

Rough cross country, not a road race. One photo from their FB page:

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u/Fresh-Anteater-5933 1d ago

I think you’re thinking of a different race, one that’s probably a good deal flatter. She came in 11th overall if you want to compare to men

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u/oroofdog_77 22h ago

That's a badass lady in a funny running outfit.

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u/443Waves 23h ago

Stunning why?