Racing the Ariweta

Saturday, June 5,  6:30 pm

by Brooke Kantor

After the conclusion of the Juego del Palillo, it takes another 20 minutes or so for everyone to reach the church yard. At this point, the ariweta is ready to start. The runners and spectators gather in the road in front of the church. The teams are divided on respective sides of the road in single file, the hoops are tossed ahead, and the runners take off. There are 6 out-and-backlaps of 3 miles to be run. The first lap will involve advancing the hoop in the traditional way (see the accompanying article on Traditional Rarámuri/Tarahumara Racing).     In hopes of finishing the race by sundown so the first few laps of the Carerra de Bola can be run in twilight, the runners are permitted to carry the hoop the remaining 5 laps.

The women are energetic for the first lap, while one team appears to be better runners and better organized. It’s still very hot out, the runners are dressed in traditional skirts, tops, and sandals or tennis shoes.   Again, for a more-detailed description and videos of the ariweta, see the accompanying article on Traditional Rarámuri/Tarahumara Racing.     As I mentioned in the article and show in the video, at the end of the first lap, the lead team had a 10 second lead.   However, near the end of this lap, losing two minutes retrieving the ariweta in the ravine on the other side of the barbed-wire fence demoralized and essentially took the second team out of the race.   But, everyone still continues to run and completes the race.