And is there anything you wanna
add about Pack Burro Racing?
About Pack Burro Racing,
it's a kick ass sport!
Runners and Burros
Alright runners are on your
marks, set... GO!
And hopefully, Max and Ryan
won't get kicked in the
wrong spot when they're
running a race.
Cool. Burro Racing.
Well, Pack Burro Racing
is a er, it's a sport
that has er, brought in
people from all over.
It's kind of a little niche
sport, it's been an organised
prize paying sport since 1949.
Lot of stories behind how it
might of got started.
Legend is that two miners struck
gold at the same time.
And so the race was on to see
who could file their claim first,
or maybe just a couple of
fellas got drunk in the local
saloon and bet on who's
ass was the fastest.
But, that's kind of the history
that might have started it,
but the truth is it was an idea
to try to generate more traffic
into the mountain communities.
A lot of the mountain towns
were dying, all the young
people were moving to the big
cities and all, they wanted to keep
the towns alive and they
proposed the Burro Race.
It's a full fledged mining sport,
we have a pick, pan, shovel and
using pretty much the same techniques
they used to get up the pass, we're
using. So, it's really
about the history of Colorado.
Hey Jack!
You eating that good alfalfa?
I've run these races for about
30 years, and I just don't know
how many more years I can
run 'em! It's hard trying to
chase an ass up a
mountain side, I tell ya.
I mean, you come into these
types of races thinking that
you're going to do one thing
you know, if you've ever heard
the saying "you start assuming
things and you start to make
and ass out of you and me".
I think this is particularly
applicable in this case.
You know what they do
before they spit?
Im getting nervous to meet
my donkey, feels like going
on a blind date.
Well I heard about Burro
racing back in 2011
when I ran the Leadville
100 miler. I saw Micah True
come in bloodied knee,
bloodied arms,
it looked like something
pretty fun.
And so we're gonna see how well
a couple of elite athletes
do at the world championship
We're gonna see if Ryan
and Max
can really pull out some good
results here in this race.
'cause it's kind of an ego
busting sport.
I like to get into a lot of different
forms of sports and
athletics and usually
it has to do with running.
This by far is the farthest
out I think I have ever been!
We're definitely finishing in the dark!
I think it's actually cool 'cause
at least if it goes pear shaped I can
blame my donkey! If I'm
running an ultra on my own if it goes
pear shaped, I've only got myself to blame.
That's the way to go!
Hang on Ryan!
That's it!
That's it! I think what I knew before
was, um, basically that
you ran with a burro.
I knew you couldn't ride it, uh
I knew you ran with it,
but I think that's all I knew.
Hey fellas come on back!
Get 'em moving!
Get your ass in gear there!
Watch out folks here he comes!
Woah! Good job Earl, good job.
First run was interesting!
I think the race is going to take a long
time, but...
The ones that you see that have
alot of trouble with their donkeys
are usually the ones that are just
starting out, they think "oh pack burro
racing looks really easy, all you gotta
do is put a pack on your donkey and lead
them, and run next to them! Uh...
maybe, maybe not!
Depends on what the donkey thinks
that day!
You know so much of our running when
we race, it's really about your individual
performance, you train and you're
to get the most out of yourself on a
given day, but this is different in
that, you have to line up and just
recognize you're gonna get what the
burro gives you.
and keep on going in a straight
direction, man we can get this race done
in 4 hours. But,
he always goes that way or that way.
You gonna pack a headlamp then?
I think I might yeah.
You get the right team on the right day
you can really surprise yourself,
and have a lot of fun with it.
They're all individual
personalities and every single one
of them is different in their own
unique way.
At least I'll be the first South African
to finish no matter what happens.
That's the plus side.
Do you have initial thoughts on
what's gonna be different or
challenging for you?
Running with a donkey's gonna be
pretty difficult. Yeah I don't have
too much experience of running with
donkeys so, I think that's gonna be the
biggest challenge.
To rock up 2 or 3 days before
the Burro Racing World Champs
and to meet up with
a donkey and try and go for a
run with it was a lot harder
than what I expected.
Well he should go better than in
training, he's just around other burros
That's what I'm hoping.
But uh, I tell you Ryan's got a better
one than you I think.
Oh great! That's just what I wanna hear
Behind the lines folks.
We run together, we pee together!
Donkeys have this very strong
sense of self preservation.
That they will stand on and they will
resist you.
Earl!
Scratch! Scratch!
You're letting the team down!
Ya! Come on! Ya! Come on
And if you get too cocky,
they will most definitely humiliate
you, and they will make sure they
have the biggest crowd ever to do it.
Oh my god! This is cruelty to
humans. He's not gonna do
what he doesn't wanna do.
He doesn't wanna run, he aint gonna run.
Yeah.... sometimes
you gotta give up on that world
championship dream!
We like to say that they're cautious
not stubborn,and the way they react
to things a lot has to do with instinct.
If these guys have really done their
homework with their donkeys, and they've
really fostered that relationship
that they've been building in a positive
way, they will be running together.
And if you engage in a
partnership with them,
if you are polite, considerate
respectful in the things you
ask and you keep it fun,
and exciting, then
they like doing those things with you,
they like the extra excitement that
you get, going and doing these things,
like pack burro racing all over the hills,
they think that's pretty cool!
Cause otherwise what are they gonna do?
Stand around?
Leading a happy productive life is
really what it's all about for
everybody isn't it?
You know having animals in your life
when you're little, that's something
that you would connect with, and maybe,
begin to appreciate their
companionship, versus some
of the human companionship.
I think sometimes domestic animals
are a lot better friends than some of
our human friends are!
They taught me to have more respect
in a lot of ways for all
creatures on earth.
They've taught me so much.
What haven't they taught me
is a better question.
I mean, they have taught me to be
a better person all the way around,
in every aspect of my life.
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