Tarahumara: Mountain Endurance Race
The series culminates in the ultimate trial of pain and endurance - an exhausting, high-altitude, long distance run through the Mexican mountains against the Tarahumara tribe, throwing a homemade hoop for fifteen kilometres.
The Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre in northern Mexico call themselves the Raramuri, which literally means 'those who run'. Over generations they have adapted to the thin mountain air and their extraordinary lung capacity and stamina makes them among the best endurance runners in the world.
Women enjoy high status here and some have even become shamans and leaders. Legend has it that God created the Tarahumara women with three breaths - the first to live, the second to give birth and the third to run.
The Tarahumara are capable of running hundreds of kilometres over treacherous terrain. The women have their own special race known as 'Arihueta' in which they hurl hoops with a stick while running in primitive sandals made from old car tyres.
How will our athletes hack the high altitude, harsh conditions and rough terrain as they fight it out to be the Last Woman Standing?
