Beating 500 runners from 12 countries in the female category of the Ultra Trail Cerro Rojo in Puebla, Ramirez somehow defied all the odds to take first place and land herself a prize of 6,000 pesos (£250).
Incredibly, she had no professional gear of any kind on her during the race, with her sandals said to be made of recycled tyre rubber.
Ramirez comes from Mexico’s Tarahumara indigenous community, who have previously been known to show great ability at running long distances.
Supposedly, this is down to the nature of the work they do, as well as having corn beer in their diet to stay well hydrated. In his book Born To Run, marathon runner Christopher McDougall laid out some of the key reasons the Tarahumara excel at long races:
They traditionally live in widely-dispersed settlements, having to travel very long distances to visit nearby villages, or to hunt and trade
They run together in groups, making it into an educational activity for children
Running is seen as something of a fine art, which forms parts of religious ceremonies as well as traditional games for men, women and children
A diet of large amounts of corn beer, which is rich in carbohydrates, to keep hydrated
Practice in running in thin home-made sandals, known as huaraches, or even barefoot
Metro.co.uk/BBC
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