[themodelplumber]

I saw something similar in the NHK video documentary about Japan's Ultra Trail Mount Fuji race (100 mi.). At just after 3:00 in the video[0] you can see two Mexican entrants of the Rarámuri people. However, one of them is wearing Nike shoes and another wears the traditional sandals. The results I thought were a bit embarrassing for Nike, no matter the exact cause (22 minutes; 29 minutes for the sandals result).

I was however really intrigued by the maize-based powder supplement drink they seem to enjoy. (Pinore, 15:00 in the video)

0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PsKvPTM8po

[xtracto]

I think it is Pinole ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinole ). It is a very tasty powder we have here in Mexico that we use to do some type of milkshakes. I loved it as a kid.

[mgr86]

From the cultivated crops the Tarahumaras prepare the following foods: Pinole, finely ground corn meal, is the most common. The meal is mixed with water and the mixture is drunk. A trait shared by many tribes of northern Mexico and the American Southwest, pinole is an ideal preparation for the highly mobile Tarahumara who carries, in a pouch slung under his arm, enough pinole to last him as much as a week while he is on the trail. Esquiate is similar to pinole but is prepared slightly differently, and, not being a dry meal like pinole, is not as transportable. It too is mixed with water and drunk. It is consumed as commonly as pinole and with this latter constitutes probably 75% of the Tarahumara?s diet. Other corn preparations, used less frequently, are atole (gruel), roasting ears, tortillas, tamales, and the cornflower.

Source:

Champion, J. R. (1970) ‘Study In Culture Persistence: The Tarahumaras Of Northwestern Mexico’. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms. Available at: https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nu33-013 (Accessed: 22 August 2019).

[starpilot]

Interesting. Do you think this https://www.ranchogordo.com/products/pinole-azul-heirloom-bl... is similar to what the Tarahumara drink?

[xtracto]

Sounds like it. The only difference I see is in the Corn variety, which in this case is the Blue Corn.

[stronglikedan]

Pinole indeed. FTFA, "To keep hydrated, the Tarahumara runners eat pinole, a corn paste, which is also part of their daily diet."

[arcticbull]

Technically every beverage in America is Maize-based :P and more than likely powder at some point.