I met El Cangrejo Mexicano (the Mexican Crab) on July 9, which was my birthday. This is the nickname of Lauro Espinoza, a 59-year-old man who does something different from the conventional: he runs backwards.
Explaining his activity is not very complicated. He does not run forwards, as we all commonly do, he does it backwards. He has no mirrors, no protection and he only guides himself by the lines on the floor.
I met Mr. Lauro because he gave a press conference in Hermosillo, since he wants to walk backwards down the stairs of a tower in Dubai and he needs financial resources to be able to do it.
That day I went with a little hangover because the day before I drank beer in excess, and because my friend Kevin picked me up and gave me a ride to the press conference. The main reason I am interested is that El Cangrejo Mexicano is from Empalme, Sonora, Mexico (also known worldwide as Mepalem, from where I am the second or third best writer).
The El Cangrejo is the only one who does this activity in Mexico and one of 300 outside the country.
Possibly only he can run marathons like the one in Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco and do it in less than five hours, which he has been doing since 1985.
In that time he covers the more than 42 kilometers of the race (according to Wikipedia, the Kenyan Titus Ekiru holds the record in the CdMx with 2 hours and 10 minutes, of course, running straight ahead).
And without any accidents!
He has also gone down hills, towers, La Rumorosa, pyramids including the Pyramid of the Sun, among others.
And he does it when he has time from his job as a cook at a Taco Bell in America.
Now, if you wonder how he started, Lauro Espinoza said that he was running conventionally and, out of nowhere, he came up with doing it backwards.
If you're wondering why he did it, well, people from Empalme don't need a reason to do whatever comes to mind. When a person from Empalme has an idea, he does it, and most importantly: he does it well.
Thanks for read it!