22-year-old runner from Mexico wins 50km race wearing only sandals

A 22-year-old runner from the Tarahumara indigenous community won the 50km (31 miles) female category of the Ultra Trail Cerro Rojo in Puebla, in central Mexico on 29 April.

What has caught the attention of the world days after the event was that María Lorena Ramírez completed the race without any professional gear. Her pair of sandals was reportedly made from recycled tyre rubber. She wore a skirt, hat and scarf.

Lorena, considered as one of the fastest long-distance runners from the Tarahumara indigenous community in Chihuahua, defeated 500 other runners from 12 countries that participated.

Carrying only a bottle of water, Lorena covered the 50km in seven hours and three minutes. She was awarded a medal, a diploma and 6,000 Mexican pesos ($320; £250).

Reports said her job is herding goats and cattle, walking 10-15km with her livestock every day.

A Puebla community website said that Lorena ran "without a hydration vest, without running shoes, without Lycra and compression socks, without any of those gadgets used by the runners of today."

According to the site, Lorena's family consists of runners. Her father, her grandfather and even her brothers and sisters are runners.

Her brother had also participated in the event held on 29 April. Both the runners were provided support by the organisers for their travel from the Chihuahua town to the site of the event.

Lorena had also participated in the 100km category of the Caballo Blanco ultramarathon, in Chihuahua last year. She came second in that event.