Mark Macy is in his element, lumbering up a steep incline on a path near his home in Evergreen, Colorado, breathing heavily and sweating from the midsummer heat.
It’s an early August morning, and he and longtime friend and endurance sports partner Marshall Ulrich are following his son, Travis Macy, up a shaded, overgrown game trail that will eventually lead to 9,702-foot Bergen Peak. A smoky haze fills the air from a wildfire burning hundreds of miles away, clouding the scene ever so slightly.
It’s an otherwise uneventful hike, except that there is a bit of giddiness that’s hard to ignore. The lighthearted vibe is present, in part because, well, that’s what happens whenever these guys get together, and also because the Eco-Challenge adventure race will soon be broadcast as a 10-part miniseries on Amazon Prime Video almost a full year after all three participated in the event through the wilds of Fiji.
Mark, who has forever been known as “Mace,” is in classic form, telling stories, reliving old race moments, chuckling to himself and generally cracking up everyone around him with his playful, self-effacing wit and contagious laugh.
“Is there even a trail here, Trav? We’re going to wind up in jail if this is private property,” Mark says jokingly in his nasally, high-pitched voice that trails off into laughter. “Picture that, all of us in the slammer after going for a hike.”
Denne historien er fra Summer 2021-utgaven av Trail Runner.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Summer 2021-utgaven av Trail Runner.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
You Cannot Erase us
Over the years and through thousands of miles of running, I have thought about the words that marked the beginning of colonialism on the land and the end of Indigenous sovereignty.
Inside The Adaptable Mind
How Courtney Dauwalter uses adaptability to stay cool, calm and collected when the going gets tough.
Take it Easy
How to stay at aerobic pace when you live in the hills
Here Comes the Sun
Where pessimism meets its match
Connecting the Dots
How Laura Cortez uses her passion for trails to build community.
Carbohydrate Confusion
When it comes to food and nutrition, we tend to overcomplicate things. Eat this, not that. Run fasted, restrict sugar. Unfortunately, much of the controversy stems from observations and sensationalized media headlines vs. actual data, leaving the consumer more confused from their Google search than they were before.
This Wild Life
ONE MAN’S 92-MILE RUN OF GRIEF AND SELF-DISCOVERY.
Our Town
Trail running is all about the community it fosters and the beauty and diversity within the community. Here’s a look at seven places, and the faces that call them home.
Fueling for Females
Here’s how female runners can use recent research findings for performance breakthroughs
Lose Weight with a Shake
Being a health and nutrition correspondent means that companies frequently send me their products, and ask for my stamp of approval.