Articles by Travis Macy

Books to Boost Your Cognitive Reserve

As I navigate my dad’s Alzheimer’s journey alongside him and our family and friends, I have been thinking about the idea of cognitive reserve, which I think of as a bank account in the brain. Should we experience cogniti...

Hashtag VanLife

For my wife and I, the dream was simple: move into a 27-foot fifth wheel trailer and travel the country. She’d be free to work from anywhere and I’d hit the pinnacle of an ultrarunning lifestyle: coaching from the...

World’s Toughest Race

In the small world of adventure racing (yeah, that’s even smaller than the world of ultrarunning), the return of Eco-Challenge in 2019 was big news. Sixty teams of five, four coed athletes plus one crew member, descended...

What It Means To Go Pro

By 2016, I felt a sentiment that went something like, “I’ve really made it when it comes to ultrarunning for a living.” I was earning most of my income from a couple of paying sponsors and endorsing a few other product s...

Get Started in the Snow

You’ve probably considered the potential benefits of winter cross training in sports like snowshoeing, skimo (a.k.a. Randonee, ski touring, AT/alpine touring, ski mountaineering, skinning) and Nordic skiing (which includ...

Cutoff Chasers Unite

There’s a good chance you’ll be reading this right around Western States (WSER). Like any pro championship, WSER is fun because we can follow the top athletes. We’re all excited to see what happens at the front, but let’...

Cycling 101

Cycling has always been a key component of my own training, and I utilize it often in the training plans of my running and multisport athletes. If you’re looking for active recovery, high-cadence neuromuscular stimulatio...

When Things Get Cold and Dark

Let’s cut right to the chase. I asked experienced ultrarunners for their advice on winter running, and here’s what they said.MOTIVATIONBuzz Burrell (Ultimate Direction Brand Director, running pioneer): Exercise is fun an...

More Racing?

“Should I do another race this year, Coach?” It’s one of the most common questions I receive this time of year, and the answer can be more complex than we might initially think. Maybe you enjoyed a great race (or a few)...

Issues Facing the Sport

Gone are the good old days when a bunch of guys and gals ran through the night woods wearing road flats and carrying milk jugs full of water and table salt. Our sport has evolved. I think that’s cool! It also brings up s...

Because Vacation Is Supposed to Be Fun

Ah, nothing like a restful week of travel with the family to a wonderful destination… right? While I hope your “vacation” is indeed a worry-free excursion, I must admit I often hear from ultrarunners (including yours...

Other First-Timers Sound Off

Particularly for a green ultrarunner or one who’s tackling a new distance, there’s a natural tendency to get to the starting line, look around and think, “Wow, all of the these other runners look like experienced veteran...

The Case for "Walking"

We’re off to the races for July and that means many in the ultrarunning tribe will soon be tackling long training runs and races in the mountains. One strategy that’s often overlooked and misunderstood in mountain runnin...

Top Tips for Race Week and Race Day

It’s May, and that means ultra season is in full swing; I hope you’re having a blast out there so far! Odds are you’ll be toeing the line sometime soon, so this month we’ll take a look at some of the most common question...

Why You Should Practice Racing

If you’re like me, you’ll probably head out on your long run this weekend thinking something like, “Alright, I’m going to use this run to practice for my next ultra. I’ll imitate key aspects of my next event like hydrati...

Unique Challenges of the Cutoff Chaser

Captured by a crew member on cell phone video, the scene is captivating: Family members scream urgently towards the dark woods until, finally, a runner emerges on the trail, sprinting for all he’s worth, blowing right th...

Rx for Post-Race Blues

Last month we examined the causes of post-race blues (also known as postrace letdown), defined roughly as a short or long period of mental and/or physical “low” after a big event. That article ended with a rather dreary...

Well… Now What?

The build-up to an ultrarun provides a phenomenal – and even life-changing – experience. The mission gives us purpose, structures our days, connects us to our tribe, and fans the flames of our dreams. And that’s just the...

The World’s Greatest Lie

“What’s the world’s greatest lie?” the boy asked, completely surprised. “It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the wor...