Mark Macy recently got a tattoo on his right arm that depicts many of the grueling endurance events he’s tackled in his life.
If you don’t know Macy, a 69-year-old retired attorney from Evergreen, Colorado, the ink on his arm will tell you that he’s a tenacious ultra-distance athlete who’s been there and done that. But the sincerity of his smile, his deep blue eyes, and gregarious laugh tell you everything you need to know about him.
The tattoo, which is a collage of names and symbols from Eco-Challenge, Ironman, Badwater, Iditasport, Spartan Race, and the Leadville 100, represents his rigorous race resume dating back to the late 1980s. “Mace,” as he’s been known by friends, family, colleagues, and training partners, is one of only a handful of people in the world who have completed at least eight of the ten Eco-Challenge multisport adventure races since the first one in 1995.
But the tattoo isn’t a showy gesture by any means. He was never a podium finisher at any of those events, and besides, he doesn’t have a boastful bone in his body anyway. It was just a fun thing to do and, perhaps, a way to…
