TEAM SPYDER (EXPEDITION)
Team Spyder captured top finishes at the Raid World Championship, Mexico's Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge, the Teva Mountain Games, and the Nike-Beaver Creek 6-hour Adventure Race. Each athlete brings individual talent and skills to the team to create a formidable force. Macy was recently pegged a "22-year-old adventure racing prodigy" by Adventure Sports Magazine. Mackey was awarded the United States Track and Field Ultra Runner of the Year honor in 2004 and 2005. Adventure Sports Magazine named Ballengee Female Athlete of the Year for 2004, and she received a coveted Everest Award at the 2005 Teva Mountain Games.
Team Spyder's race season will consist of single- to four-day non-stop, continuous events. Each team relies entirely on its own skills, training, and teamwork to make it through a race's variety of disciplines. Trekking, navigation, mountain biking and paddling are the most common exercises, but ascending and traversing fixed ropes, rappelling cliffs, whitewater swimming, horseback riding, and other disciplines unique to individual racing environments are also frequently included. Team Spyder finished 9th in the 10-day Primal Quest race in June 2006.
Travis Macy
"I'm a fair-skinned athlete who spends hours each day under the Colorado sun, and sunscreen has always been a crucial item in my gear box. I've been using Protech sunscreen and lip balm religiously over the past year while snowshoe racing, running, cycling, paddling, and adventure racing, and I have yet to experience sunburn or windburn, even in extreme conditions. From the Explore Sweden expedition adventure race--where we faced days of maximum sun and wind exposure in the far north--to the Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge--in which Mexico's blazing sun humbled a strong international field--my adventure racing teammates and I have relied on Protech to keep us comfortable and inhibit peeling. Furthermore, the Protech Daypack makes sunscreen available at every moment of an adventure race, and we are able to re-apply at regular intervals for maximum protection. To put it simply: never have I seen a skincare product that works or feels as good as Protech. What's more, my girlfriend has even started to use Protech as her daily facial moisturizer!"
-Travis Macy
Recently dubbed an "adventure racing prodigy" by Adventure Sports Magazine, Travis has rushed from a successful history of running, triathlon, and snowshoe racing (he ran varsity cross country and track for the national champion CU Buffaloes, placed in the top ten at the USATF Collegiate National Championship Triathlon, and won the Colorado Snowshoeing State Championship) into a full-time career as a professional adventure racer. Son of Eco-Challenge legend Mark Macy, Travis has taken the adventure racing world by storm with top finishes at Mexico's Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge, the Teva Mountain Games, the Nike-Beaver Creek 6-hr Adventure Race (all with teammates Danelle Ballengee and Dave Mackey), the Explore Sweden expedition adventure race, and a win at the Adventure Xstream Expedition Race. The charismatic and dynamic youth recently graduated from the University of Colorado with a 3.9 GPA, and has already drawn attention from The New York Times and Adventure Sports Magazine (cover, June 2005). Travis leads America's next generation of adventure racers with a unique combination of the experience required for success on top professional team coupled with the hot, young image that is so attractive to media and consumers. Travis is a professional freelance writer, and his articles can be found at Sleepmonsters.com (check regularly for race reports throughout the season) and in various adventure publications. For coaching by Travis Macy, please email proadventureracers@gmail.com
- "Adventure Racing Prodigy" -- Adventure Sports Magazine
- 1st, Adventure Xstream Moab Expedition Race
- 1st, Raid World Cup Western Australia
- 2nd, Camdex Mexico
- 2nd, Desafio de los Volcanoes
- 4th, Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge
- 3rd, Nike-Beaver Creek 6-hr Adventure Race
- Former varsity runner, CU-Boulder
Dave Mackey
"I just want to say that Protech is awesome! I just returned from the Nuevo Leon Adventure Race in Mexico. We put Protech on every morning at 5 a.m., headed out the door, and raced all day. I put mine on my face and neck and some on my arms (I know it is intended for the face but it works great anywhere). Everyday we were exposed to INTENSE sun, especially the first day when we were on a long exposed bike section. My face didn’t get burned at all! Usually I come back from adventure races and lose the whole top layer of skin on my face, but my skin is in great shape and people have told me that my face looks pretty good for having gone through the gates of hell down there. Thanks Protech!"
-Dave Mackey
Currently one of the top endurance athletes in the United States, Dave now combines his passions and abilities in adventure racing and ultra running. The USATF Ultrarunner of the Year for 2004 and 2005, Dave is a rare athlete in the world of adventure who is a current professional in two sports. Dave compliments his top racing results with regular appearances in publications like the Running Times, Trail Runner, Adventure Sports Magazine, The Denver Post, The Rocky Mountain News, and The Boulder Daily Camera. Dave also works as a realtor in Boulder, CO; please see www.davemackeyhomes.com.
- 1st, Raid World Cup Western Australia
- 2nd, Camdex Mexico
- 4th, Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge
- 3rd, Nike-Beaver Creek 6-hr Adventure Race
- 4th, Teva Mtn. Games
- Raid World Championship Qualifier (2005)
- USATF Ultra Runner of the Year (2004, 2005)
- 1st, Breck Crest Mountain Marathon (x5)
Danelle Ballengee
"The Protech sunscreen has been absolutely awesome! I can't believe how long it works-- even through several hours of sweating and travelling through rivers! It feels great on the skin too. I put it on in the morning before an all day adventure race in the blazing heat of the mexican desert, and didn't get burned at all! Now I use it every morning before I head outtraining or racing. I have fair skin and have had some bad burns as a child, so a quality sunscreen is really important to me. Protech works like a moisturizer, and protects my skin from the sun at the same time. I love it!"
-Danelle Ballengee, Adventure Racer of the Year, 2002-2004
Young, tireless, independent and seemingly without limits, Danelle optimizes the free-spirited strength of the Colorado Rockies that she calls home. The outdoors are literally her playground, and she draws strength from their awesome power and welcomes their challenges. She is a woman who pursues her dreams passionately with skill, endurance and spiritual balance.
A kinesiology/biology graduate from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Danelle daily sets her mind to "doing things most people cannot". She has conquered many of the world's better-known mountains as a competitor in numerous high altitude marathons and has distinguished herself as a professional duathalete and triathlete as well. Danelle has dominated the adventure racing competition in the United States by winning the Adventure Racing World Championships, the Balance Bar Adventure race finals, the Raid World Championships, and the Primal Quest Expedition Adventure. Racing recently with Travis Macy and Dave Mackey, Danelle posted top finishes at Mexico's Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge, the Teva Mountain Games, and the Nike-Beaver Creek 6-hr Adventure Race. Adventure Sports Magazine named Danelle Female Athlete of the Year for 2004, and she received a coveted Everest Award at the 2005 Teva Mtn. Games. She also qualified for the 2005 Raid World Championship with Team Mont-Blanc International. In 2000, Danelle set the Colorado 14er's Female Speed Record by climbing all 54 of Colorado's 14,000 ft peaks in under 15 days. She dominates in snowshoe racing, with over 100 career wins and four years undefeated (1997-2001). These accomplishments consistently draw strong television coverage in the US and abroad.
From fitness trainer to endurance coach, race director to author, Danelle has infused her personal energy into the world around her. She has been featured in dozens of magazines including Outside Magazine and Sport Illustrated, appeared on CBS, NBC, ESPN, USA Network and OLN, created a video on learning to snowshoe and has provided numerous clinics to peers and everyday people on many different sports and fitness related topics. Her message is lived out daily in her own life: "Get as much into each day as you can."
In addition to personal training and coaching, also coordinates and directs endurance events throughout Colorado, is the Vice President of the American Trail Running Association, and serves on the board of the United States Snowshoe Association. She will continue to participate in many outdoor and multi-sport events each year with consistent top results. For coaching by Danelle Ballengee, check out www.trainingrx.com.
- 1st, Primal Quest (x3)
- 1st, Eco-Challenge
- 1st, Adventure Racing World Championship
- 1st, Raid World Championship
- Adventure Sports Magazine Athlete of the Year (2004)
- Everest Award Recipient (2005)
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