What Alzheimer's Taught Travis Macy About Family, Fear, Living Fully—and Healing After Concussion
In this episode of the Brain Health Kitchen podcast, Annie talks with Travis Macy — endurance athlete, coach, speaker, author, podcast host, and longtime Alzheimer’s advocate.
Travis’s father, Mark “Mace” Macy, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease at age 64. Before his diagnosis, Mace was an accomplished attorney, endurance athlete, adventurer, and one of the few people to complete all eight original Eco-Challenge expedition races.
After his diagnosis, he became something else too: an extraordinary public example of what it can look like to live openly, bravely, and generously with Alzheimer’s.
Travis and Annie talk about the first signs his family noticed, the difficult conversations that led to diagnosis, and what happened when Mace responded not by retreating, but by sharing his story. They also discuss the father-son adventure that became Travis’s book, A Mile at a Time, about racing Eco-Challenge Fiji together after Mace’s diagnosis.
This conversation also gets into the reality of caregiving, the role shift that happens when adult children begin caring for parents, and the way Alzheimer’s can force families into hard but meaningful conversations.
Travis also shares how his father’s diagnosis changed the way he thinks about his own brain health, including sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress, connection, and genetic testing.
Later in the episode, he and Annie talk about Travis’s own concussion recovery, why he had to advocate for himself, and what helped him rebuild after a frightening period of post-concussion symptoms.
This is a conversation about Alzheimer’s, yes. But it is also about family, grief, courage, movement, friendship, and the reminder Mace gave his team in the middle of a canyon in Fiji: spend as much time as you can with your friends and family.
Chapters
00:00 — How Annie and Travis met through Alzheimer’s advocacy
02:44 — The first signs Travis noticed in his dad
05:24 — Mace’s early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis
10:16 — Why hard family conversations matter
12:03 — How Mace chose to speak openly about Alzheimer’s
14:37 — The Eco-Challenge adventure with Travis and Mace
20:57 — “Never quit”: what Mace wanted people to know
23:15 — When adult children become caregivers
29:34 — How Mace’s diagnosis changed Travis’s brain health habits
36:43 — Travis’s concussion and long recovery
44:13 — Nutrition, creatine, ketones, and brain injury recovery
51:22 — Meditation, connection, and slowing down
55:46 — Moving Mace into memory care
1:00:54 — Travis’s books, podcasts, and where to find him
1:03:22 — Annie’s practical advice for brain-healthy eating
1:08:21 — Why phones are for calling friends
Links
Travis Macy
https://www.travismacy.com [https://www.travismacy.com]
A Mile at a Time: A Father and Son’s Inspiring Alzheimer’s Journey of Love, Adventure, and Hope
https://www.travismacy.com/books [https://www.travismacy.com/books]
The Travis Macy Show
https://www.travismacy.com/podcast [https://www.travismacy.com/podcast]
Mind What Matters
https://www.wearemindwhatmatters.org [https://www.wearemindwhatmatters.org]
Brain Health Kitchen
https://brainhealthkitchen.substack.com [https://brainhealthkitchen.substack.com]
