Mackey’s resiliency and willingness to continue pushing himself and his body to race after such a tragedy is unparalleled. Mauffrey beamed with pride, “because it is inspiring for future patients.” “Seeing Dave Mackey smile when he comes into the Denver Health Orthopedic Clinic, I feel extremely privileged that one of our patients has been able to resume normal activity and far beyond expectations,” Dr. Even when he’s not competing, Mackey said that he is now back to running or going for a bike ride each day. In August, he then completed the grueling Leadville Trail 100-mile bike race (placing in the top third overall) and is set to run the Leadville Trail 100-mile run this Saturday, August 18. In July, 2018, he completed both the Silver Rush 50-mile bike race, and the Silver Rush 50-mile run in Leadville the very next day.
In January, 2018, just over a year after his amputation, he ran a 50K race. He said it took baby steps to get back to running, this time on the prosthetic. Mackey talked about “phantom pains” he continued to have after the leg was gone, as though it was still there. Mackey was fitted with a prosthetic leg, and recovery would take several more months. In October, 2016, Mackey made the tough decision to have his injured leg amputated below the knee. Mackey went through 13 different surgeries on his lower leg through the course of a year – suffering through several complications and lots of pain. "He had an open tibia fracture with multiple bony fragments and pieces." Mackey’s shin bone was “shattered in multiple pieces,” Dr. Mackey spent weeks in the hospital – mostly at Denver Health – where Denver Health Director of Orthopedic Surgery Cyril Mauffrey, MD, FACS, FRCS, treated him. His leg was crushed, and he was pinned there for hours until nearby hikers were able to somehow lift the giant rock off his leg. The rock – more like a boulder – is one Mackey said he had “stepped on hundreds of times.” On that day, the estimated 400-pound stone slipped out of the soil and knocked Mackey down the hill 50 feet, landing on his left leg. That step would take him out of running for almost two years.
In May of 2015, while coming back from a run near his home in Boulder, Mackey stepped on a rock on top of 8,500-foot Bear Peak. Mackey used to run about 70 miles in an average week! UltraRunners typically run beyond the distance of a standard marathon, which is 26.2 miles. Mackey is an UltraRunner, defined as someone who is devoted to the sport of long distance running. How Elite Athlete Dave Mackey Lost Part of His Leg and Got Back to Ultra RunningĪnyone who is serious about running knows the name Dave Mackey.
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