Ray Zahab: Adventurer and Ultra-Marathoner

Meet Ray Zahab. He is a Canadian ultra-marathoner and one of the world's premier endurance athletes. Ray's love for adventure sports comes from a passion for progressive challenges, ones that acknowledge his limitations and provided endless possibilities of self awareness.

In 2006, Ray and two other runners set out on an epic endeavor to cross the Sahara Desert by foot. The trio ran an average of 70 kms each day, without a single day of rest. One hundred and eleven days and 7500 kms after leaving the coast of Senegal, they completed their journey by dipping their toes into the Red Sea and raising the bar of all that we consider possible.

National Geographic chronicled the journey online, and the documentary film 'Running The Sahara' - narrated and produced by Matt Damon — was filmed to raise awareness for the drinking water crisis in Northern Africa. After witnessing and experiencing the water crisis and malaria epidemic in Africa, Ray decided to dedicate his future adventures to raising awareness and funding for causes that he supports and believes in.

Motivated by a meeting with Joey Adler, Ray conceptualized the Canada ONExONE Run in May 2008. Along with a team of runners, Ray ran 80 kms per day in each of Canada's 13 Provinces and Territories in as many days. Schools were visited, students participated, and communities became engaged in many of the child-based issues ONExONE is addressing. In Saskatoon alone, several thousand students and 27 schools were involved in school rallies and a citywide relay with Ray and the team.

Two years after touching the Red Sea, Ray and two other Canadians broke the world speed record for an unsupported expedition by a team to the South Pole. In the process, Ray became the first person to trek this traditional route from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole solely on foot and snowshoes, without the use of skis. Students and classrooms from all over North America joined the team as they trekked to the South Pole on a daily basis, communicating and actively taking part, becoming "teammates" of the expedition. This journey was a project of Ray's Foundation, impossible2Possible, a non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, and inclusion and participation in expeditions.

On August 15th, Ray and i2P team members will run from Montreal to Ottawa virtually nonstop to help them prepare for their World Expedition: a 3 year-long series of unique and challenging expeditions in 4 different regions of the Earth, each with its own social or environmental theme. The expeditions will be broadcast live on the Internet and will feature several youth explorers along with Ray and the rest of the team. Classrooms and students from around the world will be invited to take part as teammates on these journeys.

Ray is a member of the board of Directors of the Ryan's Well Foundation, is the official Athletic Ambassador and a board member of the ONExONE organization, and is a representative of SpreadTheNet. Ray was the recipient of the ONExONE Difference Award in 2007.