This is my journey! These past few years have been incredibly rewarding in both learning about myself, and in learning that we can truly exceed any limits we think we might have!
Challenge. Distance. Discovery
Late in 1998, Ray made a life changing decision to leave a pack-a-day smoking habit and very unhealthy life choices behind him. On New Year's Day 2000, he decided to go hiking with his brother John and has never looked back.
New to the sport of running in 2004, ultra-marathoning took Ray from the cold north of Canada to the Amazon jungle. But it was the Sahara desert that ultimately captured Ray’s heart. In 2007, Ray Zahab and two others made history by running 7,500km across the entire Sahara Desert raising awareness for clean-water initiatives in Africa. This feat consisted of running an average of 70 km per day for 111 days in extreme desert conditions through six countries. Ray dreamed of this adventure after a 333 km foot race in Niger, during which he became very attached to the Sahara and its people, the Tuareg. During this run, Ray met a young Tuareg girl who asked him for his water bottle so that she could drink the remaining drops. Ray later came to understand this interaction as symbolic of the profound clean-water crisis devastating the region. 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. Ray is a member of the board of Directors of the Ryan’s Well Foundation, is the official Athletic Ambassador to the ONExONE organization, and is a representative of SpreadTheNet and the founder of Impossible2Possible. Ray was the recipient of the ONExONE Difference Award in 2007.
Immediately following the Running the Sahara Expedition, Ray ran Canada's 3 coastal trails - Akshayuk Pass (Baffin Island), East Coast & West Coast Trails - back to back.
In 2008, Ray founded impossible2Possible (i2P), an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, and inclusion and participation in expeditions.
In May 2008, Ray and a team of runners set off to run an average of 80 km per day for 13 days straight through 13 provinces and territories in an effort to inspire youth and raise awareness for the ONEXONE foundation. From running with thousands of students in Saskatoon to meeting with Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine, the journey was both inspirational and effective in elevating awareness for ONEXONE, and impossible2Possible (i2P).
On January 7, 2009 Ray and two other Canadians, broke the world speed record from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. In the process, Ray trekked to the South Pole on this traditional 1130 km route solely on foot, without the use of skis. This expedition provided young people with an interactive platform and educational resources through a ground-breaking website.
Throughout 2009 and 2010, expeditions have included: an unsupported 13 day run the length of frozen Lake Baikal, 2 youth based expeditions to Baffin Island and Tunisia. All of these expeditions supported various initiatives through an experiential learning program in which thousands of students participated as active team members during the expeditions. Please visit my organization impossible2Possible.com for more details.
In addition to his running adventures, Ray speaks around the world spreading the message that we all have the ability to achieve anything we set our minds to and in fact, the impossible is possible.