Ray Zahab – Canada’s Karnazes…and more?

Ultra running is far from being a mainstream sport but once in a while one of these endurance athletes captures the eye of the general public and garners some important media attention.  When my father, a 64-year old non-runner, spoke to me about an article he read regarding “that Canadian guy who ran across the Sahara Desert”, I knew that this was more than a father taking interest in his son’s hobby – which I very much appreciated by the way.  This was a sign that Ray Zahab had crossed the threshold from obscure ultra runner to inspiring athlete.  Shortly thereafter Zahab’s picture and his story appeared in countless running magazines, on blogs and he was even a guest on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulous.  Purists will accuse guys like Ray Zahab and Dean Karnazes of being sell-outs, but as mentioned in a previous post (http://www.monumentaleffort.com/?p=114), I think most runners would trade places with them in an instant.  I know I certainly would!

So what is the blueprint to becoming one of these media savvy runners and make a career out of running ridiculously long distances in a sport that offers little or no cash incentives for winning?

1.  Run, run, run but WIN too:  In order to have some credibility, these runners should have had success on some level in ultra running.  While neither Dean nor Ray have dominated the ultra running scene, they have performed well enough and even won races in their specific specialties.  With wins at Badwater and Vermont 100 to go along with several sub-24 hour Western States finishes (including a handful of top ten finishes) Dean has proven that he is in the upper echelon of ultra runners.  Ray on the other hand, has fashioned himself an impressive resume in stage races including wins at such events as The Gobi March, the Sahara Race and the Libyan Challenge to name a few.
2.  Do something new:  Besides winning the occasional race, these athletes have made a name for themselves by doing something entirely different from just completing another event. On top of his legendary 2 and 3 hundred mile runs, Karnazes completed his 50 marathons in 50 States in 50 days.  Ray Zahab ran 13 ultra marathons in each of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories in 13 consecutive days.  Furthermore, Zahab and friends had their 7000+ Km expedition across the Sahara desert.  More recently Zahab completed a 38 day uphill trek to the South Pole.  All these feats are certainly unique and without question Monumental Efforts.
   

   Kevin Lin, Ray Zahab & Charles Engle

3.  Write a decent book or make a compelling documentary movie:  Karnazes will likely never take home a Pulitzer Prize in Literature for his books and Zahab’s documentary, Running the Sahara, will not earn him an Academy Award, however; these works have received some acclaim.  Dean’s books spent considerable time on Best Seller lists and was generally well received by critics.  Meanwhile, Hollywood heavyweight Matt Damon produced and narrated Running the Sahara, the documentary that chronicles Ray Zahab, Charlie Engle and Kevin Lin as they cross the entire continent of Africa through Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and Egypt.  In total they ran over 7500Km in 111 days from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.   The video offers some brilliant images of the vastness of the desert and an interesting insight on the people and plight of Africa.  The scenes of the Nigerian children running along with them are moving. Heck, the movie even got the guys an invitation to appear on the Jay Leno show. (Note:  Ray Zahab has also written a book, Running For My Life.  Although Ray’s story is fairly interesting -smoker/partier turned athlete- in my opinion the book lacks some punch.)
   

   Children run along in Niger

4. Be a philanthropist:  Say what you will about these guys and their supposed shameless self-promotion, their give-back factor is huge.  Sure they have profited from their exploits but I believe they have also brought awareness to important causes.  While Karnazes does his share to promote healthier living, specifically for children, Zahab is a co-founder of H2O Africa, a foundation dedicated to raising awareness and money for clean water wells in Africa.  Please check out:  http://www.h2oafrica.org for more information about this exceptional mission.  On our blogroll you can also find links to Impossible 2 Possible, another Zahab project aimed at educating and inspiring.

I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Ray Zahab but by all accounts he appears to be as genuine as they get.   He has proven himself as an outstanding runner able to withstand the planet’s harshest conditions.  More importantly, Ray has selflessly dedicated his time and energy to several worthwhile causes whether they are humanitarian or environmental.  It’s a darn good thing he didn’t listen to his doctor’s advice to never run again because of his spondylolisthesis condition.  You would be hard-pressed to find a better Canadian ambassador from the ultra running community than Ray Zahab.