Raymond Zahab, (born in 1969) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

and

public speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...

. He has run in

long-distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two ...

adventures in several countries, including the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

, and the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. He crossed the Sahara with Charlie Engle, (USA) and

Kevin Lin Kevin Lin (林義傑, November 19, 1976) is a Taiwanese ultramarathon runner from Taipei. Background Based in Taipei, Lin is one of the best known endurance athletes in Asia. Lin, together with Charlie Engle and Ray Zahab, became the first mode ...

(Taiwan). Zahab starred in the 2007 documentary film "Running the Sahara" narrated and produced by

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among '' Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Amer ...

and directed by Oscar-winner

James Moll James Moll is an American director and producer of film documentaries and television documentaries. His documentary work has earned him an Academy Award, two Emmys, and a Grammy. Moll's production company, Allentown Productions Inc., has been ...

, which follows three men as they run across the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, a journey of 111 days and more than 4,300 miles of challenging terrain. Zahab is also the author of the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

''Running for My Life: On the Extreme Road with Adventure Runner Ray Zahab'' (), and co-author with Steve Pitt of ''Running to Extremes: Ray Zahab's Amazing Ultra marathon Journey'' (). and co author with Eric Walters of Just Deserts.

Results

Gobi March The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series is an annual series of four 250-kilometer (155-mile) races across deserts around the globe. The races were recognized as the world's leading endurance footrace series by ''TIME'' magazine in 2009 and 2010, as the ...

Team 2006 — 1st :

Sahara Race The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series is an annual series of four 250-kilometer (155-mile) races across deserts around the globe. The races were recognized as the world's leading endurance footrace series by ''TIME'' magazine in 2009 and 2010, as the ...

2005 — 1st :

Libyan Challenge Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

2006 — 1st : BadWater Ultra — DNF :

Marathon des Sables ''Marathon des Sables'', or MdS, ( French for Marathon of the Sands, also known as Sahara Marathon) "Facing Africa NOMA : The Marathon des Sables", FacingAfrica.org, 2010, webpage: -->pages/mds/default.asp FA8. is a six-day, ultramarath ...

2005 — 24th : Trans333 2004 — 3rd :

Jungle Marathon A jungle is land covered with dense tropical forest, forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sans ...

Solo 2004 — 8th :

Team 2004 — 1st :

2004 — 47th :

Yukon Arctic Ultra The Yukon Arctic Ultra is a series of non-stop multiday races that take place concurrently beginning in Whitehorse, Yukon at the beginning of February each year. The marathon, 100/300/430 mile races follow the course of the Yukon Quest. The longer r ...

2004 — 1st

Honours

In 2015, he was awarded the

Meritorious Service Cross The Meritorious Service Cross (french: Croix du service méritoire) is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, one of the two Meritorious Service Decorations gifted by the Canadian monarch, his or her Governor-in-Council. ...

References

External links

*
impossible2possible website

Running the Sahara website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahab, Ray 1960s births Living people Canadian ultramarathon runners Canadian track and field coaches Canadian male long-distance runners Canadian motivational speakers Male ultramarathon runners Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration