caption nationality birth_date known_for image article_title name
zahab bill holsinger-robinson . speaking at ted in 2009 . photograph by canadian 44 2013 jul 30 long-distance runner , motivational speaker ray zahab speaking at ted in 2009.jpg ray zahab
 ray zahab
ray zahab

ray zahab -lrb- born 1968 or 1969 -rrb- is a canadian long-distance runner and motivational speaker .
on november 1 , 2006 former `` pack a day smoker '' zahab and two other runners set out on an epic expedition to cross the sahara desert by foot .
one hundred and eleven days and 7500 km after leaving the coast of senegal they completed their journey stepping into the red sea .
the epic expedition had the trio running an average of 70km a day , without a single day of rest .
national geographic tracked this epic expedition by web , and the documentary film ` running the sahara ' - produced by matt damon , directed by academy award winner james moll -- was filmed in an effort to raise awareness for the drinking water crisis in northern africa .
after witnessing and experiencing the water crisis in northern africa , ray decided to leverage his future adventures to raising awareness and funding for causes that he supports and believes in .
running the sahara would begin a journey of discovery - of learning that some of the largest barriers to success are the ones we put upon ourselves .
breaking these down , we can truly achieve extraordinary things .
in 2007 , ray ran the three coastal trails of canada , back to back and non-stop .
the akshayuk pass on baffin island , east coast trail newfoundland and west coast trail in british columbia .
motivated by the sahara run - ray conceptualized the canadaonexone run in may 2008 .
along with a team of runners , ray ran an average 80 km per day in each of canada 's 13 provinces and territories in so 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 city wide 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 trekked 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 in an educational resource -- becoming `` team mates '' of the expedition .
this expedition was completed as part of ray 's organization , impossible2possible .
in 2008 , ray founded impossible2possible -lrb- i2p -rrb- , an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning , and inclusion and participation in expeditions .
ray is a proud 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 , and the torchbearers award in 2010 .
throughout 2009 and 2010 , expeditions have included : an unsupported 13 day run the length of frozen lake baikal , 3 youth based expeditions to baffin island , tunisia and the amazon .
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 , from classrooms all over the world .
ray has appeared multiple times in the media , including cnni , the hour , cbc , ctv , bbc , jay leno , discovery , etc. .
in addition to his running adventures , ray speaks around the world at events such as ted , ioc world conference , idea city , the economist world in 2010 and 2011 , world affairs council and countless major corporate events - spreading the message that we are all capable of the extraordinary in our lives and that in fact , the impossible is possible .
in early 2011 , ray became the first person to run across the ` driest desert on earth '' , the atacama desert in chile .
he ran 1200 km in 20 days - with minimal daily re-supply .
thousands of students observed the journey via live web and video conferencing .
