Ultra Marathon Man Ray Zahab on Matrimony

This article of mine first ran in 2

After winning the first ultra-marathon he entered in 2004—an icy 160-kilometre Yukon hike from Whitehorse to Braeburn—Ray Zahab, a former pack-a-day smoker, was hooked. He has since blazed paths crawling with tarantulas and snakes while running through the Amazon and braved sandstorms and the blistering sun on a 7,000-kilometre trek across the Sahara Desert in support of H20 Africa (co-founded by Matt Damon).

Next up is a nearly 1,000-kilometre Antarctic hike from Hercules Inlet to the geographic South Pole, a journey he plans to complete in a record-setting 35 days. Here’s Zahab on the impact his wife, Kathy, has on him.

When most people think of eloping, they picture a ceremony on the beach followed by lots of room service. You went another route and headed to Tanzania and spent part of your honeymoon climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

What was that whole experience like?

Zahab: “We wanted to do something memorable and meaningful for both of us. I threw the ball into Kathy’s court, and she said she wanted to go to Africa. One of the most romantic moments was the two of us sitting in this small village at the base of Mount Meru [Tanzania’s second highest mountain] surrounded by complete strangers who had quickly become close friends. It was just the two of us celebrating the moment surrounded by these beautiful children we were sharing our wedding cake with. I’ll never forget that.”

How does Kathy help you prepare for an ultra?

Zahab: “She is the backbone of everything I do. She provides me with the strength to do what I do, the confidence. People still ask me all the time what was the hardest part about running across the Sahara last year. ‘Was it the physical strain? The injuries?’  I say ‘No, it was being away from my wife.’ This is my life partner and my soulmate, and she completes me. When she’s not around, I feel like something is missing.”