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.

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.

On January 7, 2009 Ray and two other Canadians, broke the world speed record from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole. In the process, Ray became the first person to trek to the South Pole on this traditional 1130 km route solely on foot. This expedition provided young people with an interactive platform and educational resources through a ground-breaking website.

In 2022 Ray had to face a whole new challenge:
On March 23, 2023 his 6 month chemotherapy treatment ended, and a long road to recovery and normalcy began. Ray wrote:
“I’ve done a lot of hard things.
But for me, this might have been my toughest challenge yet.
When I started on this chemo treatment journey 6 months ago, I vastly underestimated how tough it would be…some days I felt I couldn’t imagine the end.
I’d sit in the waiting room post chemo sessions thinking how horrible I felt, and that “this time” I for sure wouldn’t bounce back. But something inside me kept reminding me better days are ahead.
As with many of my expeditions, both successful and not, there are moments of celebration, of elation, and of intense pain and doubt.

I’ve been on a consistent cycle for 6 months chemotherapy, with the first week after each session leaving me feeling brutal, and slowly recovering in the weeks after- then I’d will myself to get up and get moving again. I’d set goals to motivate me- each month I had something to prepare for, and limited time to get it done- guiding my clients in Atacama Desert in Nov, attending the Austin Running Show with my buddy Nick from Norda, training for my Feb Arctic expedition which I refused to give up on, and traveling to the Mojave Desert in March with my youngest Anika, for our own adventure.
I remained steadfast and resolved in my goal to be as fit as I possibly could be for my next round of chemo….mentally, physically and emotionally.”

In November 2023 Ray was awarded the Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration, from Royal Canadian Geographic Society for his lifetime achievement in expeditions.

“I started this path of adventure as a way to change my life, from pack a day smoker who was unhealthy physically and emotionally, to someone new. I never had designs on being a professional adventurer- I just wanted to be happy. My brother John inspired me to step into the outdoors and I never looked back. I became a passionate mountain bike racer, then discovered ultra running, and competed in ultras all over the world. I was especially attracted to races with adversity- such as navigation, heat or cold. The gnarlier, the better I seemed to do, and for the first time in my life, I was even winning races I’d never see myself doing.

Then in 2007 my life changed forever when my buddies and I ran 7,500km across the Sahara in 111 days. From that moment, I knew adventure and learning about these amazing places in the world, was my future.
Soon after, we started i2P with the goal of giving young people an opportunity to be on expeditions, and learn, cost free.

Since then, I have crossed almost every large desert on the planet in summer, completed many winter Arctic, Siberia, expeditions, and trekked unsupported to the South Pole. Near 20,000km on foot so far on adventures, all in support of i2P.

It’s never been for me about trying to ‘be the best’ or the most popular.
Truth be told, any desert or place I’ve crossed, have been explored previously by the OG explorers on this planet, the Indigenous peoples.
No, it’s not to stand out or be the best- but because I absolutely love being in these remote places, challenging myself to reach beyond my personal limits, and learn as much as I can along the way. And share what I learn with whoever will hear me.
I’m deeply humbled that I was considered for this beautiful award, for doing things that are my passion- but truly it belongs to my bro, who taught me through action to never underestimate yourself, and to follow your passion.
You never know where it will lead you.”

After having to cut his initial trek short in 2023, Ray returned to Death Valley in August 2024, to finish what he started: a 170km journey from Death Valley to Badwater Basin in an incredible 53 hours, 35 minutes, and 21 seconds.