Ryan Keeping ran 200 kilometres in a single day last December. Over 23 hours, he circled a Halifax park 142 times.
In 2023, he ran 7,308 kilometres, just short of the distance from St. John’s to Victoria. Yet Keeping, 26, covered most of that distance running around Halifax, retracing his steps over and over again..
This year, he is hitting the road.
On April 1, Keeping will start a run across Canada to raise money for heart disease research. He aims to cover 75 kilometres a day — almost two marathons — for 99 days.
FD: When and how did you begin running such insane distances?
I’ve always been a runner, but around a year and a half ago I started taking it really seriously. I saw a video where David Goggins talked about running 100 miles for the first time. I thought, could I do that? I’ll start with 100 kilometres. So I did a marathon and then a 50k, then the next week I did 60. And the week after that I did 70. I just kept pushing it.
It’s crazy how fast you can become a really good runner. I had never run 100km in a week before. I did my first 100 km week, and since then I’ve never done less than 100km in a week.
FD: Cardio is very different from weightlifting. If you’re lifting weights, an extra five pounds might mean you cannot lift that weight. But running is so interesting because it seems you can always take one more step, right?
Yes. I could never break Usain Bolt’s speed record or even the marathon record. But with super long distances, it’s all about mental toughness. You just need an insane work ethic.
FD: Tell me about your run across Canada. That seems like a pinnacle in some sense — this is a big country.
So last year, I went down to the States to run a 50-mile race. I was wearing a Terry Fox shirt, and I was amazed how many people didn’t know who he was.
Terry Fox is one of my biggest heroes, and he’s a big inspiration for me to do the run. Originally, I was thinking I’d raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation. But then I really thought about it, and a lot of people in my family have suffered from heart disease, my dad, grandfather, siblings, cousins, uncles.
Everybody knows someone who’s had a heart attack or has had heart disease. So I thought the best way to raise awareness and money would be running across the country.
FD: Tell me about your plan. Who is accompanying you on this journey and helping out?
We’re starting April 1, my dad’s going to drive with me from St. John’s to Halifax. After Halifax, I’m just going to take it one week at a time. I have a bunch of friends who are interested in helping out. Even out west, I have people in Manitoba reaching out.
A lot of people would look for reasons why this might not work, but I just took a leap of faith. We’re going to piece it together as we go. I quit my job, I’m training full time for this now.
The biggest hurdle is just getting started.
Even if on some days I’m in the most pain ever, and I have to… run 10 kilometres back to the van, and then drive the van 20 kilometres, I’ll do that all day just to get the run in.
FD: Besides yourself, who is the competition? How have others managed this run?
There’s a guy named Dave Proctor who did the run in 67 days. His pace was over 100km a day which is absolutely insane. Eventually I want to get to that pace, maybe in three or five years I’ll try. By then I’ll have a bigger following on social media, maybe I could do a documentary about it or something, raise more money.
FD: Tell me about how this is affecting your body, both the good and the bad. I am sure you are getting a crazy runner’s high, but I would be worried about those joints.
People always ask me this, the first thing is that I’ve been training hard for a while. The average person couldn’t just go run 100 kilometres without any training. Realistically, you’re going to get hurt. But I’ve built up a pretty solid base.
Everyday I have some kind of small ache or pain. But I really try to look after myself.
Twenty years from now, if my hips or knees are worn out… I mean, there’s a lot of people who don’t push themselves who have the same issues.
When I’m 45 or 50, and I can look back on my life and say, I’ve run across Canada, raised millions for charity and motivated all these people. I’ll take that.
FD: Do you see yourself ever competing in the Olympics?
I don’t think I would be able to qualify for the marathon… but maybe ultramarathons will be an Olympic event one day. I just want to do as many races as I can, I want to really push the distance and get into like the 200 or 250 mile races. This is just the beginning of my journey, and I look forward to the next 10, 15, 20 years of doing this.
