Athletics Ontario Running Podcast · John Shep

EP 210: Ryan Keeping - Stubborn by Design: Finding Purpose in Running

·49 min·3 clips

Ryan Keeping says, “I’m just really stubborn” and treats 75 kilometers a day as a mindset test.

1. Athletics Ontario Running Podcast focuses on Ryan Keeping’s cross-Canada run and the purpose behind his running career. 2. Host John Shep talks with Ryan Keeping, a Halifax, Nova Scotia runner whose long-distance adventures made him known in Ontario. 3. The episode asks why Ryan went from late start to ultra-distance running and how he uses running for purpose, charity, and public attention. 4. Ryan says he did not start running in school and only began at 25 after playing hockey and other sports. 5. He describes a fast progression from a half marathon to a marathon, 50k, 60k, 70k, 80k, and 100k, then a 100-miler within about six months. 6. He says Terry Fox and David Goggins shaped his thinking, and his father taught him that Terry Fox was “the greatest Canadian of all time.” 7. Ryan says the idea to run across Canada formed early, after his first 100k and within roughly four months of starting to run. 8. He says the cross-Canada run in 2024 took 98 or 99 days and raised $182,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. 9. He says Ontario support was so strong that people ran with him for 10 to 15 days from the Quebec border toward Sudbury. 10. He says Quebec was different, with less public awareness and one stretch where he was kicked off the highway and almost arrested. 11. Ryan describes the run as “do or die,” tied to his father’s heart condition and to Terry Fox’s legacy. 12. He says he dedicated the effort to his dad and that the cause made physical suffering feel manageable. 13. He says he was “really stubborn” and that once he decides on a goal, he will see it through. 14. He says he has always wanted to push limits and that he is now training for a 300-miler because he needs “something on the calendar.” 15. Ryan says the support network matters, naming his dad, his friend Josh, and his broader community as essential to the project. 16. He says social media and video content helped him raise more money, but he still ended the Canada run with about $58 in his bank account and later said he was about $30,000 in debt. 17. The conversation is direct and reflective, with John Shep asking long-form questions about motivation, injury, funding, and identity. 18. Ryan’s answers are practical and conversational, mixing race details, training habits, and personal examples from construction work, hockey, and family support. 19. Runners who care about ultras, fundraising, and purpose-driven projects. 20. Listeners wanting polished coaching advice or short race recaps.

As heard by us

A cross-Canada runner's story with Ontario turnout and honest recovery talk.

Ryan Keeping's story starts with a cross-Canada run, then keeps returning to a simple question: what endurance asks of a person once the body starts pushing back.

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Why you'd press play

You want a cross-Canada running story that feels personal, not polished.

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