The ultra adventurer you’ve never heard of
Kerry Ward and his Youtube channel are inspiring people around the world
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to run a 240-mile race, summit Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia in one day, complete the 50-mile Zion Traverse, get to the base of Everest, hike Kilamanjaro, run trails in Jerusalem, run around volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, run to a glacier in Iceland, or run the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim route in the Grand Canyon–then Kerry Ward’s Youtube videos are a start. For the last decade, Ward has lived a life of intentional adventuring and inspired people around the world with live footage from his experiences on the trails. Imagine reality television and ultrarunning joining forces in entertainment, and you have Ward’s FulltiltWard Youtube channel.
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The 51-year-old is based in North Vancouver, B.C., but travels two thirds of the time speaking to groups as a corporate trainer and leadership development specialist. His travels are also spent exploring some of the world’s most magnificent mountains and trails.
Ward’s genuine curiosity is contagious. He is both fascinated and challenged by his ultra adventures, and wants to share that excitement with others. Now, he is humbly surprised when he is recognized from his videos. Last summer on the Wonderland Trail, “we saw a fast guy coming in the other direction. He says to us, ‘you’re the reason I started trail running.'”
Ward doesn’t promote his films, but in the last 90 days 4.5 million minutes of content has been watched on his channel. The footage is real, raw and unscripted. Ward wants others to experience what it’s like to be out on the trails for hours or days at a time. Whether the viewers are running on a treadmill in Tokyo, cooking dinner with their family, or teaching a unit on Everest, Ward has received messages of gratitude. An American middle school teacher is now using Ward’s footage of Everest to help teach his science unit, explaining, “the kids went nuts for it.”
Next up? The 400-mile Jordan Trail. Ward hopes to acquire support from the country of Jordan and entice others to explore the trails as well.
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