Q&A: Halifax ultra-marathoner runs across Canada in 99 days

A Halifax ultra-marathoner recently completed running across Canada in 99 days, beginning in St. John's and ending in Victoria.

Along the way, Ryan Keeping ran 7,325 kilometres and raised more than $240,000 on GoFundMe — with 80 per cent of it going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the rest covering his costs.

CBC Radio's Mainstreet interviewed Keeping on Tuesday, 48 hours after he finished the run. He said he was inspired by Terry Fox — the Canadian who famously decided to run across the country to raise money for cancer research — and a family history of heart disease.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How are you feeling after running for 99 days?

I feel amazing. Physically, of course, you're a little bit sore, maybe. But yeah, mentally, I'm incredibly happy and I'm very proud of what me and my team was able to accomplish.

What motivated you to run across Canada?

I've kind of alway been obsessed with pushing limits, especially physical limits.... I was alway inspired by Terry Fox. My dad always told me the most important thing in life is to always try your best.

When I got into running, I would always think about Terry Fox when I would go out for runs. I went down to the U.S. to do my first ultra-marathon and I wore a Terry Fox shirt. And I was kind of surprised because a lot of people there didn't know who he was.

Obviously in Canada, Terry is a hero — but other places in the world, they might not know who he is. I was always making videos of running, so I thought I should run across the country and promote Terry Fox as the greatest Canadian of all time. That's where the plan came from. There was about a year, a year and a half of training … and then we set off on the crazy