Ryan Walker

Bloomfield Hills resident Ryan Walker was motivated to create the Pine Lake Ultraman, a local 320-mile endurance event not only for the extreme physical and emotional athletic challenge but also for deeply personal reasons.

Growing up outside of Pittsburgh as the oldest child of teen parents, Walker admitted, “I had a complicated childhood. While my parents tried to make it work and do their best…I ended up having various parental figures through the years.”

His maternal grandparents and aunt played central roles in his earlier life to fill the gaps of his mother’s mental illness and addiction. He considered his grandfather his mentor and role model and lived with his “amazing” grandparents during summers when he attended University of Pittsburgh, majoring in communications and history. He helped care for his grandfather at the end of his life while he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Sadly, his mom also passed away, succumbing to mental illness and addiction.

“Life is always multifaceted – my mom stood for a lot of beautiful things. When I think of her the first word that comes to mind is compassion. She was always willing to step up and help others in meaningful ways…Growing up she was super involved and always our biggest supporter. My brother is two years younger, and we both played on the high school football team. She and my grandma used to make a pasta dinner every Friday night for the team.”

After graduating from college in 2004, Walker showed up at his aunt’s home in New York City with garbage bags holding his belongings. She let him live with her as he began his career in sales at ESPN. “I’ve been in advertising ever since,” he said.

Walker met his wife, Sara, a Troy native, in New York. They moved to Michigan in 2013, and bought their home in Bloomfield Hills the following year. The couple shares three children – Henry, Garrett, and Alaina – who all play flag football with Walker as their coach.

“This is such an amazing place to live and raise kids,” he commented.

Besides his love of family and sports, Walker works for The Trade Desk in Royal Oak, and is considering running for the Bloomfield Hills School District school board. He is also an endurance athlete who recently participated in a self-designed 320-mile endurance event to raise money for HOPE Shelters, a Pontiac-based nonprofit organization serving people experiencing homelessness – and to honor the people who taught him what it means to show up.

An official Ultraman is 320 punishing miles of swimming, biking and running over three days, with 12 hours to finish each day. Walker had many people join him for parts of each day. He plans to continue to raise money for HOPE Shelters via the Pine Lake Ultraman GoFundMe through mid-July.

“My wife, Sara, is my rock. She’s so supportive especially with the training schedule that goes into an event like this,” he shared.

Walker noted that he was turning 45 years old right before the Ultraman event and that his mom didn’t live to see this age.

“Through the loss, I’ve looked for ways to honor her and what she stood for. It started out small and has grown into bigger things.”

He reflected: “We all are going to be confronted with hard things in life. It’s important to push through and build resilience. I tell my kids not to be fearless but to feel the fear and do it anyway.”

Story: Tracy Donohue

Photo: Laurie Tennent