Adam Campbell descends Handies during the 2015 Hard Rock 100.

RICKEY GATES is a photographer who also has a passion for running, writing and travel. He’s a regular contributor to Trail Runner magazine as well as other running and adventure publications. 

In running Rickey has a pastime which allows him to find solitude as well as motivation. He’s a mountain guide who is enthusiastic about the teams he leads and the adventures he takes them on.

In this exclusive interview Rickey talks to us about his passions in life and how they keep him grounded and always in admiration of the world and its endless possibilities and beauty. Read on to find out more about the projects he’s currently working on and his desire to one day publish a book about his life and achievements.

To find out more about Rickey and to get a taste of his writing and photography visit www.rickeygates.com.

When did you start running and what is it about the sport that makes you tick?

I started running as a freshman in high school when it became very obvious that soccer was not my thing… or baseball…. or football… or basketball… or any sport, really, that required that I catch, throw or dodge a ball.

My love for running has changed steadily over the years. I would say that I have always loved it, but it teaches me different things at different points of my life. I firmly believe that it’s simply a matter of sticking with a single practice for years – into decades – that makes something meaningful. We, as human beings, need our metaphors to make sense of life.

Hut Run Hut eats lunch atop Sugarloaf Peak near Vail, Colorado.

What have been some of your biggest accomplishments in running and are you currently training for any specific races or challenges?

My biggest accomplishments in running haven’t earned me any money or trophies. Some of them have hardly even been discussed by me or others. Though racing provides us with a stage to show off our hard work – it is most often when I am out on a trail, alone, when I feel that I am benefiting the most.

I ran a traverse this past year, called the Elk Mountain Traverse – all of the 14ers in the Elk Mountains as fast as I could – a point-to-point of 25,000ft of climbing over 65-miles. It ended up being one of the most incredible days out of my life. It was raw and beautiful. I think this is thing that I most seek in running – and I seem to find it in its purest form only a few times per year if I’m lucky. I would like to return to this Traverse sometime in 2016.

Rickey’s sister, Merritt Gates, descends Mount Elgon in Uganda.

Tell us more about your passion for travel and photography and where can we see some of your work?

My passion for travel comes from a long line of travellers – my Mum spent the best part of six years hitchhiking across the country, riding trains, walking, even asking pilots for rides in their airplanes. Though she never really made it outside of the country, her fondness for travel and the opportunities that it provided her was instilled in us as children. She made sure that we understood that travel does not require a lot of money  – it only requires that you are open to opportunities. She taught us that you must be patient, curious and have some form of faith – be it in your fellow man, or something beyond.

I started photographing my journeys immediately out of High School. Having now been shooting photography for nearly two decades, I can see that it is not that different from my beliefs about running – constant year-in and year-out practice produces results. Your eye changes over time. You become more comfortable with the camera. It becomes an extension of your mind’s eye. Though I primarily shoot for myself (Instagram, Facebook and on my website www.rickeygates.com), occasionally my photos can be seen in Trail Runner Magazine and elsewhere.

Scott Jurek on the Appalacian Trail.

Where have been some of the most memorable places you’ve travelled to and where is next on your list?

Some of the most memorable places that I have been are the South Pole in Antarctica for the strangeness of the landscape and people. Norway was one of the most beautiful and breathtaking countries I’ve ever been. The Grand Canyon is where I go to make myself feel small and insignificant. Uganda has instilled in me a pure calmness that I have seen in few places in the world.

How long have you been writing and what can our readers expect from your blog? Have you written anywhere else and do you have any plans for a book?

I have been writing in some form or another since High School. For me, it is harder than running! But I enjoy it. I find that it makes me think about my life, about running, about my relationships and puts them into context for the rest of the world to understand. In a way it is almost like having a therapist. I’ll write something down and then ask myself “Is that really what you think?”

Most of my writing is published in Trail Runner Magazine for which I am a contributing editor. I have always felt that I can write what I want for Trail Runner and they will stand behind it.

As for a book… I would certainly like to compile the stories that I have put together – if for no other reason that to have a single place for me to refer back to a period of my life. We’ll see…

What would be your message to those inspired by your lifestyle and what does 2016 and beyond hold in terms of your plans and any new projects in the pipeline?

I’m not really one for giving advice. Anybody who has done Hut Run Hut with me knows that I don’t really teach anybody anything – if people are curious, they ask questions. If somebody would like to be shown how to do something, they watch and learn. So I guess if somebody is inspired by the way I live my life, I’d only say that there is little to it. We all make choices – mine have involved wanting less and placing happiness above most other needs.

In 2016 I will be returning to the UK to meet up with my Salomon teammates for Advance Week. I may or may not try to complete another Round (the UK has three ‘Rounds’ that tour three of the Fells ranges). I will again be returning to Alaska to have another go at Mount Marathon. In July, August and September I will again be guiding Hut Run Hut (www.hutrunhut.com) with Ricky Lightfoot, Anna Frost and Jenn Shelton across the Rockies. Sometime in 2016, I’d also like to run my first 100-mile race. So many miles to run, so little time!