Cross Country's Kallay Goes The Extra Mile
9/17/2015 4:00:00 AM | Cross Country
By Andrew Call
What is the first question you would ask a young man who rides a bicycle across the country, starts his own nonprofit while simultaneously earning his M.B.A., competing in intercollegiate cross country and working at a coffee shop, and plans to take part in a 100-mile run and swim across all of the Great Lakes next year?
Of course … why?
“I hope that's the question people ask,” said Ian Kallay, a senior at Wright State. “I want to put myself on the line, especially for a cause. I want people to ask 'Why are you doing this?' and think 'He's obviously got something else he's living for, not just himself.'
“Everybody wants to make the world a better place. But I'm competitive. I see other people doing similar things, and I think I'm not doing enough. That's the athlete in me coming out.”
Kallay hopes to make the world a better place by helping fight sex trafficking and human slavery.
He has already raised thousands of dollars by connecting with donors and corporate sponsors impressed by his willingness to attempt feats of athletic endurance to highlight this cause. His nonprofit life coaching initiative, Axus (axtheus.com) includes an “abolition fund” that helps local organizations support victims of sex trafficking.
Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution named Kallay the winner of its 2014 Ohio Liberator of the Year Award.
“There are a lot of different causes,” Kallay said. “I saw it wasn't just the people who were trapped in human trafficking that were enslaved. A lot of people have shackles. I want to help break everybody's chains. I view human trafficking as a symbol of what I'm doing rather than the actual root of it.”
Several events helped Kallay develop his decision to take up this fight—hearing an Amber Alert on the radio at age 7, a trip to Liberia with a church group a few years later, and, at age 16, reading “Be the Change” a book about efforts to abolish human slavery and trafficking.
In the summer of 2014, Kallay rode his bike from Dayton to San Francisco (3,207 miles) with his older brother, Shane, driving by his side. Ian Kallay raised $10,000 and earned significant media attention for the cause. When Kallay took a spill and suffered a broken hand near Sacramento, he walked the final 87 miles over the next three days.
Kallay, who turns 22 in March, is seeking more sponsors for a 50K race in Indiana in December, his swim across the Great Lakes in the summer of 2016, and his bid to qualify for the Ironman World Championship. He has scheduled speaking engagements at schools and churches to share his experiences.
“My speech is titled '10 Improvements You Can Make in Your Own Life to Help End Human Trafficking,' ” Kallay said. “The main idea is that, as we let our own light shine, we give other people permission to do the same.”
Between running, biking and swimming, Kallay also manages to study. He enrolled in Wright State with 68 college credits and needed only two years to complete his bachelor's degree in marketing. He is scheduled to graduate in May 2016 with an M.B.A. in the New Venture Creations concentration. The next step could be a Ph.D. in marketing.
Kallay was a walk-on during his first two cross country seasons but earned a scholarship despite having missed most of his second year with a stress fracture. His 21:00 finish at the Sept. 5 Queen City Invitational was his best 6K time since his freshman year.
“I have been competing in cross country since seventh grade, and I love it,” Kallay said. “I have loved everything about cross country and I have loved Wright State and the campus environment here.”
Kallay said he wants to someday work for an employer that encourages the level of passion he has demonstrated in his fight against sex trafficking.
“I would love to work for a company that aligns with the same vision I have when it comes to inspiring others, pushing others, motivating others,” Kallay said. “It always goes back to purpose. That's the big question—why am I really doing this?”
