Ryan Adams Fernández was born July 25, 1996 in Hudson, Ohio. He grew up racing summer track meets in Akron, Ohio with his older brother and sister. He graduated high school from Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in 2015 with multiple athletic honors including: 5x State Champion (2x 4x800, 2x1600, 1x 800), breaking a 30-year old OHSAA Division II 1600m state record (4:07.1), and achieving 13x All-Ohio honors. He still holds his high school records with a 4:07.1 and 1:51.0 in the 1600m and 800m respectively.

Ryan attended Furman University between 2015 and 2021 where he graduated as a 6x All-American (3x 1500m (‘17, ‘19, ‘21), 1x 3k (‘20), 1x Mile (‘20), 1x Cross-Country (‘19) and 10x Southern Conference Champion (DMR, 800, 1500, Cross-Country). He led his team to a 14th-place finish in the 2019 NCAA XC Championship in Terra Haute, finishing 32nd individually. He became the first Paladin to break the 4:00-mile barrier in January of 2020 (3:57.6), along with breaking the 3k school record (7:49.4) becoming the first male Paladin to qualify in either distance for the Indoor NCAA Championship which would be cancelled due to the covid shutdowns. He holds the school record in the 1500 (3:37.6), which qualified him for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021. 

Following his college career, Ryan signed a professional contract with Atlanta Track Club/adidas. After early success in fall of 2021 including a sub-4:00 time trial in November and winning the 5-Mile Cleveland Turkey Trot (23:19) in the same week, he suffered a car accident that caused chronic injuries and pain, forcing him to sit out his indoor and outdoor seasons in 2022 and his indoor season in 2023, delaying his professional debut.

Following indoor 2023, Ryan parted ways with Atlanta Track Club and began to train remotely under his college coach while living in Mexico City, transferring his affiliation from USATF to FMAA during this time in order to represent Mexico on the world stage. He went undefeated in Mexico that year and won both the 1500m and 800m titles in his first Mexican National Championship (Campeonato de Primera Fuerza). He returned to the US and raced in several stateside competitions in a Furman Elite jersey, including the Guardian Road Mile in Cleveland where he finished 2nd with a 3:55. During this time he began to work professionally with Leo Manzano who would represent him as his agent. 

Following his summer campaign, Ryan signed a professional contract with Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore Distance, with whom he would train for the next year. Despite flareups and injuries prior to the 2024 indoor season, he made his professional debut and saw success including winning a race in Boston with a personal best of 3:57.2. Chronic pain and injuries once again forced him to sit out for the outdoor season in 2024.

After his time in Baltimore, Ryan took a short hiatus from running to convalesce before resuming training with Leo Manzano as a member of Phoenix Rising Running. He splits his time to train in Indianapolis and Mexico City close to family and friends.