Monarch Ultra 4200 km across 3 countries

You are invited on a journey that connects butterflies, ultra-running and film-making with resiliency, inspiration and hope that surrounds all of us...

A team of film-makers, runners, and pollinator advocates will be telling the story of the flight of the monarch butterfly seen through the eyes of ultra-runners who will run 50 km and 100 km segments to complete the same distance of 4,200 km (2,610 miles) from southern Ontario to Mexico in the fall of 2019. 

The Monarch Ultra is the first attempt to run across North America (Canada, United States and Mexico) in order to raise awareness of monarch butterflies who make the migratory journey every year, and whose populations are in steep decline. Our multi-day running adventure will invite runners to traverse wild and remote landscapes while building camaraderie, overcoming adversity, and sharing a singular adventure with monarch butterflies. The Monarch Ultra starts in Peterborough, Ontario and ends in the Sierra Madre Mountains, in Central Mexico, with runners following the same migration route as monarch butterflies. Fifty or more ultra-runners will be invited to run a leg of 50 km or 100 km each through a diversity of landscapes including mountain paths, forests, meadows, deserts, and cities. Most importantly, the Monarch Ultra is an opportunity to connect us as human beings in Canada, USA, and Mexico with common goals of Earth stewardship and biodiversity conservation.