The Monarch Ultra Relay Run

The Monarch Ultra is a 4,300km (2,670 miles) relay run following the migratory path of monarch butterflies from Peterborough, Ontario to the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico. Ultra-runners are invited to explore a diversity of landscapes along mountain paths, forests, meadows, deserts, trails, and cities across the North American continent! Relay runners, running in pairs when possible, will run approximately 50km or 100km segments over 47 days. Participants will have the opportunity to traverse wild landscapes as well as populated urban areas while building camaraderie, overcoming adversity, and sharing a singular adventure with monarch butterflies. This will be one of the world's longest relay runs, amplified even more by the monarch migration. Add link to read more.
 
The Monarch Ultra is a celebration of two types of superheroes: ultra-runners and monarch butterflies. Both cover long distances using their incredible strength and endurance to arrive at a new unknown destination. Participants of the Monarch Ultra relay run will run the same corridor that monarch butterflies make in two months! Most importantly, the Monarch Ultra is an opportunity to connect communities in Canada, USA and Mexico with common goals of Earth stewardship and biodiversity conservation. 
 
This will be the experience of a lifetime for all of those involved! Register early to save your spot!
 
SAVE THE DATE: Monarch Ultra Launch Event in Peterborough, Ontario on September 19th at the DePave site (behind NoFrills) starting at 7:30am. 
Altogether, 55 ultra runners have signed up for this exciting adventure!  They still have spots open in Mexico. If possible, please share the Race roster link with your networks. 
 
 
A Mini-Monarch Ultra Program was launched at Edmison Heights Public School in Peterborough, Ontario. The school surpassed their goals and ran 6,300km collectively in the last month of school. Students and teachers planted pollinator gardens and hosted educational workshops related to climate change and pollinator loss. The students also led a Pollinator & Climate Change Parade down the streets of Peterborough: 
 
The Mexican government has been immensely supportive of our project, and is helping to coordinate security and other logistics while we are in Mexico.
 
We are honoured that many local businesses and non-profits have sponsored the Monarch Ultra project:
 
The Rotary Club has generously provided us with their charity number, and folks interested in donating to the Monarch Ultra project can do so on the Canada Helps website by selecting Monarch Ultra Marathon in the dropdown menu. Any donation would be most appreciated: