Carlotta James is a runner from Ontario who knows how to turn inspiration into real movement. And not just in a metaphorical sense. One day, while out running, Carlotta saw a swarm of monarch butterflies and wondered how these tiny creatures, weighing less than a paper clip, could travel thousands of kilometers from Canada to Mexico every year.
Carlotta decided to try the route herself, and that’s how the epic 4,200-kilometer ultra-marathon from southern Ontario to the heart of Mexico, the Monarch Ultra, was born.
From Children’s Fantasies to Adult Projects
Carlotta grew up in Honduras and Costa Rica, countries where people live much closer to nature than in more civilized countries. She spent her childhood among trees, playing with her brothers and sisters in the fresh air. It was then that her connection with the living world began, which later became her life’s work.
As a teenager, running became a way for her to escape her difficulties. Today, it is a tool that helps her cope with them. “When I run, everything becomes clearer in my head. It’s like pressing the reset button,” Carlotta shares.
Marathon of Hope
Such an ambitious project could not be accomplished alone. James created this initiative together with ultra-marathon director and cartographer Clay Williams and cameraman Rodney Fuentes. Their main task was not just to map out the route, but also to test how suitable it was for daily runs.
Key features of the marathon:
- Participants can run one of two distances: 50 or 100 km, joining at a convenient stage.
- Every 10 km, there will be aid stations with water, medical support, and navigation.
- Volunteers and “monarch ambassadors” will be stationed along the route to ensure safety and communication between teams.
The main idea is to create a space where runners, activists, environmentalists, and simply caring people can come together for a common goal: to save butterflies and inspire others to care for the planet.
No boundaries, No Winners, No Prize
Monarch Ultra is not a race for medals. It is a marathon with a purpose. There are no winners, no awards, but there is a clear goal: to draw attention to the catastrophic decline in pollinator populations and the destruction of their habitats.
Carlotta emphasizes: “Monarchs know no boundaries. They don’t care about passports, politics, race, or religion. They just fly. And we can learn something from them.”
This ultra-marathon is an act of hope that unites countries and people in the same way that the journey of these fragile but indomitable creatures unites them.