Monarch Ultra 10K

Starting and ending in beautiful Millennium Park in downtown Peterborough, this out and back course takes runners along the Rotary Trail in East City beside the Otonabee River. The 10km race is relatively flat and fast!

Water station located at the 5K turnaround - this is a cup free event. Please bring your own vessel that our volunteers can fill for you. Check out the 250ml flask available to purchase during registration.

The 10km race will be chip timed.

Monarch-themed costumes encouraged!

Route is subject to change.

Children under the age of 14 can sign up to participate in our 1 kilometre kids run. Each child will receive a participant ribbon/medal and snack at the finish line. Only 40 spots available! Be sure to sign up in advance of race day in order to secure your child's spot.

SWAG

Each 10K finisher will receive our custom Monarch Butterfly medal and colourful neck gaiter as well as some native seeds for your garden to support monarch butterflies and all pollinators!

CUP FREE EVENT

This is a CUP-FREE event, therefore you will need to bring your own handheld or bottle to fill at the Start Line and Water Station. Check out our 250ml silicone bite-top flask, available for sale with registration and on race day.

POST RACE

Refreshments will be available post run. Everyone is also invited to our Monarch Butterfly Festival after the race. Please see the details below.

We will be hosting Peterborough's first Monarch Butterfly Festival after the race. The event starts at 12:00pm and goes on until 4:00pm. Expect amazing music, dancers, performances and presentations at the festival! The event aims to inspire and engage participants so that we create positive change together at the local & international level. We encourage you and your family to join us!

Nación Verde

The Monarch Ultra is proud to announce that we are collecting donations for Nación Verde, a non-profit environmental organization in Mexico that works in several areas towards conservation, regeneration, and protection of our environment. They are playing a vital role in protecting habitat for monarch butterflies and other forest dwellers at Reserva de la Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca (the Monarch Sanctuary in Cerro Pelón).

Why Nación Verde?

Tree planting

This year, Nación Verde is planning to plant 100,000 oyamel trees along 100 hectares. The oyamel forests house the appropriate conditions that allow the annual hibernation of the monarch butterfly, giving them protection against strong winds, rain and even snowfall and hailstorms. They also serve as water collectors, and provide dew retention, which allows the monarch butterfly to hydrate without the need to waste energy flying in search of water.

Overall, planting trees is beneficial for the environment because it helps to fight climate change, minimize soil erosion, promote healthy forest and biodiversity, and helps reduce carbon dioxide.

Employment

When carrying out reforestation, local residents are hired. This helps to fight poverty and guarantee that the family remains together, so that the parents do not have to migrate to other cities in search of employment.

One of the main problems that affect Cerro Pelón is the lack of employment for the people who live nearby, which leads to clandestine logging, causing deforestation and habitat loss not only for the monarch butterfly, but also for the forest inhabited by other species such as squirrels, rabbits, opossums, coyotes and many different birds.

Without these forests, monarchs would not have a place to spend winters. This could be the final blow for the survival of this species.

How much money is needed to cover the expenses?

Reforestation is not only planting trees, it’s a series of activities required to properly plant oyamels and guarantee their success, such as the preparation and cleaning of the land, transportation of the plants, and the personnel to carry out the plantation. All these activities requires $2,500,000.00 Mexican pesos to meet the objective. That’s the equivalent of US$137,000.

With your support, we can help Nación Verde achieve its goal and both monarchs and local communities will experience tremendous benefit from this project.

We are honoured to partner with Kawartha Lakes Lightning for this event. KLL is a local running club that organizes local races on trails and on the track.

CHIP TIMING

10km runners will be provided with a timing chip (to be worn around ankle) to record their elapsed time.

AWARDS

Top 3 finishers (male and female) will be presented with a monarch themed prize atop our podium after the race.

PRIZES

Monarch-themed costumes encouraged, prizes will be awarded for most unique!

4 lucky winners will receive a 2023 Climate Change is in Our Hands Poster, thanks to our generous sponsor, Pollinator Partnership. Have a sneak peek of the beautiful poster - click here. (valued at $30.00 USD each).

RESULTS

2023 results link - use dropdown to select 1K or 10K

https://results.raceroster.com/v2/en-CA/results/fwq7st2cuhbv4w5v/results?subEvent=183870&page=1

* No refunds. If event is cancelled for any reason, all participants will be transferred to the 2023 Virtual Run option.

* Our insurance provider strictly prohibits strollers and animals on the race course.

* Headphones - as this is a trail, we request that if you plan to use headphones, please wear one headphone only (preferably right side) which will allow other runners to safely pass on the left.

This event could not happen without volunteer support. If you would like to volunteer for either the race or the festival (or both!), please send an email themonarchultra@gmail.com

Follow Monarch Ultra:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_monarch_ultra/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MonarchUltra

Twitter https://twitter.com/monarch_ultra

Website: https://www.themonarchultra.com/

This event is sanctioned by Athletics Ontario.