Montrealer’s 4,500-km run on monarch butterfly’s migration path aims to highlight the

Over the next few months, Montreal runner Anthony Battah will run about 4,500 kilometres along the migration path of the monarch butterfly.

He has dubbed the journey the Ultra-Trail Monarch, and runs around 50 kilometres a day to meet his goal. Battah left Montreal on July 29 and said he plans to finish on Nov. 1.

Battah, who spoke with CBC Radio’s afternoon Drive on Monday, is set to cross the Ambassador Bridge on the Windsor-Detroit border on Wednesday afternoon.

He said he hopes to raise one dollar for every metre he runs, and the money will go toward organizations that protect monarch butterflies and biodiversity. 

The following interview with Battah has been edited for length and clarity.

How do you even begin to think, and prepare and train for something like this?

Just to start thinking about the whole project as a whole just gets me dizzy, but when you break it down into half days or days or little chunks like that, it is totally possible. That’s the mindset.

Physically, you need definitely need training. I’ve been running for a number of years, probably 10, and during the past 12 months I’ve been preparing very specifically for this endeavour. 

Right now, I’m taking it one day at a time. I certainly do not want to wave my hands in victory already. We’re just starting.

Montreal lawyer to run ultramarathon to help monarch butterflies

Anthony Battah will start his 4500-kilometre journey from Montreal to Mexico this Saturday at the Insectarium. He says he hopes to bring attention to the decline of monarch butterflies.

When you’ve been running all day and you’re almost at 50 kilometres for the day, how do you kind of keep your head in the game?

I have been working with a sports psychologist. He definitely has lots of interesting tools for me, without getting too technical, staying in the present moment is key. I’m just trying to focus as possible on that present moment.

I usually break midday at around 30 kilometres, so psychologically I am more than halfway done. That helps a lot knowing that the the PM leg is relatively shorter. 

The reason you’re running is to raise awareness about the plight of monarch butterflies. How much danger are our monarch butterflies in?

They’re in serious danger. The numbers are always to be taken with a certain relativity, but scientists say that around 1995 or 1996 we were getting close to a population of one billion monarch butterflies in North America. The latest numbers show approximately 200 and 250 million of population.

We’re talking about a serious drop, around a 75 to 80 per cent drop over the past few years, and so they are officially declared as an endangered species and they really need our help.

Why should people care about the fate of the monarch butterfly? 

The monarch butterfly is the canary in the coal mine.

In the whole biodiversity picture, the insects are probably one of the first that will leave us or have trouble. What’s happening to them is just an indication of what might be happening to us. It’s a reason for us to engage in a broader discussion with regards to how we treat biodiversity and our planet.

What would you like people to take away from your run? 

I want to inspire people to take action. This whole idea and project that my wife and I put together, which is called Ultra Trail Monarch, is a scream from the heart to the next generation — to our daughter, who just turned 10, and to whom we are currently giving a planet which is really messy. 

I want her to remember that daddy took action. Daddy didn’t want to just talk, but wanted to do something to change the tide. 

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