Callum Jolliffe

Now the focus is on the Bhutan Ultra and Rainforest Ultra. Thanks to everyone who has already expressed an interest! I’ve resumed talks with the Trans Bhutan Trail management, and we are all really looking forward to making our first 200 km ultra in Bhutan a reality.

Like in Brazil, the only thing we still need is more international competitors. So, I will spend the next couple of months reaching out to the ultra running community again and hopefully I will find 30 brave souls who will give the Land of the Thunder Dragon a go.

For anyone who will join us, I guarantee you a trip you will never forget. Just the places you will see before and after the race are worth the visit. Let alone running and hiking 200 km on the eastern part of the Trans Bhutan Trail.

I am fully aware that it’s not a cheap trip. But if you compare our entry fee to any trekking trip to Bhutan you will see that we are actually very competitive with the pricing. Also, please keep in mind that the entry fee does include the USD 100/day visitor fee. A fee that is collected to help finance Bhutan’s health system and education.

If you want to be part of the first edition Bhutan Ultra, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Also, feel free to contact me with questions at any point in time.

Impressions from the Lapland Arctic Ultra 2026 – photographed by Jonas Palsson:

As always, it has been an incredibly busy winter for us. The Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra in Canada was especially brutal this year. Almost every night, temperatures plummeted to –40°C. We welcomed 46 athletes from 11 different nations at the start line, yet only six managed to reach the finish. Here are some striking moments captured by Mark Kelly:

After a brief “break,” we headed straight into the Bright Equipment Lapland Arctic Ultra. On March 2nd, 55 athletes from 14 countries hit the trails with us in Överkalix, Sweden. Fortunately, the weather was far kinder than in Canada, resulting in a significantly higher finisher rate. Here are some highlights, beautifully photographed by Isak Sandling:

Immediately following our winter ultras, we shifted gears to plan for next winter. That process is now complete. Start dates are set, and the necessary paperwork for both races is in place.

Now, our focus turns to our upcoming ultras in Brazil and Bhutan.

First off, we want to apologize for not sharing more updates over the last few months. The intensity of our winter events kept us fully occupied.

The big question is whether we will gather enough athletes to launch the Bhutan Ultra on the Trans Bhutan Trail successfully this November. At present, we don’t have enough participants registered to make it viable. The uncertainty lies in how many athletes are still planning to sign up but haven’t done so yet – and how many we can reach before the entry deadline on August 31st.

One of our biggest challenges is timing. We can’t, and don’t want to, cancel at the last minute – it wouldn’t be fair to those who have committed early, planned their trips, and possibly even booked flights. At the same time, we recognize the growing trend of last-minute travel decisions. So, we’ll tackle this the way an ultra-athlete approaches a race. Step by step.

Step #1 will be to try and find 15 athletes by the end of April. Should we fail at that, we will likely cancel the Bhutan Ultra 2025 and give it another go for 2026. If we get 15 athletes by April 30th we will initiate Step #2, which is to keep planning with a 2025 Bhutan Ultra and to continue reaching out to see if we can get a full race roster. A total of 50 athletes is our goal.

If you believe in what we do, we’d love your help in spreading the word! If you’re interested in participating, please reach out. And even if this year doesn’t work for you but you’d like to join us in 2026, let us know – we value any feedback that helps us bring the Bhutan Ultra to life.