Video: From Mountain Roads to Markets, a Cross-Country Run Highlights Haiti’s Beauty

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.

Earlier this year, 20 runners, including top trail/ultra athletes Dean Karnazes and Hillary Allen, set out to complete the first organized ultramarathon in Haiti. The 386-kilometer (230-mile) Run Across Haiti took place over eight days, and presented some unusual challenges: crowded city streets, extreme humidity, air pollution and illness. (Seven of the 20 runners finished.)

But the run also highlighted the beauty and cultural richness of a country often associated with only poverty and disaster. That was a goal of Haitian runner Tassy Fils-Aime, who completed the cross-country run in 2015 and inspired this year’s event.

This 10-minute film was directed by Kevin Bennett and Andrew Campbell and released by The North Face, which sponsors Karnazes and Allen.

Want to Know What It Takes to Finish at Western States? Just Ask Hellah Sidibe.

Find out what happened when this six-year run streaker and HOKA Global Athlete Ambassador took on an iconic ultramarathon in California's Sierra Nevada