From 200 marathons to 2,000 miles: Mina Guli’s mission to restore our water

In March 2022, when Mina Guli announced her goal to complete 200 marathons in a single year, my immediate reaction as a runner was a mix of awe and scepticism. It felt like a feat far better imagined than lived. Yet, from Australia to Europe and Africa to the Americas, the Run Blue campaign took her across 32 countries and seven continents. True to her relentless spirit, through injuries and sheer physical exhaustion, she did it. On World Water Day – March 22, 2023 – she crossed her final finish line at the UN headquarters in New York as the first global United Nations Water Conference in nearly half a century was kicking off.

By 2024, while her body was still in recovery, Mina found her next challenge: the Seine. It was a sprint against time; starting on June 5th, World Environment Day, her River Seine run 30-day campaign took her through the entire 848-kilometre length of the French river. Her mission was simple but urgent: to spotlight global water vulnerability just before the spotlight of the 2024 Olympic Games took over Paris.

For context, many people didn’t know that the River Seine was declared ecologically dead in the 1970s. Decades of intentional restoration transformed it so profoundly that it hosted the Olympic opening ceremonies.

Now, in the summer of 2026, the 55-year-old ultra-runner and global water advocate is staring down her most challenging terrain yet. Mina will run along the Colorado River, tracing it from its alpine cradle high in the Rocky Mountains down to the parched, arid desert where the river runs dry. 2,000 miles (roughly 3,218 kilometres) to be covered by foot in 100 days!

The Colorado River is believed to drive roughly $1.4 trillion in economic activity every year. It sustains modern cities, irrigates vast farmlands, and supplies water to over 40 million people. Yet, demand continuously outpaces supply, leaving reservoirs at historic lows. Scientists are no longer warning us about a future crisis; they are telling us the river has hit its breaking point.

I remember Mina’s response when I wrote to her a few months ago. I had asked her to be part of SIWI’s Water In Communications 2026 programme that I was leading. She had to turn down the invitation, mentioning that she was gearing up for the Keep the River Running campaign. Even then, I didn’t quite grasp the sheer gravity of what she meant.

Right now, I am pursuing my own goal of running 12 marathons this year. Trust me, it is hard. Each marathon drains me, as it will drain Mina. Two thousand miles translates to nearly 77 marathons in 100 days, right through the dead heat of summer. And this year’s summer is at an unseen peak, so FIFA introduced two hydration breaks in each World Cup football match.

Mina, who has consistently pushed the boundaries of human endurance for a cause that connects us all: water, has described this as “the longest and most challenging river run of my life”, and she isn’t exaggerating. Her intent cuts straight through the noise: “I run because I want the world not only to see the crisis but also to take action to solve it.”

This isn’t a publicity stunt or a simple test of athletic grit. It is a moving documentary on two feet. As Mina moves along the route, she will be meeting the communities, local leaders, and frontline workers who are actively fighting to salvage the river’s future. Her journey captures the very essence of what it means to carry a global crisis on your shoulders – the urgency, the frontline resilience, and the stubborn hope that keeps people moving forward.

Mile by gruelling mile, I will follow Mina’s progress this summer, and I will be running two or three marathons of my own, trying to contribute. But this can be a collective challenge. You don’t need to lace up running shoes to participate. There are a hundred different ways to confront a truth we desperately try to avoid: water scarcity isn’t a distant, abstract threat. It is here. It is now. It is ours.

It feels impossible. It sounds unbelievable. And yet, step by step, Mina is proving it can be done.

And with these reflections, I pose a question to you: What will you do to put the spotlight on water, climate, education, health, security – or on any other issue you care deeply about?

Seyifunmi Adebote is an environment and communication professional and the host of the Climate Talk Podcast. He can be reached via [email protected].