Running across the arid plains of Uzbekistan, Australian activist Mina Guli approached what was once the fourth largest lake in the world.
The Aral Sea, which spans across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, once housed landlocked fishing villages in central Asia back in 1960.
But as Ms Guli ran past the lake as part of a series of marathons – aimed at raising awareness for global water shortages - she saw a barren reserve and the rusted away metal shells of large fishing boats which currently stand as a warning of water mismanagement and drought.
“I will never forget running to the Aral Sea…it used to be a thriving, lively fishing village, the bank of the Aral Sea right now is 200km from that port. That space is now mud, dust, roads and barren nothingness,” she told SBS News.
Mina Guli runs pas the ship graveyard. Source: Mina Guli
“Just going to the Aral Sea and talking to the fisherman and local communities and understanding how it [water scarcity] has dramatically affected the fabric of their society.
“It made me realise that this is a future, that if we are not careful, we are going to replicate in the Dead Sea, Salt Lake and many other places around the world.”
Ms Guli set out on a mission on 4 November to run 100 marathons in 100 days to help shine a spotlight on the global water crisis.
Mina Guli meets with local cotton picker in Uzbekistan. Source: Mina Guli
Throughout her gruelling journey she has spearheaded a social media campaign and encouraged followers to watch through the hashtag ‘Running Dry’.
Injury halts marathon
So far, Ms Guli has completed 62 marathons – across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America - with each route carefully orchestrated so she can interact with think-tanks and locals in communities affected by water shortages.
Despite Ms Guli’s commitment to complete her goal, on day 62, her journey took a dramatic turn.
After feeling pain in her leg, the 48-year-old willed her body to finish multiple marathons with the help of walking sticks.
Mina Guli using walking sticks to complete a marathon due to injury between Mossel Bay and Riverdale in South Africa. Source: Mina Guli
But after the pain increased doctors told her a stress fracture in her femur had grown and she would not be able to compete in any more marathons if she ever wanted to run again.
“I was completely and utterly gutted. I won‘t cheat and say it was easy. I had some pretty dark times,” she said.
“For days I fought the pain. I was limping, I took out my walking sticks for the last two days," she added.
After struggling to come to terms with her injury, a talk with her mentor prompted her to realise that the end goal was to raise awareness for water scarcity, not complete 100 marathons.
“I sat there and I thought he is right. I never set out to do this because I wanted to run 100 marathons. I set out to do this because I wanted to show what it was like being 100 per cent committed,” she said.
“In my case it’s about changing how we think about water. It is not about destroying my body in a way that means I can’t do that anymore.”
Community donates kilometres towards goal
While Ms Guli’s resolve was being tested, she said the response to her predicament from her followers created hope.
“In that moment of darkness… something incredible started to happen. People started to tweet that they would donate the miles they would run for me and they would contribute towards my target.”
While Ms Guli is working hard to recover so she can complete the final marathon in New York, her team is running in her place to achieve the 100 marathons.
But the social media buzz around her journey has helped achieve her goal in raising awareness for global water shortages.
“It has become a global phenomenon, a global movement of people that are donating miles,” she said.
“This is the best gift I could ever have and it is the best thing I could have done for water. Because I can do whatever I can do to solve the water crisis, but what we really need is a community of people around the world prepared to work together to make it happen.”
‘Every drop counts’
Only three per cent of the world’s water is fresh water, and two-thirds of it tucked away in frozen glaciers.
Ms Guli us running to raise awareness for the 1.1 billion people who lack access to water. By 2030 the world’s demand for water will be 40 per cent greater than the supplies available. As Ms Guli says, the world is “literally #Running Dry”.
But as an Australian businesswoman, she understands drought is an issue that hits close to home.
“I grew up in Australia through 10 years of drought, so I always knew water was important. But what I didn’t really understand is the water crisis is completely urgent,” she said.
Mina Guli runs through Paris, France. Source: Mina Guli
“It wasn’t until 2011, 2012, when I began to talk to people about how water is used not only to give us the water we drink, but it goes into everything we use that we consume everyday, from the shoes we are wearing, to the pants, to the shirt.
“All the clothes you are wearing right now, took more water to make, than all the water you have drunk in your entire lifetime. The numbers are completely staggering.”
Ms Guli will land, with her team, in Australia this week to continue her campaign to #Save Every Drop. She finishers her campaign in New York on 11 February.
You can contribute to her campaign by using #RunningDry and #EveryDropCounts on social media.
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