Mina Guli
Guli's #RunningDry challenge took her around the world in 100 days.
- Mina Guli is the 48-year-old CEO of Thirst, a non-profit initiative that encourages young people to use water more sustainably.
- To raise awareness about the global water crisis, Guli embarked on a mission to run 100 marathons around the world in 100 days.
- By day 62, Guli was saddled with a severe injury, but continued to press on with the campaign.
At age 48, Mina Guli embarked on a quest to run 100 marathons in 100 days.
As the CEO of Thirst, an international non-profit initiative that encourages young people to use water more sustainably, Guli wanted a dramatic way to raise awareness of the global water crisis. By traveling to countries that had endured dangerous water shortages and running a marathon in each place, Guli hoped to call attention to similarities between water-starved communities like Flint, Michigan, and drought-ridden areas like Cape Town, South Africa.
She admits, though, that the challenge verged on insane - and doctors advised against it. Her route began with the New York City Marathon on November 4, 2018 and took her through six continents. She woke up at 4:30 a.m. each morning to run 26-plus miles, then spent the rest of the day traveling, touring, and speaking to local residents.
Nearly two-thirds of the way into her journey, Guli found herself in a wheelchair at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. A crippling injury had reduced her to tears by the end of her 62nd marathon. Her body had given out, and she was carried to the car by her medical team.
"We knew that something bad was happening," she told Business Insider. "I was in a huge amount of pain all week, truth be told. Me being me, I was ignoring it."
Her endurance had reached its limit, and Guli had fractured her femur. If she kept running, doctors said, the bone would break all the way through. Guli decided to stop running but continue traveling to call attention to the water crisis.
On February 11, she crossed the finish line at the same place she started in Central Park, this time on crutches. Here's what her journey looked like.