Running 8,400 kilometers against the invisible water crisis: "I know that what I do is totally ridiculous, but my purpose is to tell stories"

Running 8,400 kilometers in a year to make the invisible water crisis visible.

Or what is the same to repeat the feat of Pheidippides, the Greek messenger, up to 35 times in the form of 200 marathons to send a message to the world: "

Decisions must be made and actions taken without delay."

On this occasion, the protagonist of the feat is Mina Guli, CEO of the Thirsty Foundation, and her

enas

It is the United Nations World Assembly on Water, which will be held on March 22-24 in New York.

"There I hope that we will be able not only to raise awareness of the problem that exists due to the scarcity of water resources, but also to make real and tangible decisions in the short term."

This 53-year-old Australian,

, emphasizes that "in the World Economic Forum Global Risk Assessment [held this week in Davos, Switzerland] most of the top ten risks are related to water."

Mina Guli sat down with EL MUNDO last Wednesday after her 158th marathon in Madrid to explain her project and how she is going to take it to the world,

through his intervention on March 23 at the UN

.

The water crisis is a pressing problem that in first world countries goes unnoticed.

This week's editorial from the scientific journal

draws attention back to the matter.

Put the accent on the

or the 1,700 million without basic sanitation.

"

.

Even more so at a time when huge investments are being made in instant video calls, personalized medicine and conversations about inhabiting other planets."

Running to draw attention to the crisis

The journalist Vassos Alexander analyzed in

(Ed. Bloomsbury) why long distances are run: the adrenaline, the landscapes... Something that 'hooks'.

"You don't have to be a professional athlete to run long distances. After all, it's just about running. And running. And not stopping. How hard can it be?"

Guli's purpose is to draw attention to a problem that requires immediate action and insists:

". For her it's only kilometers; her legs will have already overcome the distance that she will add with the 200 marathons in March 2023.

They are just figures.

But in the context of the 'invisible' water crisis

.

The UN estimates that

as a consequence of unsafe water, insufficient sanitation or poor hand hygiene.

The

could be prevented each year if these risk factors were addressed.

Where water is not accessible, washing your hands is not a priority (remember how many times this gesture was insisted on during two years of the pandemic), which increases the probability of spreading diarrhea and other diseases.

, that water is necessary in each and every one of the daily actions that we carry out.

We are not aware that it is needed to make iPhones, clothes... And

".

And that is your goal.

.

How many does it take?

"When March arrives I will confirm it. It is not about generating hope, I work more with real expectations. Changes with impact must be achieved."

One of his sponsors is the pharmaceutical company Bayer.

"They have become aware and have optimized the use of this resource in their processes."

His face reflects, without a doubt, the traces of the kilometers he has traveled: tanned by extreme conditions, cold and heat.

His eyes shine and get emotional when he recalls any of the experiences.

"

A week ago I was meeting farmers in central India.

A week before, we were doing it with communities in Vietnam, where we analyzed the illegal extraction of sand from the Mekong.

And before that, in Bolivia, farmers told me about the impact of water scarcity in the mountains."

Mina Guli in Madrid last week after completing the 158 marathon.

EFE

Without water, there is no planet Earth.

But a poor quality of it generates disease.

In 2017, more than 220 million people required preventive treatment for schistosomiasis, a serious and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms contracted by exposure to infested water.

Cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid fever and polio

They top the list of diseases caused by contaminated water and poor sanitation.

Waterborne infectious diseases claim up to 3.2 million lives annually, equivalent to

.

Managing resources well also means putting tools into prevention so that water does not become the start of a new pandemic.

Insects that live or breed in this environment are carriers and transmitters of diseases such as

.

.

Redefine the limits

The Australian's dream was to be a doctor.

And she couldn't.

While she is not going to create a cure for these diseases, she is going to try to prevent them from arising.

"

". About how someone who ran away from sports activities in his childhood came to travel long distances in extreme conditions (he has traveled seven deserts on seven continents) has its explanation in an unfortunate accident in a swimming pool. The injury to his back, according to the doctors, would prevent him from running.Today it sounds ironic.

Mina Guli redefined her limits, something that has become a constant in her life.

The Australian has a bracelet with the motto of the athlete

: "No Human Is Limited".

She met him on one of his visits to Kenya because he also champions projects with an impact on the environment.

.

The more limits we create, the more artificial barriers we make."

when he started with

Project

I didn't think I was capable of doing it.

"I was a weak girl; how was she going to cover so many kilometers?"

Simple, with a simple philosophy: step by step, kilometer by kilometer.

Surely it reminds more than one of the "game by game".

Or also to the professional long-distance runner,

who collects in his book

(Ed. Geoplaneta): "We are all made to run, you just have to put one foot after the other."

And that's what Guli does.

"I don't go out for a run and think about how many I have left, 41, 40... It's easier the other way around, I've already had two, three... and I enjoy the run".

What goes through Mina Guli's mind when she runs?

He smiles, perhaps recalling some moments.

"Today, for example, while I was watching from the Casa de Campo the

from Madrid, I wondered: What is happening in Davos?

How do we get them to talk about water?

How do we get the Spanish government to do it?

How do we craft a really concrete commitment to leadership at the United Nations Water Summit in March?

How do we make Madrid change?

Looking to the horizon, I think, how can we get this city to commit to saving water?"

With everything,

.

Also his foray into the world of climate change was unexpected.

Unable to pursue a medical degree, he graduated with a law degree from Monash University and began working at a Melbourne firm.

His projects were in the field of privatization and investment in infrastructure.

In his free time, he would swim, ride his bike, and go jogging.

He took up swimming after a back injury to rehabilitate, and then one thing led to another.

One day the opportunity arose to work on the project

(a futures and options trading platform), she took it since no one at her company wanted to.

And she became an expert, at a time when she had not developed so much on the subject.

"We have to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. Once my mother was shopping and someone told her that she had a very lucky daughter. She replied that it was not luck, it is hard work and the will to take advantage of the opportunities that are offered to us. ".

Perseverance in your goals.

;

that

, ponds, rivers or streams.

"We can tackle these big big targets. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set out for everyone in his country to have access to safe drinking water and sanitation. And right now he has achieved 56-57%. It seems A small number, but considering that they had very little before, it's a great achievement and they are slowly concentrating on moving step by step towards their goal. We shouldn't be afraid to set big goals."

And it doesn't have to be an easy road.

In the context of a marathon, Guli will have finished his second 42 kilometers in Madrid today, the 155th marathon, perhaps we would be at one of the key moments: the dreaded wall.

It is said that it is the moment in which the body begins to experience fatigue, a critical moment that leads many to abandon or make wrong decisions in the refreshments.

The Australian will have passed hundreds of them.

"

". But, after a pause, the expression of disgust turns into one of joy. "

".

That physical fatigue fights with mental strength

.

Having had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the problems caused by the lack of water in many parts of the planet and to have interacted with the protagonists who face it every day is its leitmotif.

"

Perhaps they are doing the best they can, but it may also not be enough and more needs to be done.

More because otherwise, how do I respond to those women and girls who see how the inland oceans dry up before their eyes?

Whose groundwater supplies are so contaminated that they can no longer be used?

What do I say to farmers who have been irrigating their crops for years, all sustainably, and now there is no more water?"

Many runners enjoy it, but she confesses that she suffers and has a hard time.

.

And ensure that the scarcity of water or its contamination is not a problem ". Let's hope that his message arrives on time and permeates the Water Assembly on March 23.

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