Advocate kicks off 1,687 km river run

LAS VEGAS - Last time she ran 40 marathons in a row, Mina Guli wore out eight pairs of shoes. Now she is trying it a second time.

The 46-year-old Australian set off on Wednesday morning in Las Vegas on the first leg of 40-day, multicontinent journey. She hopes to inspire people to safeguard the world's freshwater supplies over the course of a 1,687-kilometer run, loosely following the banks of six major rivers.

The start of Guli's effort coincided with Wednesday's World Water Day on the UN calendar. Guli runs Thirst, an international charity that seeks to raise awareness of water-scarcity issues.

Last year, Guli finished an even longer run that covered 1,698 kilometers across seven continents.

Guli said both runs are to raise awareness of the amount of water that goes into consumer goods.

After running along the Colorado, Guli will go on to the Amazon, then Murray River in Australia, China's Yangtze River, then the Nile, before finally finishing on the Thames April 30.

"Honestly the whole thing is a huge challenge," Guli said. "But every time that I think that, I think about the reality of the water crisis, and how big that challenge is. What I'm doing is small in comparison."

(China Daily 03/24/2017 page11)