An Australian water advocate and ultra runner began a 2,000-mile run along the Colorado River this summer, starting at its headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park and tracing the waterway through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Mexico, and California. The journey is set to cover the entire length of the river in 100 days.
At the headwaters, she found herself moving through a bright green meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park, surrounded by mountains that should have had more snowpack. Small channels no wider than a hand joined together to form a modest bubbling stream — the start of the Colorado River and the start of her journey.
Mina Guli founded the water nonprofit Thirst Foundation in 2012 and has lived through "incredible drought" growing up in Australia. She previously ran 200 marathons in one year ahead of the 2023 UN Water Conference to raise awareness on global water stress, and is now running close to a marathon a day for 100 days for the Colorado River. The river supports $1.4 trillion of economic activity, and over 40 million people depend on its water.
The conditions along the route have underscored the urgency of her message. About 95% of the Colorado River Basin is currently in a drought, according to the national drought monitor, and the river's two largest reservoirs — Lake Powell and Lake Mead — are expected to reach new historic lows every day until spring, according to an analysis from Colorado River experts. She stood at Lake Powell and observed the water level the equivalent of a multi-story building below where it should be, and crisscrossed the river on foot where she had expected to packraft.
Wildfires driven by drought conditions have added further complications to the route. She was forced to reroute because of the Snyder Fire, which forced evacuations from the river corridor and charred more than 30,000 acres near the Colorado-Utah border, and then again for the Babylon Fire in Utah, one of the country's largest wildfires so far this year at more than 107,000 acres. Running around the Babylon Fire, she and her crew could see the red blaze at night and "nuclear mushroom clouds" of smoke during the day.
The physical toll of the journey has been considerable. Her feet are blistered, she has faced challenges with altitude after coming from sea level, and day after day she has run through triple-digit, "diabolical" heat, with little relief in her tent at night. She has described how long-distance endurance events create emotional vulnerability through exhaustion, with physical, mental, and emotional breakdowns all part of the experience.
Along the way, she has spoken with farmers, ranchers, raft guides, and anglers. All of them, she said, conveyed the same message: "the river is in a dire place, and that means that their businesses are suffering." Throughout the journey, she has been taking the stories she hears to people in power through summits that bring together policymakers, scientists, water managers, Tribal leaders, and business stakeholders.
More than 30 days into her journey, she entered the Grand Canyon, where extreme heat requires hiking through the night and carrying everything on her back — conditions she said will demand skills she is still learning. Whether she completes the full 100-day route on schedule remains to be seen.