Mina Guli crossed a finish line in Los Angeles this week after running more than 2,000 miles along the length of the Colorado River, tracing its path from a trickle in the Rockies to the city that depends on its water. The journey, part of a campaign called Keep the River Running, was meant to put a human face on a river system that scientists and water managers say is running dangerously low.
A 2,000-Mile Finish Line in Los Angeles
Guli described the moment on LinkedIn, writing, “Today, 2,000 miles later, I crossed the finish line in Los Angeles.” According to Grundfos, she formally concluded her journey at the final Colorado River Basin Summit in Los Angeles on September 17. The exact length of the run is described two different ways in the record: Guli herself wrote on LinkedIn that “90 days ago, I stood beside a tiny trickle at the source of the Colorado River in the Rockies,” while a report from Yahoo Finance put the figure at 92 days, describing the 55-year-old as having run “over 2,000 miles in 92 days from the river's source in Colorado to Los Angeles.”
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was among those publicly marking the milestone. In a post on X, Gallego wrote, “Congrats @minaguli on an incredible accomplishment! Thanks for helping bring attention to an issue that matters so much to all of us here in the Southwest.” The mayor's account, which describes itself as the official account for the mayor of America's fifth largest city, tagged Guli along with Grundfos, the Metropolitan Water District and Jason Morrison, and used the hashtag #KeepTheRiverRunning.
Why the Campaign Started
The Keep the River Running campaign launched on June 16, backed by Guli, the Thirst Foundation, Grundfos and the Water Resilience Coalition, pairing the run with a series of cross-sector summits on the river's water crisis. The first of those gatherings, organized by Guli's nonprofit Thirst, was held in Denver on June 18, according to Inside Climate News. Additional regional summits followed in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles, where stakeholders discussed water efficiency, reuse, infrastructure and cross-sector collaboration, per Grundfos.
The stakes behind the run are significant. The Colorado River supports more than 40 million people across the American West and generates $1.4 trillion in economic activity each year, according to Guli's campaign site. Yahoo Finance reported that as the river's flow dwindles, its reservoirs have hit record lows, threatening power generation at the Hoover Dam and agriculture across the basin.
Drought, Wildfires and a River Under Strain
Guli's own campaign materials describe reservoirs at historic lows, with years of drought showing no sign of ending and demand for the Colorado's water continuing to outpace supply. Grundfos similarly points to growing water demand, increasing water stress and aging infrastructure as ongoing pressures on the basin's limited resources.
The conditions Guli ran through were extreme even by the river's already dire standards. Inside Climate News reported that this year's warm temperatures and record-low snowpack combined to stoke devastating wildfires, while water demand and allocations have outstripped what the river can provide as the drying climate reduces its flows. The Walton Family Foundation put it bluntly, noting the river “is drier than it should be — the result of historic snowpack deficits and chronic overuse.” The foundation also noted that Guli has completed more than 300 marathons in some of the harshest conditions on the planet across four major initiatives, giving context to the physical toll of this latest run.
What Comes Next for the Campaign
Guli has said the crossing in Los Angeles is not the end of the effort. “I have crossed the finishing line but this is not the end of the campaign: the journey goes on,” she wrote, a sentiment relayed through Yahoo Finance's reporting. According to that same report, the campaign's shared plan going forward will prioritize water efficiency and waste reduction, freshwater habitat restoration, equitable water and sanitation access, and source-water protection.
On LinkedIn, Guli reflected on the scale of what she had just done, writing that progress came one step at a time until “one mile became 2,000 miles,” and adding that “when we work together, even the hardest things become possible.” She also thanked her team, the people who shared their stories and knowledge along the way, and the strangers who met her with kindness and generosity, before saying she planned to turn the campaign's momentum into action for the river and the more than 40 million people who depend on it.
