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World Water Day

World Water Day

March 22

water

March 22, 2026

Today, billions of people are still living without safe water – their households, schools, workplaces, farms and factories struggling to survive and thrive.

Marginalized groups – women, children, refugees, indigenous peoples, disabled people and many others – are often overlooked, and sometimes face discrimination, as they try to access and manage the safe water they need.

The annual World Water Day on 22nd March is about tackling the water crisis by addressing the reasons why so many people are being left behind.

Water is an essential building block of life. It is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development.

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World Water Relay

Mar 22, 2025

Mar 22, 2025

This World Water Day, March 22, 2025, Run Blue is hosting a global relay for one shared goal: a water-secure future World Water Relay From sunrise in New Zealand to sunset in the United States, runners throughout the world will pass the ‘virtual baton’, creating a powerful, 24-hour movement for water awareness. Water advocate Mina Guli invites you to make history together to keep the spirit of the World Water Run alive. Gather your community and run for change. Sign up as a Run Leader and organise a World Water Relay run in your area. Once registered, you’ll get everything...

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Seine River Run - Mina Guli

Jun 5, 2024

Source-Seine, France

Jul 4, 2024

Le Havre, France

Mina Guli started from Source-Seine, France, on June 5th and finished this incredible 800K journey in Le Havre on July 4th, 2024:“Over 30 days, I ran the equivalent of 20 marathons, navigating through diverse landscapes, from forests, fields, and farms to industrial and urban centers, including the heart of Paris. It was a grueling challenge that was made even more difficult because of how unfit I was going into it. I had a bad injury in February which meant I couldn’t run until May… and even then, I only ran about 40km a week until the Seine River Run kicked...

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World Water Run

Mar 16, 2023

Mar 22, 2023

Every year the UN hosts the international World Water Day on 22 March. This year’s theme is groundwater. Groundwater is the water found underground in cracks and spaces between soil, sand, and rock. It’s stored there, and then slowly moves through formations called aquifers. Groundwater may not be visible but it has a significant impact on our climate, agriculture, and economy. Our planet’s survival depends on it, if we work together to raise awareness for this precious resource we will sustain it for generations to come. We want to do this community event in celebration of groundwater and the innovative...

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Run Blue - Mina Guli

Mar 22, 2022

Uluru, Australia

Mar 22, 2023

New York, NY, USA

On World Water Day, March 22, 2022, Thirst Foundation founder and CEO, Mina Guli launched RUN BLUE from Uluru, Australia, by running the first of 200 marathons in one year to draw attention to the global water crisis. RUN BLUE is an audacious global campaign uniting and empowering businesses, organizations, governments and people to drive awareness, create urgency and take action on water. A self-confessed non-runner, Guli says water-related challenges are worsening and becoming more urgent, “Everyone is affected by water. Together, we all have a responsibility to help solve the global water crisis.” “The gap between the supply of...

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Virtual World Wetlands Run

Feb 2, 2022

Feb 5, 2022

For years we have been aware that our forests are dying off through human intervention, but wetlands are actually disappearing three times as fast as forests. We urgently need to address behaviours that are contributing to their decline, especially because currently wetlands are a massive aid against the carbon causing climate change. Our wetlands are disappearing. In 2022 Mina Guli invited people to run to raise awareness and spread the word about these precious water bodies! The World Wetlands Run started on World Wetlands Day and was held in collaboration with WWF, Ramsar, Wetlands International, International Water Management Institute, and...

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Run4Rivers

Jun 3, 2020

Jun 3, 2020

Dedicate your run to a river! The newest project of Water advocate Mina Guli is here.Join her on global running day Wednesday June 3rd to remember our connection to nature. Rivers are the arteries of our planet. They provide us with water for drinking, washing, irrigation, and so much more. Freshwater fish feed hundreds of millions. River sediment keeps deltas above the rising seas. The diverse values of healthy rivers sustain our societies and economies. And all life on earth. But our rivers are under threat, from dams, pollution, over-extraction and climate change. Read the WWF’s report on Valuing Rivers....

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100 MARATHONS IN 100 DAYS - Mina Guli

Nov 4, 2018

New York, NY, USA

Feb 11, 2019

New York, NY, USA

Water advocate and ultra-runner Mina Guli took on an epic challenge to shine a spotlight on the global water crisis: Mina’s challenge started at the New York City Marathon on the 4th of November, before heading off to run across Europe (UK, France, Italy), Uzbekistan, India, China, Hong Kong, Dubai, the Middle East (Jordan, Palestine, Israel) and South Africa. She then headed to Australia before crossing the USA and finishing her 100-day journey back where she started in New York on the 11th of February. #RunningDry is a call to each of us to save water and to join together...

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6 River Run

Mar 22, 2017

Las Vegas, USA

Apr 30, 2017

London, UK

Mina Guli is a water campaigner and ultra-runner. She is the founder of Thirst, a China-based non-profit that educates children on invisible water. She is also a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Global Goal 6 is focused on ensuring water and sanitation for all.Clean, safe, accessible water for all is the most pressing issue of our world faces today. Water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation affects people’s lives, livelihoods, food security, choices and future. The UN has adopted a wide-reaching set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as...

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7 Deserts Run - Mina Guli

Feb 1, 2016

Tabernas Desert, Spain

Mar 22, 2016

Mojave Desert, USA

On February 1, 2016, after 6 months of preparation, Mina Guli’s 7 Deserts Run started to save the world’s water. “Amidst the global water crisis, it has become essential for us to rethink our virtual water footprint.Small lifestyle changes can have a significant impact!” “A world first – this involved me running 40 marathons across seven deserts on seven continents in just seven weeks. All for one reason – water. Why 40 marathons? To represent the 40% shortfall in the supply of water which is forecast by 2030. It was an epic and incredible adventure. I discovered the sheer enormity...

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Running water - Abraham Clark

Feb 15, 2010

Oceanside, CA, USA

Jun 30, 2010

Atlantic City, NY, USA

On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Port au Prince, Haiti leaving 220,000 dead and the remaining 86% to live in slum conditions. A month later 23 year old Abraham Clark set out to fulfill his dream of becoming the 15th person to run across America solo and unsupported. He ran to raise funds to help the country recover. Abe began his 136-day journey on February 15 in Oceanside, California, crossing 15 states in the process for an average of 25 miles per day, which equals more than 110 marathons on a row. He completed his 2,960-mile run...

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Ryan’s Well Foundation

Ryan’s Well Foundation is a Canadian charitable organization providing effective and sustainable solutions to the water crisis in the poorest regions of the world’s developing countries. The Foundation grew from the passion and courage of one 6-year-old boy, Ryan Hreljac. Ryan was inspired to take action as a grade one student when he learned of the devastating consequences for people without access to safe drinking water. He was remarkably determined as he succeeded in rallying his community to help him raise the funds needed to build one well in Uganda, Africa, one well that has changed everything. Now, more than...

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WaterAid

Clean water (as well as toilets and good hygiene!) are what keep us all healthy. They should be a normal part of daily life for everyone, everywhere – but they aren’t. We’re in a position to change that. With the help of amazing people like you, we’re working in some of the toughest places in the world. Together, we’ve already reached millions of people with these three essentials, enabling entire communities to stay healthy, to unlock their potential, break free from poverty and change their lives for good. And while installing taps and toilets is essential to our work, we do...

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Thirst Foundation

Changing the way we think about water. The founder and CEO of the Thirst Foundation, Mina Guli, is a global leader, entrepreneur and adventurer, passionate and committed to making a difference in the world. Following a 15-year successful career as a world leader in climate change, including cofounding Peony Capital – a company that provides capital and knowledge to Chinese companies to help them mitigate their impact on the environment – Mina established the Thirst Foundation, an organizational initiative of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum, to inform, inspire and educate 14-24 year olds about water and the...

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Living Water International

Water is the foundation of all sustainable development. It impacts every aspect of life: hygiene and sanitation, mental and social well-being, justice issues for women and children, education, the economy, and the environment. Yet 703 million people lack basic access to water, trapped in a cycle of poverty when their most essential human need is inaccessible. We build thriving communities by linking arms with individuals, church congregations, and communities to end the global water crisis by cultivating sustainable water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs. Safe Water Since the very beginning, water provision has been the cornerstone of our work...

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Water.org

Safe water protects and saves livesWater.org has helped empower more than 76 million people with access to safe water or sanitation. We believe water is the best investment the world can make to improve health, help empower women, enable access to education, increase family income, and change lives. Yet 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water. We’re working to change this. Water.org is a global nonprofit organization working to bring water and sanitation to the world. For millions around the world, access to funds stands between them and safe water and sanitation in their homes. That’s where Water.org comes...

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