#RunningDry community joins with Mina Guli on marathon 100

International water activist, Mina Guli’s #RunningDry movement came full circle on Monday 11 February, 100 days after Mina kicked off by running the New York Marathon. Having initially started as a solo campaign for Mina to run 100 marathons in 100 consecutive days around the world to raise awareness for the global water crisis, the campaign turned into a movement after marathon 62 when Mina fractured her femur and was no longer able to continue on her own. Thousands of people from more than 44 countries across all 7 continents banded together to cover the distance for Mina, logging a collective distance equal to the distance from the North to South Pole, whilst at the same time pledging to do what they can to save water.

The sport of running was used as a way to highlight water issues around the world. “Over the past 100 days we have seen first-hand the enormous impact on families, communities and economies when taps run dry. But we have also had the privilege of meeting incredible water heroes around the world who are 100 percent committed to helping save our most precious resource,” says Mina Guli.

Starting with the New York City Marathon on the 4th of November 2018, Mina ran a marathon every day, while travelling to run across Europe (UK, France, Italy), Uzbekistan, India, China, Hong Kong, Dubai, the Middle East (Jordan, Palestine, Israel), and South Africa where an acute fracture was identified in her femur. She then went on to Australia before heading back to the USA to finish the 100-day journey back where she started in New York.

“When I broke my leg in Cape Town someone told me an old African proverb – if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together – which perfectly sums up the #RunningDry movement,” says Mina. “Together we have created a movement for change - people around the world stepping up for water saving, and committing to making sure every drop counts.

“From India and China to Uzbekistan and the USA, it’s clear that we still have a lot of work to do. As a member of our community said ‘individually we can make an impact, but together we can change the world!’” says Mina. “Together we’re going to continue this campaign until our planet is no longer #RunningDry.”

Watch this space for an exciting initiative for World Water Day on the 22nd of March from the #RunningDry team. Please continue logging your kilometres for #RunningDry and pledging to do what you can to help save water.

To find out more about the #RunningDry campaign and to log your kilometres, visit Mina’s social media pages.
Website www.minaguli.com
Facebook Mina Guli
Twitter @MinaGuli
Instagram @minaguli

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ABOUT #RunningDry
Mina and #RunningDry are proudly supported by Colgate and Reebok, as well as the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. Other supporting organizations include the Global Water Partnership and the UN Development Programme.

ABOUT MINA GULI
The founder and CEO of Thirst, Mina Guli is a global leader, entrepreneur and adventurer passionate and committed to making a difference in the world. Following a 15-year career as a world leader in climate change that started with law, but progressed quickly to the World Bank and to co-founding boutique investment firm Peony Capital, Mina established Thirst – a non-profit that is solving the water crisis by changing the way we think about water.
To highlight the global water crisis, in 2016 Mina completed the 7 Deserts Run -- running the equivalent of 40 marathons across 7 deserts on 7 continents in 7 weeks. A self-confessed "non-runner", Mina told the stories of some of those affected by the crisis during the run. The success of the expedition encouraged Mina to undertake the 6 River Run in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6. She ran 40 marathons in 40 days down 6 of the world’s great rivers on 6 continents. With media coverage around the world, including on CNN, BBC, ITV, ABC and CCTV, Mina’s messages about water have reached more than 4 billion people, inspiring a generation of water heroes.
Mina has been recognised for her leadership: she has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Australia’s most influential women, and by Fortune Magazine in 2016 alongside Angela Merkel, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and the Pope as one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world.

ABOUT THIRST
The #RunningDry campaign is organized by Thirst, an international not-for-profit organization focused on educating and promoting action on and solutions to the water crisis. Since its launch in 2012, Thirst has educated more than 2 million students in China, has had more than 600,000 participants in its innovation competitions and now works with more than 1000 qualified volunteers and has the support of the Chinese Government.
Thirst founder and CEO Mina Guli will undertake the #RunningDry campaign.

Severe injury turns #RunningDry from a campaign into a movement as community rallies to run marathons and raise awareness about global water crisis with 100 marathons in 1 day

CAPE TOWN, January 22, 2019. Mina Guli’s vision for her 100 marathons in 100 days #RunningDry campaign was simple: to make saving water famous. Just over 2 weeks after announcing her injury on social media and completing 62 marathons in 62 days, this vision has become a reality with #RunningDry becoming a worldwide movement.

“The support I have received from around the world has been so humbling - and so inspiring,” says Mina. “I found out yesterday that my original injuries to my femur have become substantially worse!”

The global running and water communities have rallied around Mina and undertaken to complete the remaining marathons for her. They have already logged more than 8500 km of donated kilometres, which has seen #RunningDry trending on Twitter. “#RunningDry is about using the sport of running to get people around the world to pay attention to the water crisis happening around us,” explains Mina.

“I will honestly be forever grateful to every single person, young or old, walker or runner, for taking time out of their lives to help raise awareness for the global water crisis that we are facing,” says Mina. “I have always said that I want to make saving water so famous that it’s no longer the right thing to do, but the only thing to do. That dream is now becoming a reality!”

On Sunday 27 January, the #RunningDry community will attempt 100 marathons in 1 day - worldwide. 100 marathons in 1 day for 1 reason: water. To take part, supporters will simply run or walk a marathon (or part of a marathon) and log their distance on social media with the hashtag #RunningDry. The marathons will be taking place all over the world, linked together by #RunningDry. Supporters are encouraged to share water facts (available on Mina’s website) and invite their friends to join. To date, the biggest running day has logged 1800km for #RunningDry (42 marathons), so 4200km in one day is an ambitious goal - but one that Mina feels certain the community will rise to.

“There’s an African proverb that says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ Well, I’ve gone about as far as I can alone. The next 25 days of #RunningDry are all about collective action.”

Even more committed to the cause since sustaining her injury, Mina will be traveling to the USA from Australia, where she will be spreading her #RunningDry message, as well as meeting with communities already affected by the water crisis and water heroes searching for solutions to this crisis.

To find out more about the #RunningDry campaign and to log your kilometres, visit Mina’s social media pages.
Website www.minaguli.com
Facebook Mina Guli
Twitter @MinaGuli
Instagram @minaguli

Startupbootcamp (SBC) Cape Town and RCS Group have announced a water-saving hackathon to be held on 9 and 10 February to commission technology from the wider Cape community in a bid to push back Day Zero.

The H2O (Hack Two Day Zero) event will host executives from Old Mutual, Nedbank, RCS, Woolworths Financial Services and PwC to engage with entrepreneurs, students, concerned citizens and local government.

“We are in the midst of a water crisis in the Western Cape and with the implications of Day Zero fast approaching there will be wide-spread impacts. The onus is not only on the individual to conserve water, but as corporates we have a responsibility to collectively apply our minds to this challenge facing the society which we operate in. Hosting a Hackathon purely focusing on the water crisis was the perfect opportunity for RCS to show both support and desire to address this issue. At RCS we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation and we believe in the agility of tech startups to make a difference. It is therefore our ambition that the event may lead to finding valuable and feasible solutions for both companies and individuals,” states Regan Adams, CEO of the RCS Group.

Hackathon participants will have two days to pitch their ideas, form teams and create prototypes under the guidance of corporate sponsors.By holding events in more than 100 cities each year, SBC supports the world’s most talented founders with hands-on mentorship and access to key industry connections. SBC is known for growing and scaling innovative solutions to modern challenges within the African continent. The cohort strives to solve pertinent issues such as the water crisis by embracing new technology and ideas.

“By creating an environment to collectively pool ideas together, we believe this hackathon can ensure that both short term and long-term solutions can be designed to deal with the crisis. We encourage everyone who has a desire to make an impact to join. By bringing ideas and skills together, we can make a difference,” said Paul Nel, Chief Partnership Officer and CFO of Startupbootcamp Cape Town.

The current dam levels for Cape Town are 26.5%. If dam levels continue to drop, day zero could be a reality by 12 April.When Cape Town dam levels drop to 13.5%, the city will begin to shut down its reticulation system in residential areas.If you or anyone you know has a tech-based idea or solution to solve the problems the water crisis is causing, this hackathon may help you get your prototype produced.

“For the winning team, there will be a cash prize, with an added incentive of building the solutions designed if they are believed they will make the impact we envision,” states Paul Nel.

If you are interested in participating in the event, please sign up here.

RCS will open their corporate offices in Golf Park to host the event which will be managed and coordinated by the SBC Cape Town team.

About Startupbootcamp

Startupbootcamp is a global network of industry focused startup accelerators currently running 21 programs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Cape Town, Chengdu, Copenhagen, Dubai, Istanbul, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, New York, Rome, and Singapore. The cohort has a track record of generating innovative solutions for Smart Cities.

About RCS Group

The RCS Group (RCS) is a leading consumer finance business that offers its customers a range of financial service products under their own brand name, in association with a number of leading retailers in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. RCS collaborates with its retail partners as BNP Paribas Personal Finance South Africa. 

INFORMATION:

Dates and Times:

• 9 February          15:00 – 18:00
• 10 February        08:00 – 18:30

Venue: RCS Group Head Office opposite Mowbray Golf Club, 1 Raapenburg Road, Cape Town, 7700                        

For more information on the Hackathon, to sign up or if you have any additional queries, please contact:

Nsovo: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mo: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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For more information about this press release, please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237