Announcing The Seine River Run

Mina Guli to run the entire river ahead of the Paris Olympics

In the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, globally renowned water advocate, Mina Guli, will be running the length of the Seine from source to sea to showcase the river’s restoration following a EUR 1.4 billion investment – and call on other cities and countries to restore their rivers. WWF is backing her epic feat and the call to accelerate efforts to restore our rivers to help tackle the climate and nature crises, and drive sustainable development.

Paris, June 24 - Mina Guli, the globally renowned water and environmental advocate, is returning to France for her next epic feat – running 20 marathons in a month (June 5-July 4) along the Seine from source to sea, to highlight the importance of healthy rivers and call for urgent action to restore degraded rivers across the globe.

While completing 200 marathons in 1 year for water during the first phase of Run Blue in 2022-23, Mina was the first runner to complete the course of the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon, where she was welcomed by Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Sport, the Olympics and the Seine.

 With the support of the Mairie de Paris, owner of the Source-Seine commune land where the river is born, Mina is now returning to Paris to run 848km in 30 days ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics to draw attention to the considerable efforts being made to clean up the Seine and the need for all cities and countries to restore their rivers to help tackle water, climate and nature crises.  

“Mina runs ridiculous distances because it’s ridiculous that we continue to degrade rivers across the world instead of restoring them,” said Stuart Orr, WWF’s Global Freshwater Lead. “Mina’s message is clear: cities and countries should restore the rivers that flow through them because healthy rivers are central to enhancing water and food security, reversing nature loss and adapting to climate change. Restoring rivers is essential to a brighter, sustainable future.”

Mina’s run along the Seine will be the first time someone has run from Source la Seine to Le Havre. It is also the prologue to the next phase of the RunBlue campaign – the ‘World River Run’, during which Mina run thousands of kilometres in 2025-26 along iconic rivers on six continents to raise awareness of the crisis facing the world's rivers and to inspire governments, businesses and communities to take action to protect and restore them.

Healthy rivers are central to enhancing water and food security, reversing nature loss and adapting to the worsening impacts of climate change, particularly the increasing numbers of extreme floods and droughts.

Healthy rivers are also essential for human health and well-being – and are critical to making life in cities more liveable in the era of climate change.

Mina Guli said: “I am running the entire Seine to spotlight the immense efforts being made to clean up the river. It shows that we can do the hard work of restoration when we truly value healthy rivers. A cleaner, healthier Seine will benefit people and nature all along the river. But as the world gathers in Paris for the Olympic Games, it also sends a crystal clear message far beyond France. It shows the importance of restoring our rivers, which are the arteries of our planet – connecting land and sea, sustaining rural communities and mega-cities, underpinning our societies and economies, and sustaining extraordinary biodiversity.

About Thirst Foundation

Thirst Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness, bringing urgency to stakeholders and delivering meaningful action on clean water. Established in 2012, Thirst's mission is to close the gap in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal number 6, which is to ensure that every person around the world has access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Thirst runs inspirational, out-of-the-box campaigns to put water at the heart of the world's agenda. Thirst is the organising body that conceives, plans and realises Mina Guli's work. For more information, visit thirstfoundation.org

 About WWF (World Wildlife Fund)

For over 60 years, WWF has been working to help people and nature thrive.

As the world's leading nature conservation organisation, WWF works in nearly 100 countries. At every level, WWF works with people around the world to develop and deliver

innovative solutions that protect the communities, wildlife and places in which they live. WWF works to help local communities conserve the natural resources conserve the natural resources on which they depend; transform markets and policies towards sustainability; and protect and restore species and their habitats.