This man’s Strava must be unmatched.
A British man has become the first person in known history to run the entire length of Africa.
Russell Cook from West Sussex, England, began his 349-day and 19 million-step journey at the most southerly point of South Africa in April with the finish line marked in Tunisia.
Earlier today (Sunday, 7 April) the 27-year-old successfully completed his mission.
The run
Cook – who goes by the name ‘Hardest Geezer’ on X – originally planned to complete 360 marathons in 240 days, however, as a result of his health, visa problems and even being robbed at gunpoint, he ended up running even more – his total on his 345th day a whopping 376 marathons.
The route saw Cook run through multiple countries in Africa, including one he had ‘more warnings about safety than any other country on the route’ – Nigeria.
The runner previously told CNN he didn’t think there was any point worrying about any of the mission ‘until it’s right in your face’.
He added: “We can plan and try to mitigate as much as we can along the way but none of these things keep me up at night. Handle the day, wake up, and handle tomorrow.”
And thankfully, Cook has successfully made it to the finish line.
Why he did it
Cook ran the full length of Africa from south to north to raise donations for two charities – The Running Charity and Sandblast.
As per his donation page: “The Running Charity [is] a charity which harnesses the power of running to help people experiencing homelessness or managing complex needs.
“Sandblast [is] a charity providing educational events about Saharawi people and culture through the arts in the UK and creative and skills development projects in the Saharawi refugee camps to promote talent, knowledge, self-reliance and support links.
The outcome
In a post to his donation page last week, Cook said: “For so long the finish line has felt like some mystical event happening very far into the future so it’s pretty crazy to comprehend that it is now only single digit days away.
“This last year has been a mad one. A classic bit of type two fun with a generous sprinkle of type three. What a time to be alive.”
Not only has Cook since completed the eye-wateringly long mission but as of 5 April, he’d raised over £500,000 ($600,000) – which is 53 percent of his £1m ($1,200,000) target.
By the time he crossed the finish line, Russ had raised over £612,000 ($773,445) – and counting.
Speaking to Sky News afterwards, he admitted that he’s ‘a little bit tired’ and shared his intentions of treating himself to a well-deserved strawberry daiquiri.
