A young man named Russ Cook from London has become the first person to run the entire length of the African continent.
Popularly known as the ‘Hardest Geezer’, Cook began from the southernmost point of Africa Cape Agulhas in South Africa on April 22, 2023. And now he has finally crossed the finish line in the most northern point of the African continent Ras Angela in Tunisia on Sunday, April 03, 2024 for a total of 352 days.
The Englishman has covered a total of 16,000 km, he crossed 16 countries just by running the distance of around 376 marathons. Making the record was not that easy but has taken a lot of efforts to make it.
During the marathon, Cook and his team were robbed in Angola at the gunpoint. Their cameras, phones and passports all were stolen.
On the 200th day, Russ Cook was forced to decrease his mileage and intensity at a doctor’s request in Nigeria. The consecutive days, such as 205 and 206, were also missed, and upon examination, the doctors found blood and protein in his urine.
After that in January, he turned to social media for the help to get a visa to cross the border from Mauritania into Algeria.
As per the sources, Russ Cook faced his biggest scare in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There he simply went missing and was kidnapped by the local villagers who were armed with machetes.
They did not release him until his supporters managed to come up with the ransom that freed the Hardest Geezer.
As after some days Cook gained the support and was able to raise more than $750K for two charities. On completion of his journey Russ Cook said once, “I’m a bit tired.”
Notably, Cook used his social media to invite people through the posts from across the world to join him on his journey. The American known as Blake Warren told that one Sunday he was lying on his couch when he came across a post and then made a decision.
Warren said, “I saw it and he said everybody can come. I literally got on Skyscanner and looked for a ticket. 20 minutes later I bought the ticket and here I am.”
After taking part in the last leg of Cook’s epic run Warren expressed, “I just couldn’t miss a crazy historic opportunity like this.”
The Englishman has raised almost $1 million for homeless young people and clean water for Africa as well as a possible place in the record books.
Cook claimed to be the first person ever to run the entire length of the African continent and his trek was the longest of yet covered by the runners.
Britisher Russ Cook finished his run by taking a dip in the Mediterranean and downing a strawberry daiquiri to mark his sweet success.