‘They’re trying to get me gone, but they just can’t. I’m too damn ferocious!’
After more than 9,940 miles (16,000km) over 352 days across 16 countries, Russ Cook, aka the “Hardest Geezer”, has completed the mammoth challenge of running the length of Africa.
The 27-year-old endurance athlete from Worthing, West Sussex, crossed the finish line in Tunisia, and planned to celebrate with a party – as well as a strawberry daiquiri – having raised more than £600,000 for charity.
His achievement, believed to be the first person to run tip to tip from southern to northern Africa, was the more extraordinary given several setbacks including a robbery at gunpoint in Angola, being held by men with machetes in Republic of the Congo, health scares and visa complications.
On 22 April 2023 he set off from South Africa’s most southerly point, Cape Agulhas. By the time he crossed the line at Tunisia’s most northerly point, Ras Angela, he had run the distance of about 376 marathons.
Cook was accompanied on the final leg by supporters who had flown out after following his journey on social media, as he documented his odyssey on X, Instagram and YouTube, with posts amassing millions of views.
He finished to cheers of “Geezer, Geezer” and took a well-deserved dip in the sea, telling Sky News: “I’m a little bit tired.”
The Guardian
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
—
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
—
–
–
–
Le journal du peintre 2 