Hardest Geezer.. run’s done
RUNNER Russ Cook has become the first person to run the length of Africa after crossing the finish line in Tunisia.
The 27-year-old endurance athlete set off from South Africa’s most southerly point on April 22, 2023, and he reached Tunisia’s most northerly point in Ras Angela at around 4.40pm yesterday, covering more than 16,000km in 352 days.
After finishing, Russ, who is nicknamed Hardest Geezer, was greeted with shouts and cheers from those who had flown out to meet him, with many of them chanting “Geezer”.
Speaking to reporters at the finishing line, Russ, from Worthing, West Sussex, said with a smile: “I’m pretty tired.”
As he was embraced by loved ones and supporters, he put his hands on his head in disbelief before saluting and flexing his muscles on top of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean.
He then walked down to the sea and cooled off by taking a dip while making jokes about having a strawberry daiquiri. The runner has often joked about having the frozen cocktail as a reward for his epic effort.
During the run, Russ and his team were robbed at gunpoint in Angola and had their cameras, phones and passports stolen.
In August, Russ went missing for days in the jungle in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His team eventually managed to free him by paying off villagers who were armed with machetes.
And in January, he struggled to get a visa to cross from Mauritania into Algeria. After a huge social media campaign, the Algerian Embassy said it would grant him a courtesy visa “on the spot”. On his African run, Russ raised more than €760,000 for two charities, the Running Charity and Sandblast.
Last night, he held a party to celebrate his feat at a hotel in Bizerte, Tunisia.
The party featured a performance by the British punk rock band Soft Play, formerly known as Slaves.