GEEZER HUG
Russ Cook celebrates 9,891-mile run with girlfriend & strawberry daiquiri
THE self-styled “Hardest Geezer” lets the mask slip with a fancy cocktail and a big soppy hug after running across Africa.
Russ Cook, 27, said the frenzy around his epic challenge was “totally bananas”.
Sipping a strawberry daiquiri, the former gambling addict says he went through 30 pairs of trainers as he ran the length of Africa – a feat he claims is a unique one.
And after completing the 9,891-mile journey from
Cape Town to Tunisia, which spanned 352 days, he described battling injuries, food poisoning, extreme heat and cold, a kidnapping and a robbery.
Yesterday, he said he was planning to trim his red beard and ponytail which earned him the nickname “Africa’s Forrest Gump”, in a nod to the Tom Hanks blockbuster.
Russ said: “I always knew it was inevitable, just need to keep plugging away one step at a time and eventually it would get done.”
His girlfriend, Emily Bell, who met him on the finish line, said: “It’s been scary, terrifying at times.” Russ said: “It was crazy, the first time we have seen each other in 14 months. So I can’t really put into words how much that meant.”
Russ, from Worthing, West Sussex, said the thought of leaving a legacy had inspired him to take on the challenge.
He said: “When I have kids, it’s what I want to pass on to them. I knew it was going to be hard but I knew I was going into the unknown.”
Russ says he turned his life around at 19 after a pal challenged him to run the Brighton half-marathon.
He has so far raised over £700,000 for his Project Africa initiative and said: “People reckon I’m nuts but quitting never even came into it.
“When I started running I didn’t like long distances, but I taught my body to get to the point where it could run all day long.”
The World Runners Association claims one of its founders, Danish athlete Jesper Olsen, ran the length of the continent in 2010 as part of an ultramarathon challenge. Mr Olsen, 52, said he was really impressed with Russ but “surprised” at his claim to be the first. But he added: “However, as far as I understand, he’s definitely the fastest.”