Runner Russ Cook, determined despite pain and sandblasting, reached the northernmost tip of Africa on Sunday, nearly a year after starting from the southern tip on a journey across the continent.
Dozens of supporters gathered on a rocky outcrop along the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia to cheer on a British charity fundraiser that covered more than 10,000 miles in 16 countries in 352 days.
Cook said he’s “a little tired,” but that’s probably an understatement.
The 27-year-old endurance athlete from Worthing in southern England has crossed jungles and deserts, detoured through conflict zones and been delayed by theft, injuries and visa issues on his journey.
Cook, known as Hardest Geezer on social media, set off from Cape Agulhas in South Africa, the southernmost tip of the continent, on April 22, 2023.
He hoped to complete the journey in 240 days, covering a distance equivalent to more than a marathon each day.
He and his team had cash, passports and equipment stolen in a gunpoint robbery in Angola.
He took a break in Nigeria due to back pain.
And without a visa to enter Algeria, he almost came to a dead end until diplomatic intervention by the Algerian embassy in the UK managed to secure the necessary documents.
Mr Cook has spoken of how running has helped him deal with his mental health issues, having previously run almost 3,000 miles from Istanbul to Worthing in 68 days.
His run in Africa raised more than $870,000 for running charities that work with homeless youth and Sandblast, a charity that supports displaced people from Western Sahara.
“It’s very difficult to express in words. It was a 352-day road trip, and I couldn’t see my family or girlfriend for a long time,” he said as he began his run on Sunday, accompanied by supporters who had come from far away to run in the final. Cook told Sky News. Let’s stretch with him. “My body hurts so much. But for another day, I’m not going to complain.”
Mr Cook said he planned to celebrate at a party where the British band Soft Play was scheduled to perform.
“We’re going to drink strawberry daiquiris on the beach tonight,” he said. “It would be surreal.”
