“Normal bloke” from UK runs length of Africa
Russ Cook, a self-proclaimed “normal bloke” has raised thousands for charity as the first man to run the length of Africa, according to AFP.
Living up to his nickname, Britain’s “hardest geezer” completed the equivalent of 385 marathons after crossing the finish line in the “northernmost point of Africa” in Tunisia, on the 7th April 2024.
Starting in South Africa, Cook took over 19 million steps across 16 countries, running up a £600,000 total for the Running Charity and Sandblast, an educational awareness charity of the Saharawis of the much disputed Western Sahara.
READ: Algeria denounces planned French investments in Western Sahara
In the last leg of his journey, Cook took to X (formerly Twitter) to invite “anyone and everyone who has been watching and supporting” to “Come and run the last marathon, the last half, 10km, five kilometers, one kilometer. Whatever you fancy.”
Through the Tunisian countryside, supporters from around the world (some sporting fake ginger beards – an homage to Cook’s own) ran alongside him for the last leg, The National reported.
Cook’s ginger genes were challenged by the extreme weather conditions, leading him to run at night when crossing the Sahara desert to avoid the sweltering sun.
However, the scorching heat was just one of many obstacles Cook faced when crossing the tropical forests, deserts, and mountains of Africa.
Cook and his team were robbed at gunpoint in Angola, losing their cameras, phones and passports, Sky News reported.
The quest took a frightful turn in August last year when Cook went missing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he was separated from his supporters. Although, they were reunited after his entourage managed to pay off the machete-wielding villagers that had detained the British runner.
In January, complications with Algerian visas almost foiled the epic venture – but thankfully a social media campaign resulted in the Algerian Embassy giving Cook a courtesy visa “on the spot”, allowing him to cross the border and continue the challenge.
Throughout the “Project Africa” challenge, Cook and his team faced car accidents, route alterations, injuries, illness, malnutrition, and extreme cravings for a strawberry daiquiri.
Yet once the finish line was crossed, the “Strawberry daiquiri secured” and the celebrations with British punk rock band, Soft Play (formerly known as Slaves) were underway, Cook reflected on the epic experience, after giving his “beautiful girlfriend a big kiss.”
“Thank you to the people of Africa for being such an amazing part of this journey,” he wrote on X, feeling grateful for the “incredible people in every single country…that have welcomed us with love and kindness. The human spirit is a beautiful thing.”
Much like Burkina Faso’s star athlete and gold medalist, Huguenot Fabrice Zango, Cook hopes that his achievements are inspirational to others and can encourage people to chase their dreams.
“I’m a totally normal bloke, so if I can do this, hopefully people can apply this to their own lives in whichever way they choose,” Cook stated.
AFP/The National/Sky News
