Marathon Man: Russ Cook Completes Epic Run, Across Africa, Raises £500k for Charity

Extreme marathon runner Russ Cook, also known as the “Hardest Geezer,” completed his epic journey across the entire length of Africa in Tunisia on Sunday. Spanning 16 countries over 352 days, his odyssey included harrowing experiences such as being robbed at gunpoint and battling food poisoning.

Beginning his adventure in April at Africa’s southernmost point, L’Agulhas in South Africa, Cook traversed over 16,000 kilometers along the continent’s west coast.

Posting on social media platform X, Cook declared, “The first person ever to run the entire length of Africa. Mission complete.”

His route took him through Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and Algeria before reaching Ras Angela on Sunday evening.

Throughout his journey, Cook, aged 27, earned his moniker as the “Hardest Geezer” and raised over half a million pounds for charity.

Simon Klima of the Givestar charity platform explained, “The main goal is to challenge yourself and do something incredible, which is what ‘Hardest Geezer’ is all about. Simultaneously raise a lot of money for some really important causes.”

Nearly £600,000 ($758,160.00) has been raised for two charities, Sandblast and the Running Charity, with hopes to reach a million pounds.

Supporters joined Cook for the final leg of his journey, some traveling specifically to be there for the historic moment.

“I just couldn’t miss a crazy historic opportunity like this,” said Warren Blake from the U.S., who saw Cook’s invitation on Instagram.

Arriving at the finish line wearing an England football jersey, Cook was greeted with chants of “Geezer, geezer.” Despite exhaustion, he expressed, “I’m pretty tired,” before treating himself to a well-deserved strawberry daiquiri.