Russell Cook Completes Historic 351-Day Run Through Africa, the Last Leg on Sunday

RUN, RUSSELL, RUN: The last leg of a run through Africa awaits on Sunday. Photo: @hardestgeezer/Russ Cook

On Sunday, Russell Cook (27) will complete the last leg of a 351-day long race. From South Africa, through 14 other countries, and to the “finish line” in Tunisia.

Sunday 7 April at 01:14

On 22 April 2023, Russ Cook started the run from Cape Agulhas – Africa’s southernmost point.

At the finish line in Ras ben Sakka, Africa’s northernmost point, he becomes the first person to run the length of the continent.

On his YouTube channel, the Brit has documented the “Forrest Gump” journey together with his support apparatus:

47 kilometers on average every day, including rest days, since April 2023.
In total, the trip is approx 16 456 kilometer. At the same time have he collected in over NOK 7.6 million for charitable purposes.

Does that sound extreme? Fear not:

– Running over 50 kilometers per day on average is not very impressive in itself and is something anyone can do. What you experience when you run long distances is that after a week everyday life disappears and the body is adjusted to the task, says ultra runner Simen Holvik.

<-Simen Holvik

Norwegian ultra runner

The 47-year-old has covered his kilometers in running shoes himself:

In the summer of 2021, he ran the length of Norway in 26 days.

I last summer he was the first male runner to finish during the Badwater 135, an ultramarathon of 217 kilometers through California’s Death Valley – with temperatures of over 45 degrees. Holvik also became the first Norwegian to complete “the world’s toughest race”

But putting one foot in front of the other is not the only challenge Africa runner Cook has to contend with. The 27-year-old and the team have had to pause the trip several times due to border controls, illness and problems with the accompanying car.

– What is impressive is running where he does in terms of everything from organization and planning with visas and other things. He has experienced being robbed and all kinds of things, says Holvik on the phone with VG – at the same time as he is out for a run.

In July 2023, Cook revealed that he and his team were exposed to armed robbery in Angola. Later that summer, he shared that he was staying kidnapped in the Congo.

Through weekly videos on YouTube, Cook has also talked about problems with food poisoning, injuries and being stranded in the desert in North Africa.

– It is simply life-threatening. The hardest part is all the organization that is needed, as well as eating enough and not losing too much weight. In addition, recovery and enough sleep are important. It is easy for the body not to settle down, says Holvik.

Short videos

On Sunday, Cook embarks on the last 44 kilometers of the journey. On Social Media he invites his followers to join him on the last leg up to the northernmost point in Africa.

– The last 347 days on a run through Africa have without a doubt been the toughest days of my life, but also an enormous honor. We have met incredible people in every country who have welcomed us with love and kindness. Humanity is a beautiful thing, writes Cook on X a few days before the finish line.

These countries have Cook run through:

1. South Africa

2. Namibia

3. Angola

4. The People’s Democratic Republic of the Congo

5. Republic of the Congo

6. Cameroon

7. Nigeria

8. Benin

9. Togo

10. Ghana

11. Ivory Coast

12. Guinea

13. Senegal

14. Mauritania

15. Algeria

16. Tunisia

Sea view
2024-04-06 23:14:54
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