27-year-old UK Man Runs Length Of Africa In 352 Days

A marathon runner and an endurance athlete from Britain named Russ Cook has been dubbed the hardest geezer after he has covered 16 countries in 352 days. During this journey of 10,000 miles, Cook faced many problems ranging from injury and illness to logistical nightmares and getting lost in the jungle. He was also robbed at gunpoint and suffered food poisoning.

Undeterred, he remained steadfast to his mission of running the entire length of Africa, an incredible feat that has seen him run over 10,000 miles. Cook had tweeted the pictures showing the moments of his final leg of the marathon. The pictures show people rooting for him and some even hugging him for this accomplishment. He captioned the photos, “The first person ever to run the entire length of Africa. Mission complete.”

Social media users appreciated Cook’s perseverance and determination toward a nearly impossible goal. One of the users tweeted, “Russ Cook leaves me with an inexplicable sense of pride in a man I have never met and a growing self-belief in my ability to overcome something incredibly hard. Thank you for being, you mate.”

Another one congratulated Cook and wrote that it was one of the best human endurance accomplishments ever.

The 27-year-old athlete passed through Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Benin. He also passed through the Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and Algeria, before arriving at Ras Angela on April 7, Sunday evening. During the marathon, the UK-based athlete has also collected Rs 7.36 crores.

In an earlier interview with CNN, Cook said he developed a passion for running later in life. He, however, already gained experience with several difficult challenges before facing Project Africa. These tough experiences include running from Istanbul to London and completing a marathon while pulling a car. Now, after completing Project Africa, the marathon runner from Britain has decided another difficult goal for himself and this includes covering the entire continent. It, however, might take some time.