'Hardest geezer' Russ Cook is reunited with his girlfriend who he calls an ... trends now
Russel Cook's 'rock bottom' came at 3am in a Brighton nightclub when, aged 19, and already a voracious drinker and gambler who was 'overweight, miserable and angry at the world', he asked himself: 'What am I doing with my life? Something needs to change.'
On a whim, he decided to run the 12 miles home to Worthing — a journey that required 'a couple of power naps on the pavement' but gave him the confidence to agree to a half-marathon with a friend who was concerned for his wellbeing.
A full marathon followed, and an appetite for extreme and often bizarre adventure was born.
Branding himself 'The Hardest Geezer' online, Cook, now 27, ran from Istanbul to London in 2019. The following year he broke the world record for running a marathon, while pulling a 730kg car, then buried himself in a coffin for a week.
All of which looks positively sane compared with the project he finished on Sunday: running the entire length of Africa.
Russ Cook (pictured) described his publicity-shy girlfriend Emily Bell (pictured) as 'an absolute diamond', and admitted that he had put her through 'the emotional wringer'
Traversing 9,891 miles from the tip of South Africa to the northernmost point of Tunisia, his journey spanned 16 countries
Traversing 9,891 miles from the tip of South Africa to the northernmost point of Tunisia, his journey spanned 16 countries, taking him through rainforests, over mountains and across the Sahara.
His journey was marked by crippling injuries, malnutrition and food poisoning that was so severe he urinated blood. He was also kidnapped and held at gunpoint before crossing the finishing line.
His flowing beard and long, red hair, uncut for nearly a year, glinted in the sun as he described his 352-day ordeal as 'an immense honour', and embraced his publicity-shy girlfriend Emily Bell.
He described her as 'an absolute diamond', and admitted that he had put her through 'the emotional wringer'.
Emily, for her part, said she had found her boyfriend's challenge 'scary, terrifying at times'. As did Cook's ever-expanding army of social media fans, who now total one million on Instagram and include Davina McCall and Joe Wicks. They awaited his updates and have helped him raise £750,000 for charity.
Cook may have begun his challenge a little-known 'recluse', but he is returning to the UK a star. Yet his achievement is not without controversy. The World Runners Association (WRA), a tiny group of long-distance runners, insist Cook is not, as he claims, the first person to run the length of Africa. According to them, that accolade goes to Danish athlete Jesper Olsen, who ran 7,949 miles from Taba in Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa in 434 days in 2010.
Cook may have begun his challenge a little-known 'recluse', but he is returning to the UK a star
For all the crime he encountered, Cook said the vast majority of Africans he met were welcoming
He became the first person to complete a marathon on crutches and to run a marathon while stopping every mile to drink a bottle of Corona beer
Nonetheless, as the Guinness World Records decides whose record they will accept, it seems churlish to belittle Cook's extraordinary achievement.
So, what on earth inspired him to take on a challenge that would, at best, cause 'irreversible damage' to his body?
Human nature plays a part, he says — our sofa-bound lifestyles being at odds with our ancestral desire to fight and conquer. 'If I were living in a different time, I'd have been rolling around with a sword on a horse trying to slash people's necks, but the year is 2023 so I'll run the length of Africa instead,' he told the Wide Awake podcast last April. 'It's the rage that needs quenching.'
Yet it wasn't until he started
