Who is Russ Cook - the 'hardest geezer' running the length of Africa for charity?

A man has been nicknamed the "Hardest Geezer” after he embarked on a mission to run the entire length of the continent of Africa for charity.

Who is the the Hardest Geezer?

Russell Cook, from Worthing in West Sussex, is no stranger to some physically brutal challenges that have earned him the label.

In 2022, he was the first person to run from Asia to London and now, the 26-year-old has taken it to another level, aiming to become the first person to run the length of the African continent.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Project Africa began on 22 April and, if completed, will be the equivalent of Cook running 360 marathons in the space of 240 days.

Now, 24 days into his journey, he has covered several hundred kilometres and even been stalked by wild cats and thieves in the process.

His route began in South Africa and will see him travel north up the west coast of Africa through Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria before finally ending his mammoth run in Tunisia.

Cook is completing the run to raise money for two charities – The Running Charity and WaterAid. At the time of writing, he has raised £13,300 of his £100,000 target.

He is documenting his journey on social media, regularly updating his Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels on his progress.

In one video, Cook revealed he was “absolutely bouncing” and was looking forward to reaching a petrol garage 6km down the road where he was told they sold Cornish pasties.

In a Q&A with Twitter users, he gave his advice on how others can motivate themselves.

Cook explained: “Be accountable to someone or something bigger than yourself.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.