Talk:Russ Cook

Length of Africa

Entire length of Africa inherently means from the most southerly to most northerly point of the continent, which Cook is the first to do, therefore there should be no dispute as to who holds the record as Bourne and Olsen did not complete the full length and therefore are not in contention for this record. There should be no need to call Cook's record the first person to run from the most southerly to most northerly point of Africa - the word 'entire' implies this. Notleviev (talk) 10:32, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

The word 'inherently' is not supported by any science or literature. Geography offers a definition of the length of Africa, which is measured at 8000km (source: Britannica Encyclopedia . There is no distinction such as 'full' or 'entire' length. I assume this distinction has been made in the sole purpose to make a claim of a 'first', where in fact it is undeniable that 2 people have run the length of Africa before. Guinness Book of Records independently verified and ratified the run of the length of Africa by Mr Nicholas Bourne in 1998 (source: Guinness Book 1998 record). And the World Runners Association independently verified and ratified the run of the length of Africa by Mr Jesper Olsen in 2012. Mr Cook's claim has not been independently verified nor ratified by any institution, governing body or books of records. It is purely self-declaratory.

The british press largely relayed the claim of Mr Cook. When pressed by a press release of the WRA to verify that other runners had run the length of Africa prior to Mr Cook, the press immediately found that at least two runners had such runs officially validated. This goes to show that the amount of press behind Mr Russ Cook's claim is not sufficient in itself to transform a claim into a fact.

I chose to nominate this page for deletion, on the basis of absence of any independent verification or ratification of a claim stated as a fact. 2A04:4A43:977F:F7A2:3128:5BC0:889C:116C (talk) 12:08, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Merge of 'Project Africa' in to Russ Cook

A valid proposal for merger, the mission that Russ Cook embarked on and completed is, while entirely valid in scope of effort and achievement, not relevant enough and could end as a stub. Russ Cook, aka 'Hardest Geezer' should be the main page that Project Africa sits under as a sub-heading. Bigbeanbag (talk) 19:26, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Support: There is almost no instance where one is mentioned without the other. Chariotsacha (talk) 22:47, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Support: Neither are that long and they include information from each other. avalean (talk) 19:55, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

A claim is not a fact

Russ Cook “claims” a record which has, to this day, not been awarded. Records are awarded after claims are independently verified and ratified. This can be done by sports institutions, governing bodies and even Guinness Book of Records. But as long as it is self-awarded, no record belongs to Wikipedia. As of today, 2 officially validated records pre-date Mr Cooks’ run across the length of Africa, even if they are on a different route. I am flagging this page up for deletion if the matter is not acknowledged and corrected. 92.184.104.3 (talk) 17:46, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Mr Cook himself, on television interviews, has acknowledged that other great runs had been done before his in africa. Whoever is editing this Wikipedia page is not helping him being portrayed accurately. 92.184.104.3 (talk) 17:58, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Based on what sources state (ex. [1]), I think it is fair to say the claim is disputed but that's about it. At this point it is he said/he said/they said. I am going to post a note at WP:WikiProject Sports as well to notify others of this discussion (later today or tomorrow). S0091 (talk) 18:19, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Thank you. Facts are:

1- Two official records of running the length of Africa pre-date the run of Mr Cook (Bourne in 1998 validated by Guinness book of records; Olsen in 2010 validated by the World Runners Association)

2- The length of Africa is 8000km this is the science of geography and is verified in the Britannica Encyclopaedia source that I quoted. There is no distinction of “full” or “entire” length of Africa, but simply and factually a length, of 8000km

3- Mr Cook being the 3rd man to run the length of Africa, is in effect the 1st one to have chosen a route that rallies the most southern point to the most northern point.

4- Mr Cook doesn’t hold a record presently, as far as we are aware, none have been awarded officially since Mr Cook completed his run. Therefore, Mr Cook holds “claims” - not records 92.184.104.3 (talk) 18:37, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Wikipedia is about facts. Not claims.

I expect the page to be deleted if claims are not corrected to reflect actual facts. 92.184.104.3 (talk) 18:50, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

The current version of the page is accurate. Cook is the first person to run Africa from the southernmost to northernmost point. He is the only person to have run this route. The claim is disputed and not yet an official record. The page captures both of these points fine.

Note that the repeated references to the World Runners Association in edits/talk are amusing. This is a tiny assocation including Olsen himself. Hardly unbiased - you wonder if it is Olsen on this page himself! 46.208.180.214 (talk) 18:56, 12 April 2024 (UTC)