Russ Cook
 | It has been suggested that Project Africa be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024. |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Hardest Geezer |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 13 March 1997 Worthing, England |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Ultrarunning |
| Achievements and titles | |
| World finals | First person to run the entire length of Africa Fastest marathon while pulling a car (9 hours 56 minutes) |
| Updated on 7 April 2024 | |
Russell Cook (born 13 March 1997), also known as Hardest Geezer, is a British endurance athlete from Worthing, West Sussex who holds several world records. Cook holds the record for being the only person to have run the entire length of Africa, from the southernmost to the northernmost point of the continent, as part of Project Africa.[1][2][3][4] Others have made similar claims about running the length of Africa, although Cook's attempt is the only known record of a person running the length of continental Africa in its entirety.[5][6]
Length of Africa
On 22 April 2023, Cook began Project Africa, planning to run the entire length of the continent. He began in Cape Agulhas, South Africa and ended in Ras Angela, Tunisia on 7 April 2024.[7]
Having completed the challenge, numerous individuals and associations made counterclaims that they had completed running the length of Africa first. The common issue with all of these claims is none of them had run from the southernmost point to the northernmost point, which is what Cook achieved. Nicholas Bourne from the United Kingdom claimed the record in 1998 although started in Cape Town, South Africa and finished in Cairo, Egypt.[8]
The World Runners Association (WRA) also controversially discounted Cook's claim, stating Jesper Olsen had completed the challenge first in 2010. Olsen's starting point was Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and near to where Cook started in Cape Agulhas. Agulhas, not Good Hope, is recognised as the southernmost point. Where the WRA's claims become problematic is where Olsen finished his challenge. Olsen finished his achievement in the town of Taba, Egypt. The town is located on Egypt's eastern coast, and isn't even the country's northernmost point.[9] Egypt is also some way off being the northernmost country in Africa, with Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco all much further north (by hundreds of miles).[citation needed]
As of April 2024, no counterclaims have been made to Cook's claim of being the first person to have run from Africa's southernmost point (Cape Agulhas, South Africa) to its northernmost point (Ras Angela, Tunisia).
Achievements
- Running from Istanbul, Turkey to Worthing, England in 68 days.[10]
- Setting the world record for fastest Marathon run whilst pulling a car: 9 hours, 56 minutes.[11]
- Running the entire length of Africa, having covered 16,000 km (9,900 mi) and crossed 16 countries.[12]
References
- ^ "Russ Cook: The man who ran the length of Africa". BBC News. 2024-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
- ^ "Mo Farah shares support for Worthing man running length of Africa". BBC News. May 24, 2023.
- ^ Church, Ben (May 11, 2023). "How one man is attempting to run the length of Africa … in just 240 days". CNN.
- ^ "The 'Hardest Geezer' on why nothing will stop his Africa run: "Chop both my legs off, I'll crawl" | indy100". www.indy100.com.
- ^ "British man's claim to be first person to race across continent from bottom to top questioned by tiny group of ultra-long distance runners".
- ^ "Controversy over whether Russ Cook is the first or only fourth athlete to run the length of Africa".
- ^ "He did it! 'Hardest Geezer' Russ Cook finishes gruelling challenge to run length of Africa". Sky News. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ Braidwood, Jamie. "Row erupts over Hardest Geezer's claim of 'record' run of Africa". The Independent.
- ^ "Russ Cook: The Hardest Geezer who ran the length of Africa". BBC.
- ^ Heath, Jacob (2020-10-26). "The record-breaking Sussex runner known as 'The Hardest Geezer'". Sussex Live. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^ "The record-breaking Worthing runner known as 'The Hardest Geezer'". Sussex Live. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "He did it! 'Hardest Geezer' Russ Cook finishes gruelling challenge to run length of Africa". Sky News. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
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