World’s First Length-of-Africa Runner Finishes, Throws Party » Explorersweb – GWC Mag

Today, Russ Cook became the first person to run the north-south length of Africa, an objective he set out on 350 days ago.

Late Friday night, the 27-year-old British athlete reported his past week’s mileage counts and marked his location as Tunisia, the “16th and final” country of his tour.

“Here we go. 2 days to go. Final push,” he announced.

Cook reached Africa’s northernmost point, Ras Ben Sakka, 22km north of the Mediterranean port city of Bizerte. It’s over 16,000 kilometers and 19 million steps north of his starting point in Cape Agulhas, South Africa.

Given the convoluted course of Cook’s yearlong journey, his success was unlikely. Cook, aka @hardestgeezer, previously endured a gunpoint robbery in Angola that cost him his passport. Customs hassles in Algeria ensued after myriad other delays had already hazed him.

Cook somehow kept his outward stoicism intact through logistical and physical challenges including diarrhea on what looks like a near-constant basis. In total, he came in over 100 days behind his original schedule despite running over a marathon every day.

“The relentless nature of this mission is quite something,” Cook said after the robbery. “Problems from every angle. No respite. Till the bitter end.”

Party time

The end figures to be anything but bitter. A Bizerte hotel party awaited Cook, his team, and any qualifying supporters and acolytes after he broke the tape.