Running the Length of Africa

Russ Cook, 27, from Worthing, UK, has just become the first person ever to run the entire length of Africa. Cook ran from Cape Agulhas, South Africa to Cape Angela, Tunisia, in 352 days. This incredible feat totals around 15,000 miles or 9,500km. Russ averaged 1 marathon a day for 352 days.

Cook had many challenges across the year, safety and logistics-wise. From an armed robbery in Angola, to a kidnapping in the Congo, to visa restrictions, re-routing the run, and police escorts.

Do not worry if you have forgotten about this wild feat, or want to know more becasue Russ and his team documented everything during the run; all 96 YouTube videos can be found here on YouTube.

Days leading up to the finish line, Russ had this to say: ‘I am 9 days out. For so long the finish line has felt like some mystical event happening very far into the future, so it’s pretty crazy to comprehend that it is now only single-digit days away. This last year has been a mad one. A classic bit of type 2 fun with a generous sprinkle of type 3. What a time to be alive’.

Russ invited supporters to head out to Tunisia to run the final marathon with him. Which us at Runlore we were lucky enough to do. We ran 42.2km with Russ, his team, supporters, and locals in rural Tunisia to be part of this astonishing piece of history.

Cook managed to raise 1 million GBP for 2 charities: the running charity and Sandblast. See more on the Givestar website here.

We cannot wait to see what Russ does next.