On April 7, 2024, Russ Cook, 27, ruled THE save first African crossing in the world which took him 352 days – exclusively running – to reach Tunisia after leaving South Africa. Now that the business is complete, let's see what results were achieved. As we can see on the website of the Ansa press agency “Cook managed to raise almost 700 thousand euros which will donate to the British association Running Charity, which helps young homeless people, and to the African association Sandblast”.
Crossing Africa: charity Charity running
THE slogan Of Charity running it's clear “Helping young people build the foundations of their future”. Charity running is a charity which, through the organization of events, such as marathons and competitions, supports homeless children. What began as a pilot program of twelve young people at a day center in Kings Cross, England, is now a national organization that leads and inspires hundreds of people: among them the English athlete Russ Cook.
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The athlete of enduro known with thea.k.a “the toughest old man” comes from the south of England and has already accustomed his people fan to sensational challenges. Concretely, he ran – in 66 days in 2019 – the section that goes from Istanbul to London then he took on a new challenge which saw him undertake – this time in Africa – over 16,000 km.
Russ Cook: the African crossing from South Africa to Tunisia
“The toughest of old men” or better said “The toughest guy“became the first athlete to cross the entire African continent. The company leaves South Africa to arrive in Tunisia after 352 days. In August 2022, Russ decided that the time had come to take on a new challenge and, after preparing himself physically and psychologically, on April 22, 2023, he began his series of 385 marathons, departing from Cape Agulhas, South Africa .
During the crossing of Africa, there was certainly no shortage of adversity. For example, halfway through the trip – more precisely in Angola – the team of marathon runners was the victim of a theft which resulted in the loss of their passport, their work tools and their money. It was only thanks to the support and escort of the local police that they were able to continue towards their goal.
The end of the feat: the first man to cross all of Africa
After crossing the dunes of the Sahara and traveling the last few kilometers in the middle of the night, due to high temperatures, Russ finally reached Cape Angèle, Tunisia, the northernmost point of Africa.
Waiting for Russ Cook, fan Global ready to take the final steps towards a historic goal. To crown the feat, a completely unexpected end: the group made up of marathon runners and supporters was welcomed to photo finishing From a punk band British – I Gentle play – who awaited the athlete at the entrance to a hotel in the city of Bizerte, the most extreme point of the African continent.
The company to help the homeless and the Sahrawi people
Russ Cook's feat has written a new page in history. The athlete said he simply trained and worked hard to achieve his goals.I ran to help less fortunate young people. My effort was a small drop to help the homeless with Running Charity and create educational projects with the Algerian association Sandblast. After a little rest, I will prepare for another undertaking, of shorter duration“. Beyond Charity runningthe athlete chose to help the African association Sandblastingwho protects refugees Sahrawisub-Saharan populations living in Algerian refugee camps, due to forced exile from their territory.
Africa thus bids farewell to the first man to have crossed it from north to south by running. We await the next exploits of the holder of this save epic.
