Russ Cook

Russ Cook, known as the Hardest Geezer and also as Russell Cook, is a British endurance runner, adventurer and author from Worthing, West Sussex. His defining achievement is Project Africa: running from Cape Agulhas in South Africa to Ras Angela in Tunisia between 22 April 2023 and 7 April 2024. The 352-day expedition covered approximately 16,300 kilometres through 16 countries, linking the African mainland's southernmost and northernmost points. His account of that journey brought an international audience to a runner whose earlier challenges had already attracted an online following.

How Russ Cook started running

Cook's route into endurance sport began with a search for direction. He has described feeling dissatisfied with nights out and spontaneously running home to Worthing from Brighton. A friend then encouraged him to train for the Brighton Half Marathon. On 25 February 2018 he ran the Brighton Half Marathon in 1:38:45 chip time, wearing bib 3683. Seven weeks later he completed the full marathon. In his account, training offered something he had been missing: a routine, measurable progress and growing confidence in what he could achieve. His Brighton Marathon finish on 15 April 2018 is now documented at 3:42:59 chip time. He wore bib 16177 at the race, an early milestone before the expeditions that would bring him wider recognition.

2019: running from Istanbul to London and Worthing

In 2019, Cook ran from the Asian side of Istanbul to London without a support crew, carrying essentials in a backpack and sleeping in a hammock. A contemporary interview records 66 days to London, covering roughly 71 marathon distances through 11 countries. He then continued home to Worthing, bringing the full journey to 68 days and approximately 73 marathon distances. The challenge supported The Running Charity and established his interest in journeys measured in weeks rather than hours. Those marathon equivalents describe cumulative distance, not entries in 71 or 73 separate organised races.

2020: a marathon while pulling a car

In 2020, Cook completed a marathon-distance challenge while pulling a car, in a reported nine hours and 56 minutes. The effort combined sustained running and pulling resistance, so its time belongs to that particular challenge rather than a conventional road-marathon comparison. Before Project Africa, he also documented a seven-day buried-alive endurance stunt. These unusual challenges helped establish the Hardest Geezer persona and an audience for his attempts to test physical and mental limits; the stunt is not a running result.

2020: a 68-mile charity challenge

His earlier fundraising also included a 68-mile run for West Sussex homelessness charity Turning Tides in 2020. Contemporary coverage reported that he completed the effort in 13 hours and raised more than £1,200 as part of the 2.6 Challenge.

Before Africa: stairs, crutches and unconventional challenges

Before Project Africa, Cook also climbed car-park stairs until he had accumulated the equivalent height of Mount Everest, a challenge described in his June 2022 Bad Boy Running interview. This was a repeated staircase ascent rather than an expedition to Everest. Contemporary coverage also reported a marathon on crutches and a separate beer-marathon stunt. Alongside the car pull, these unconventional efforts help explain how the Hardest Geezer identity developed before his international breakthrough.

Project Africa: the scale of 352 days

Project Africa took that ambition onto a different scale. Approximately 16,300 kilometres is more than 10,000 miles and about 386 standard marathon distances. Dividing the rounded distance by 352 gives roughly 46 kilometres per calendar day across about 50 weeks, including interruptions. That is a way to understand the accumulated workload, not a claim that every day had the same distance or that he never rested. Success required repeatedly recovering enough to continue while a support team managed the practical demands of an expedition across borders and changing terrain.

Terrain, setbacks and the people along the way

The journey passed through rainforest, mountains and the Sahara, exposing Cook and his team to very different conditions. Armed robbery, illness, injury and visa problems repeatedly disrupted their progress, while the Algerian border threatened the final approach to Tunisia. The physical challenge was inseparable from the uncertainty of keeping the expedition moving. His recollections also emphasise hospitality: he has spoken warmly about sharing a meal and staying with a Nigerian family. The people who helped along the route are part of the achievement, alongside the distances and setbacks.

Was he the first person to run across Africa?

Cook is widely credited as the first known person to run between Africa's southernmost and northernmost points. That precise route matters. The broader description of him as the first person to run the length of Africa was contested by the World Runners Association, which recognises Jesper Kenn Olsen's earlier Taba-to-Cape of Good Hope journey, completed in 2010. The association did not dispute Cook's claim for the southernmost-to-northernmost route. Recognising those different endpoints preserves the significance of his achievement and the history of earlier trans-African running.

How the Hardest Geezer became famous

His fame grew as people followed Project Africa while it was happening. Video episodes and social updates gave the journey a continuing story, with progress, setbacks and the finish unfolding in public. Steven Bartlett's publishing company describes Bartlett discovering Cook's updates during the first week of the expedition; their subsequent connection led to a Diary of a CEO appearance and a publishing relationship. By the finish in Tunisia, supporters had travelled to join him and international news coverage had taken the story beyond his existing online audience. The combination of sustained endurance, candid storytelling and a finish people could share explains much of his wider recognition.

Fundraising and charity work

Project Africa went on to raise more than £1 million for The Running Charity and Sandblast. The Running Charity uses running and ongoing support to help young people experiencing homelessness or complex needs. Cook worked for the organisation before the expedition and now supports it as an ambassador. Sandblast works with Saharawi communities through education, arts and cultural programmes and lists Cook as a patron from 2024. His fundraising gives the expedition an impact beyond the sporting accomplishment, supporting organisations with which he has maintained a continuing connection.

London and New York City Marathon results

Cook also takes part in conventional road races. On 21 April 2024, just two weeks after finishing Project Africa, he completed the London Marathon in 4:25:40 while supporting young runners from The Running Charity. On 2 November 2025, he ran the New York City Marathon in 2:53:05 net time, taking him below three hours. At the London Marathon on 26 April 2026, he improved to 2:46:59 net, six minutes and six seconds quicker than New York. He discussed his disappointment after targeting 2:35, alongside the lessons and progress he took from the race. These performances show his development in road racing alongside the long expeditions for which he became known.

Euro 2024: running to support England

After Project Africa, Cook brought his running to another large sporting audience during Euro 2024. He left Wembley on 11 June 2024 and reached Gelsenkirchen for England's opening match against Serbia, then continued running between host cities. The journey included a ferry crossing from Harwich to the Netherlands. Supported by Sports Direct and Score Draw, he directed his sponsorship towards The Running Charity. A recurrence of a back injury stopped him running the final leg to Berlin; he announced that change on 11 July. The challenge connected endurance running, football supporters and fundraising, while falling short of his original aim to run to every England match.

January 2025: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

In January 2025, Cook climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania as part of the first Hardest Adventures group mission. Five selected participants joined the expedition free of charge. The 5,895-metre mountain introduced a different challenge from his long-distance running: altitude and the reduced oxygen available as the team climbed. Cook described struggling above 5,000 metres and credited the local guides and porters for their care. The resulting film followed the group's progress and the fact that not everyone reached the summit.

Sahara Marathon 2025: 4:34:45 and 21st overall

On 25 February 2025, Cook completed the Sahara Marathon in 4:34:45, placing 21st overall. Held in the Saharawi refugee camps in southwest Algeria, the event combines desert running with support for the refugee community. Its published 42 km distance and desert setting distinguish this result from his road-marathon performances. The Sahara Marathon is a separate event from the multi-stage Marathon des Sables.

Mackyard backyard ultra: 20 completed laps

Cook has also tried backyard ultrarunning, where runners repeatedly start a new loop on the hour. Fellow competitor Sam Bodoano described racing alongside him at the Mackyard backyard ultra, which started on 30 May 2026 at Redbridge Cycling Centre in Ilford. Cook's own video records 20 completed laps before he stopped during the 21st, struggling with stomach problems. His account shows how the repeated hourly starts, overnight running and limited recovery create a different test from a continuous road race.

New Zealand and a 100 km expedition effort

In 2025, Cook completed a run along the length of New Zealand in 73 days, travelling from Bluff to Cape Reinga. During the expedition he also attempted a faster 100 km effort. His account, reported in April 2025, recorded 100.3 km in 10 hours and 59 minutes of moving time, with 11 hours and 19 minutes elapsed including stops. This was an effort within his expedition; the moving time is not an official 100 km race result. Storms, difficult trails and injury made the wider journey a different test from his African road expedition.

Copper Canyon: running with Arnulfo Quimare

Cook also documented an outing with Rarámuri runner Arnulfo Quimare on the Caballo Blanco route in Mexico's Copper Canyon. The video follows an independent attempt on the route, with Cook eventually stopping before completing the full distance. It adds to his experience of ultrarunning terrain and culture, without establishing a finish in the organised Caballo Blanco race.

Iceland, his memoir and public recognition

In August 2025, Cook joined 247 Mission: Iceland, a relay from Hraunhafnartangi to Reykjavik. The seven-athlete team collectively covered 607 kilometres in a reported two days, with Cook sharing the running in relay legs. The University of Chichester recognised his achievements with an Honorary Master of Sport at its 2025 graduation ceremony. His memoir first appeared in October 2024, with the paperback Mind over Miles following in July 2025, taking his story of endurance and personal change to readers as well as viewers.

Southwark parkrun: developing his 5 km speed

Cook's Southwark parkrun films show him developing speed over 5 km as well as endurance over much longer distances. In a film released in October 2025, he describes a 30-day training block and reports finishing tenth in 17:36, paced by Olympic marathon runner Stephen Scullion. A follow-up released in June 2026 shows a 17:06 watch reading and Cook reporting second place. That later figure is a watch time rather than a published parkrun finish time. These shorter efforts brought intervals, pacing and faster running into the story of an athlete best known for crossing continents.

IRONMAN Leeds and Great Yarmouth parkrun in 2026

On 16 August 2026, Cook completed IRONMAN Leeds in 12:04:47. The swim was cancelled, so his result records the modified bike-and-run event. His published splits were 7:13:59 for the bike, 17:22 in transition and 4:33:27 for the run. The marathon split was part of the multisport event and is separate from his road-marathon PB. On 12 September 2026, he also took first place at Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun in 22:00, tackling its sand-and-shingle course. That is a parkrun finish time, which is not chip timed.

National Three Peaks Challenge: 23 hours and nine minutes

Cook also completed the National Three Peaks Challenge, climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Yr Wyddfa, also called Snowdon, in Wales. His film, released in August 2026, records a finish in 23 hours and nine minutes, leaving 51 minutes inside the 24-hour target. Road transfers connected the three climbs. The challenge brought together mountain endurance and his community work, with a group from The Running Charity taking part. The time describes the filmed challenge, rather than a classified running-race result.

Supporting Marcus Skeet and charity running

His running has also helped others take on their own challenges. In 2024, he supported Marcus Skeet, known online as The Hull Boy, during the teenager's fundraising for Mind. He joined the final day of Skeet's April mile-a-day challenge and later supported his first marathon in London that September. This was a charity running project, rather than an additional timed London Marathon result for Cook.

Hardest Adventures and his continuing influence

Cook subsequently co-founded Hardest Adventures. Its origin story traces the idea to meeting his co-founder at the finish of Project Africa in Tunisia. The company combines group adventures with filmed missions. On the Colombia mission, Cook and his team reached Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City. Their film shows the group arriving together. The expedition advertised a 48 km route, and the exact distance the group covered remains unknown. His work with The Running Charity also includes talks, support for coaches and opportunities for young people to experience adventure. Together, his running, books and community projects show how the visibility earned on the road has developed into a wider public role. Project Africa remains the achievement that connects these strands: almost a year of sustained effort made visible to people around the world.

The recorded nationality is United Kingdom.

Russ Cook's published record includes performances from 2018 to 2026 in Half marathon, parkrun, Marathon, Desert marathon (42 km), Triathlon — modified bike-run (swim cancelled). Selected recorded events include Brighton Half Marathon (2018; source checked); Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun (2026; source checked); Brighton Marathon (2018; source checked).

Official websites and podcast links

• Hardest Adventures
• Mind over Miles — official book page