The Hardest Geezer's run across Africa in numbers

Last year Russ Cook, aka The Hardest Geezer, set out on an unfathomable challenge to run the entire length of Africa, and now he’s almost completed it.

The 27-year-old from Worthing in West Sussex is trying to become the first human to complete the remarkable feat. Starting his journey at the southernmost point of the African continent in April 2023 he is currently just days away from finishing.

Cook is due to complete Project Africa when he reaches the finishing line in Tunisia in North Africa on 7 April. For his final marathon, he has invited people to join him on the run. UK rock duo Soft Play will also be playing at the finish line party.

He is raising money for two charities: The Running Charity and Sandblast. A link to his donation page can be found here. At the time of writing, he has raised over £491,000.

Throughout his journey, he has been updating people via his social media channels and spoken of various scary incidents including being robbed at gunpoint, being kidnapped and peeing blood. Here is his incredible run across Africa in numbers.

Distance travelled

In his most recent update on X/Twitter, Cook shared a video from day 348 on 3 April. In the clip, he said he was 16,000 km (approx 10,000 miles) down and still had four days of running remaining.

With a circumference of approximately 40,075 km, Cook has run the equivalent of more than a third of the way round the entire planet.

Days on the run

If Cook reaches his goal, the whole challenge across the continent will have taken him 352 days, running more than 380 marathons in that time.

Cook had originally planned to complete the challenge in 360 marathons over 240 days, however, the project has been beset with difficulties, including everything from illness and kidnapping to visa issues and tough terrain.

Number of countries crossed

By the time he reaches Tunisia, Cook will have run through 16 countries, predominantly on the continent’s west side.

The countries are:

• South Africa
• Namibia
• Angola
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Republic of the Congo
• Cameroon
• Nigeria
• Benin
• Togo
• Ghana
• Ivory Coast
• Guinea
• Senegal
• Mauritania
• Algeria
• Tunisia

The route has taken him through deserts, rainforests, savannahs, mountains and jungles.

Number of YouTube updates

Posting updates about his journey, Cook has been gathering subscribers on YouTube, with 178,000 subscribed at the time of writing.

I ran across the entire Sahara Desert 🇩🇿www.youtube.com

Throughout Project Africa, he has posted more than 90 videos, each roughly 20 minutes, giving people an in-depth look into what the epic challenge has entailed.

He has also shared a large number of shorter updates on his Instagram, with many of the videos filmed while he is running.

Commenting on a recent video, one person wrote: “These unhinged, breathless reels are my absolute favorite.”

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