Russ Cook has crossed mountains, rainforests and deserts, including the mighty Sahara.
Russ Cook completed a mammoth quest to travel across Africa on Sunday after overcoming health problems, visa problems and even an armed robbery.
The Briton arrived late in the afternoon at Cap Angèle in Tunisia, where a sculpture marks the “northernmost point of the African continent”.
The epic effort saw him live up to his nickname “the toughest man” to complete the journey of more than 16,000 kilometers (9,900 miles).
Cook believes he is the first person to have traveled the entire length of the continent.
The 27-year-old set off from the southernmost point of South Africa on April 22 last year.
By the time he crossed the finish line in Tunisia, he had taken more than 19 million steps in 16 countries, running the equivalent of 385 marathons in 351 days.
He crossed mountains, rainforests and deserts, including the mighty Sahara.
Cook’s efforts have raised more than £550,000 ($695,000) for Running Charity and for Sandblast, which raises awareness about the indigenous Sahrawis of Western Sahara.
For the final stage of his race, the endurance athlete from Worthing, in the south of England, was joined by supporters.
“I wanted to open the last day of this project to everyone who watched and supported,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Come run the last marathon, the last half, 10 km, five kilometers, one kilometer. Whatever you want,” he added.
The end of the challenge was to be celebrated with a party at a hotel in Bizerte, Africa’s northernmost city.
A performance by rock band Soft Play, formerly known as Slaves, was planned.
“I can’t believe it, but we managed to get Soft Play to take part in the finish line party in Tunisia,” he said.
“Get your daiquiris ready, girls and boys, it’s going to be mega,” he added.
Cook joked throughout his trip that he was craving a strawberry daiquiri.
It wasn’t just running that challenged the extreme runner. In Angola, he and his team were robbed at gunpoint, while Cook’s difficulties obtaining a visa to Algeria nearly derailed the entire project.
In the Sahara, he ran at night to escape the scorching heat and scorching sun. In Nigeria, doctors advised him to reduce his daily mileage due to the pain he was suffering from. Cook still continued.
Before leaving last year, he said his approach to life was to throw “everything and the kitchen sink” at it.
“I’m a completely normal guy, so if I can do this, I hope people can apply that to their own lives however they want,” he said.
“For 99 percent of people, it won’t happen across Africa, but it might look like pursuing their dreams a little more,” he added.
Last week he described the past year as “the most difficult of my life but a huge honor”.
“We met incredible people in every country we went to who welcomed us with love and kindness. The human spirit is a beautiful thing,” he said.
