How 'Hardest Geezer' Russ Cook, 27, turned his life around after a friend 'twisted his arm' to run a half-marathon: Meet the self-described former 'fat lad' with alcohol and gambling problems who became a marathon fanatic

For most people, being mugged at gunpoint and kidnapped by machete-wielding thugs in the jungle would be enough to accept defeat and give up.

But for Russ Cook - the extreme marathon runner who transformed himself from a 'fat lad' plagued by gambling and drinking problems to the 'Hardest Geezer' - giving up is not in his DNA.

On Sunday afternoon, an emotional Cook was embraced by loved ones and serenaded by fans chanting 'Geezer, Geezer, Geezer!' as he accomplished his dream of running the entire length of Africa.

The 27-year-old started in the continent's most southern point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa, on April 22 last year and crossed the finish line in Ras Angela, Tunisia, the most northern point, yesterday.

During his 352 days of running, Cook crossed 16 countries, covered around 10,000 miles and completed the equivalent of 386 marathons.

It marks a sensational turnaround for the 'Hardest Geezer', who describes his former self as a 'fat lad' with drinking and betting issues who 'didn't have any zest for life left' until he found his calling.

It was a mate 'twisting his arm' to run a half marathon when he was 21 which spurred Cook on to try and complete the African odyssey. 

In an interview with The Times - just 11 days after he had set off on his challenge - Cook, from Worthing, West Sussex, revealed: 'I am actually not anything special. If you put me in a lab, I'm not genetically anything unusual. I used to be a fat lad.

'I was drinking a lot. I was quite overweight, struggling with gambling and working lonely, miserable jobs that I really hated. I didn't have any zest of life left,' he added. 'I just accepted the reality that was handed to me.'

Cook is no stranger to taking on challenges. He completed 71 marathons in 66 days when he ran from Asia to London in 2019 and broke the world record for the fastest car-pulling marathon when he dragged a 730kg Suzuki Alto 26 miles along the Worthing seafront.

In 2021, he was also buried alive for a week with nothing but water and a camera which was streaming his challenge on YouTube. 

Alex Eagle, a friend and co-founder of the Running Charity - where Cook worked as an adventure coach for young people before the Africa run - previously told The Guardian:  'He is a determined man, and he's a man that has overcome things like a lot of the young people that we work with have overcome difficult challenges in their lives.'

It was Cook's mantra of 'you've only got one life' that spurred him on to run the entire length of the African continent. He claims to be the first person to ever run the full length of Africa - but the World Runners Association (WRA), which is made up of just seven members, has claimed that one of its founders actually deserved the title over Cook.

Cook had initially planned to end his challenge by Christmas - but the red-headed extreme marathon runner was forced to take on Bear Grylls' own mantra of 'improvise, adapt, overcome' as he faced numerous dramatic twists.

The 'Hardest Geezer' survived being robbed at gunpoint and kidnapped in the jungle - but his sensational effort was also nearly thwarted by frustrating border delays and visa issues.

He also battled with multiple illnesses, endured crippling back pain and found urine in his blood while navigating from one end of Africa to the other on foot.

Cook knew of the risks when he set out on his challenge, but it didn't appear to phase him one bit. He told his followers: 'The risks are obvious to see. Worst case I snuff it or end up in some prison eating dust till the end of time. Best case I do some irreversible damage to my body. Sometimes you gotta risk it for a chocolate biscuit.'

When Cook set off for the final leg of his odyssey on Sunday morning, he was joined by loyal fans who were even wearing long ginger beards to emulate their role model.

As he closed in on the finish line, he appeared to reflect on the magnitude of what he had achieved - and how he had overcome drinking, gambling and mental health issues to get to where he is today.

'You get one chance at life,' he told Sky Sports. 'Go and have a stab at it.' 

Cook celebrated his mammoth run by taking a dip in the Mediterranean Sea where he candidly told reporters: 'I'm really tired.'

As one man joked 'let's get you a strawberry daiquiri, Cook replied: 'Yeah, let's f*** off'. 

The runner has often joked about having the cocktail as a reward for his epic effort.

The extreme athlete was pictured slurping down on a pink-coloured cocktail while sat on a white and golden throne with his girlfriend. 

It was a moment he had been savouring for many months - having battled through setback after setback.

Among Cook's most terrifying ordeals was when he was 'kidnapped' by a gang of men armed with machetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August. 

He described the nightmare few days as 'the toughest of my life'.

'In an attempt to find the boys at a village on the plan B route, I stumbled into a rural settlement where the chief told me I must give him money. I had none,' the runner wrote on day 107.

He added: 'So that went down well. Pretty soon I found myself surrounded by lots of game blokes with machetes. Was escorted out the village into the bush.

'Emptied my bag to show I had nothing but a half eaten biscuit. Gave it to them, and ran. Spent the next few hours bushwhacking through overgrown jungle paths. Trying to stay off any tracks until I was far away.

'Made it to the village on the plan B route to find the road was also impassable for the support van again. Exhausted and dehydrated, I started heading back to the last known place with passable roads when two blokes pulled up on a bike.

'They spoke no English but tried to communicate I must come with them to get back to my friends.

'What happened next was a seven-hour motorbike ride deeper into the jungle. In my head I thought this was it. Me. The self proclaimed hardest geezer. About to get held in a Congo gulag before being ripped apart limb by limb and eaten.'

Fortunately, Mr Cook was driven into a village and moved into a hut where he recalled a group of men clashing over what to do with him and discussing how much money he owed them.

After some back and forth negotiations, he was able to contact his team who spent the next few days formulating a rescue plan.

Cook ultimately managed to escape and returned back to his start point that day, running another 60km on a new route. He admitted that his head wasn't 'fully there' but vowed to 'move forward'.

This would surely be enough to send most people back on the first flight home. But this was not even the first time that Cook cheated death while attempting to create history.

Just two months prior, he was set upon by gun-toting thugs in rural Angola.

Cook claimed his support van was raided by 'desperate blokes with guns' and that the armed men stole his team's cameras, mobile phones, some passports, and money they had.

'Infamously bad situation to find yourself on the end of. Proper spot of bother,'he quipped in late June.

He added that nobody on his crew was hurt in the armed hold-up and thanked his hundreds of thousands of followers for their messages of support.

Sharing an update the day after, Cook said said: 'Vibes took a bit of a beat down from yesterday's antics but the only way to get out of this is to keep going.

'Hard times? Yes sir. Back for more? Absolutely.'

If being robbed at gunpoint and kidnapped by thugs with machetes wasn't enough, Cook has also had to battle with his own body letting him down at times.

He has shared personal updates with his followers about suffering from food poisoning, being struck down by sickness multiple times and finding blood in his urine.

Just 26 days into his challenge, Cook was unable to keep food down for two days due to stomach issues, although he insisted it 'was always going to be part of this mission'.

Meanwhile on day 45 - a rare day where could not make any further ground, he wrote: 'Ahhhh the rest day I was trying so hard to avoid. Went doctors this morning. Got tests done. Blood & protein in my urine for the 4th day in a row.'

Cook admitted in an interview in October that he had to increase security as a result of the life-threatening moments.

He told Good Morning Britain: 'We kind of went in to it with blind aggression, like didn't really know what we were doing and obviously stumbled across quite a few different problems... we hired some new team members with loads of great experience. We've got the help of a security company.'

Then in January his whole mission was nearly scuppered after he failed to get a visa to allow him to enter Algeria. 

In a video posted to social media, Mr Cook said the success of his challenge was now dependent on Algerian authorities granting him permission to enter.

'Right girls and boys, we have a bit of a problem. We haven't been able to get visas for Algeria, and if we don't get them, then it's game over for project Africa,' he said.

'I've been running now for 278 days, covered nearly 12,000km (7,456 miles) through 13 countries and raised over £140k for charity in my attempt to become the first person ever to run the entire length of Africa

'But right now all of that is totally hanging on whether we can get permission from Algeria to let us cross in through this border with Mauritania,' he said.

'This is the only option we have left so, Algeria, if you're listening, please reach out to me. Anything you need from us please let me know,' he added, addressing Algerian authorities. 'It would be an absolute privilege to visit your beautiful country.

'To everyone following the journey online please help us out by sharing this and helping us get this seen by the appropriate people in Algeria.'

Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing, said he had been sent Mr Cook's video, and offered to help by contacting the Foreign Office.

'Russ-have been sent this and I gather that you are from East Worthing,' he said.

'Can you email me some details and we will do what we can to help through the Foreign Office and Algerian Embassy.'

His social campaign worked and the Algerian Embassy said it would grant him a courtesy visa 'on the spot', meaning he could cross the border.

Cook began his journey on April 22 by setting off from Cape Agulhas in South Africa.

The runner is raising money for charity. Half of the proceeds will go to The Running Charity, which helps young people who are homeless, and the other half will go to WaterAid, which provides clean water and toilets in places like Africa.

At the time of writing, he has raised £763,291.16. 

You can donate to his fundraising page at https://givestar.io/gs/PROJECTAFRICA