Sir Mo Farah supports Sussex athlete attempting to become first man to run full length of Africa

Russell ‘Russ’ Cook, 26, plans to run the equivalent of 360 marathons in 240 days – 31 miles (50km) every day, with no rest days.

He is currently on day 36 of the extreme challenge, which began on April 22 at the most southerly point in South Africa. He aims to finish at the most northerly point in Tunisia – the 16th country – by Christmas, to raises money for both The Running Charity and Water Aid.

Russ – known as the ‘Hardest Geezer – has gone viral on social media, amassing more than 100,000 followers on Twitter and Instagram. The Worthing man is also documenting the epic challenge on YouTube.

Marathon icon Mo Farah shared a video message in support of Russ this week.

The four-time Olympic champion said: “I just wanted to say amazing work. I am so proud of you for what you’re doing. It’s incredible. No one can tell you, you can’t because you can.

"Believe in yourself. I know you are doing an amazing thing for charity. Everyone is supporting you. The nation is supporting you.”

In one of his recent video updates on Twitter, Russ said: “I am trying to run through 16 different African countries, whilst continuously being on the move. We do what we can. Sometimes there’s a few little bumps in the road but forward progress at all costs."

At the start of the challenge, Russ told the BBC that the journey would start in earnest in the ‘seaside paradise’ of Worthing. He said: "I've grown here, spent most of my life here. I'd love to put Worthing on the map in some kind of way."

According to a CNN article, the endurance athlete’s life as a runner began when he jogged home from a Brighton nightclub in the early hours of the morning.

Project Africa comes after Russ previously run from Asia to London in 2019 – 71 marathons in 66 days through 11 different countries.

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