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Russ Cook (front right with a light hat) with fellow travelers in Ghazela, northern Tunisia

Photo: Fethi Belaid / AFP

The Brit Russ Cook has achieved his goal: On Sunday, the 27-year-old ended his almost year-long run through the African continent in Tunisia. “Come and run the last marathon, the last half marathon, ten kilometers, five kilometers, one kilometer,” Cook invited on the online service X to accompany him on the last stage. He wanted to “open the last day of this project to everyone who followed and supported it,” he wrote.

After arriving in Bizerte, Tunisia's northernmost city, Cook treated himself to a swim in the Mediterranean. He told the British broadcaster Sky News - with British understatement: "I'm a little tired now."

Cook started his run on April 22, 2023 at the southernmost point of Africa, Cape Agulhas in South Africa. His journey took him more than 16,000 kilometers to Tunisia, where he ended his run at the northernmost point of the continent, Cape Ben Sakka. At the end of his project, he said he had taken 19 million steps in 16 countries.

With his run, Cook raised more than 550,000 pounds (around 641,000 euros) in donations for the organizations Running Charity and Sandblast. The end of the project will be celebrated with a celebration in a hotel.

Problems with criminals and the authorities

"Get your daiquiris ready, girls and boys, this is going to be awesome," Cook wrote on X. Last week he described the last year as "the hardest year of my life." In every country he visited, he met “incredible people” who “welcomed us with love and kindness.”

However, the campaign did not go off without complications. According to his own statements, Cook was attacked at gunpoint in Angola. He was also attacked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this time by men with machetes. In addition, the authorities in Algeria almost ruined the race for him. Only after a video appeal that was viewed millions of times did the Brit receive a visa for the North American country.

With his run, he wanted to inspire other people to “follow their dreams a little more,” Cook, who comes from Worthing in southern England, explained at the beginning of his project. "I'm just a normal guy, and if I can do that, then hopefully people can apply that to their own lives, however they want."

jok/AFP