EXCLUSIVE
British extreme runner Russ Cook has spoken about his gruelling journey across Africa, as he prepares to run the London Marathon.
The 'Hardest Geezer', as he is known online, will be taking part in the iconic UK race, meaning he will have finished his 352-day run across the length of Africa just 14 days earlier.
4
Cook's journey from the tip of South Africa to Tunisia's northernmost point saw him complete the equivalent of 385 marathons, covering over 16,000km in the process.
The 27-year-old joined Alan Brazil and Gabby Agbonlahor on talkSPORT Breakfast to shed light on the incredible feat, as he broke down some of the biggest challenges he faced whilst covering the continent.
His expedition through 16 countries was far from straightforward, with Cook and his team being robbed at gunpoint when passing through Angola.
And the ultra-marathon runner revealed that the perilous situation was one of the many extremes which presented themselves during the expedition, which even stretched to his diet.
Read More On Talksport
When asked how many calories he consumed each day, he answered: "On average, about 6000."
He joked: “The major problem is now I've stopped, I'm not burning 6000 calories anymore, but I've still got an appetite for 6000 calories!”
Expanding on the contents of his food intake, Cook admitted that it consisted predominantly of products supplied by complete nutrition brand Huel.
The Worthing native explained: “I was sponsored by Huel and they sorted me out.
Most read in Football
"They make complete nutrition in really easy to consume ways, so they sent me out a load of stuff and I would eat a lot of that."
Despite this, he still made time to enjoy some more traditional produce, adding: “I would eat a lot of local food as well, which is rice, pulp, the odd bit of meat, cassava. It changed all the time.”
But while he was able to enjoy a healthy supply of food, Cook was confronted with an array of trials and tribulations whilst pushing his body to the limit, including encounters with the African wildlife.
When probed on whether he had faced any danger by way of animals, he replied: "Snakes was the major one," before adding that he was 'big swerving' the potentially venomous creatures.
Cook continued: “There was a couple of times, especially when it got to the evening, the snakes would come on the road because the tarmac is a bit hotter.
"So they'd come on the road and I saw a couple [of] big boys.”
And snakes were not the only face-to-face meeting for the man believed to be the first ever person to run the entire length of Africa.
He offered a light-hearted take on another one of his run-ins: "“I only saw one lion. [It] ran away, didn't fancy it, did it?”
4
4
The elite athlete also named the 'brutal' weather conditions he had to withstand whilst passing through the continent as one of his greatest challenges.
Cook said: “The heat was brutal man, like different types of heat as well. You go through the Congo, and West Africa was between about 35 and 40 degrees every day, 95% humidity.
"I was just constantly sweating. [I would] just wake up in the middle of the night, puddle of sweat. It was so hard."
Despite the physical torture he endured, having suffered from spasms and numbness in his legs due to a back injury sustained just over halfway through the challenge, Cook revealed it had also been the realisation of a long-term dream.
Discussing the inspiration for the run across the continent, the 'Hardest Geezer' explained: “I did Istanbul to London in 2019. And then pretty much ever since then I was looking at what I could potentially do next.
“And I saw Africa, it was like the big pipe dream. Big, beautiful continent, no one's ever run it north to south, or south to north.
“And then it kind of got the wheels in motion, [it] took about three years to get [there], I had to convince someone to give me some money to get it going and all this kind of stuff.
“So it took a while, but got there in the end.”
4
Cook will now focus his attention on the upcoming London Marathon, which he will be running alongside teenagers from The Running Charity, a UK organisation that supports young people experiencing homelessness.
When asked if he would be able to cope with his latest physical pursuit, he was adamant in his response: "No problem, yeah."
He then explained that he would be taking a back seat during the race: “It's not about me on the weekend. We've got a group of young people who are running [for] charity."
Cook went on to say: "It's incredible some of the stuff they've had to go through, and I'm just going to be pacing them and helping them get over the finish line.”
Read More on talkSPORT
Nonetheless, the extreme runner admitted to being 'really excited' to take part in the event, which will be a first for him, before he sets his sights on his next challenge.
When asked by Agbonlahor if he would entertain running the length of South America, Cook dropped a hint on his future, saying: "I'm looking. I think that one's interesting to me."