It’s not your typical run within the park.
Over the previous yr, Russ Prepare dinner – aka. “The Hardest Geezer” has trekked throughout Africa, with the goal of being the primary particular person in historical past to run from the continent’s most southerly to northerly level.
It’s a journey that started off in Cape Agulhas, South Africa – Africa’s most southerly level – on April 23, 2023 and led to Ras Angela, Tunisia – Africa’s most northerly level – on April 7, 2024.
Throughout his journey Prepare dinner encountered a wide range of points, from being held at gunpoint in Angola and kidnapped within the Congo by a gang of males armed with machetes to visa troubles entering into Algeria and well being scares reminiscent of recurring again ache.
That didn’t cease the 27-year-old from Worthing, West Sussex. Overcoming adversity time and time once more, and as a rule operating alone, Prepare dinner counted down the miles.
It was becoming that through the last stretch to Ras Angela, he was joined by a myriad of supporters who had flown in to run with him on the final leg of of the journey.
Russ Prepare dinner approaches the end line in Tunisia (Getty)
When he crossed the road, Prepare dinner was reunited along with his girlfriend Emily and in a while within the night drank a protracted awaited strawberry daiquiri.
What makes his achievement much more spectacular is if you delve into the numbers.
His journey from Cape Agulhas to Ras Angela was an astonishing 16,295km/10,125 miles.
The truth that it took him 352 days to finish the journey implies that Prepare dinner averaged out 46.3km/28.7 miles per day for nearly a yr.
That’s the equal of 386 marathons. No shock he went via 30 pairs of trainers.
Prepare dinner additionally travelled via 16 international locations: South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria, and Tunisia.
In complete, Prepare dinner accomplished roughly 19 million steps throughout that interval. The longest single run he did in someday was 110km, 241 days into the journey.
Nicknamed ‘Venture Africa’, Prepare dinner’s goal is to boost £1m for The Working Charity and Sandblast.
He’s no stranger to challenges and beforehand ran from Istanbul to London whereas he additionally holds the report for the quickest marathon whereas pulling a automobile.
Prepare dinner’s declare to be the primary particular person to run the size of Africa has been challenged by the World Runners Affiliation (WRA).
They state that Jesper Kenn Olsen, from Denmark, was the primary particular person to run the size of Africa, operating the 12,791km distance from Egypt to South Africa.
The counterargument is that Olsen’s journey wasn’t from the continent’s most northerly to southerly level.
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