27 year old Russ Cook from England had aimed to become the first known person to run the entire length of Africa. 9,941 miles!
Cook took off April 22nd last year and had aimed to have the mission finished by Christmas, targeting running 360 marathons in 240 days. There were plenty of problems including a visa issue that found him unable to enter Algeria. There were also injuries, illnesses, he was robbed at gunpoint and spent a week lost in a rainforest.
Russ Cook finally reached the Tunisian coast on April 8th to finish the epic journey 50 weeks after starting it.
For the last leg of his odyssey, Russ was joined by dozens of enthusiastic supporters, including many who flew in from different spots around the world. Throughout the run, Cook gained a substantial social media following and was able to raise a million dollars for various charities His journey was also documented on YouTube, where he has more than 185-thousand subscribers.
Cook says endurance sports gave him a sense of purpose he desperately needed. At 19 he went broke addicted to gambling and drinking. As he said "my value to the world as an overweight alcoholic was minimal". Trying to replace the thrill of gambling and drinking with something that was good for me instead of deadly, was hard. I found running. It sucked at first but after a few weeks I realized I was able to go pretty good distances. It was fun to push my boundaries. I also started feeling good about my body and my mind was so clear! I just kept going. I became a world record breaking endurance athlete. (Most importantly) I am the most fulfilled I have ever been. To those in the midst of the fight right now, there is more for you in this life than being a slave to the devils game. Whatever it is, go get after it