Sussex man’s running challenge across Africa back on track after visa issues

A man jogging the length of Africa for charity says he's back on the road after fears his journey could be cut short because of visa issues.

After more than 7,500 miles (12,000km) and 283 days of running, Russ Cook, from Worthing in West Sussex, has been given the green light to cross the Algerian border to Mauritania.

Mr Cook, who so far has run across 13 countries, shared the news on X, formerly Twitter, thanking his followers and politicians for their support.

The marathon runner said: "Boys and girls we did it. We’re going to Algeria, and the power of social media made it happen. There is still over 4000km of running left to do but I’ll have a finish date for project africa ready to announce pretty soon. Daiquiri’s on the beach in sight.

"Thank you to everyone who supported, sent messages, went through their contacts for us. I also want to say a big thank you to everyone’s favourite people to dig out, our politicians. Labour and Conservatives MP’s both been immensely helpful here."

His adventure began on February 5 last year when he aimed to take on 360 marathons over 240 days across 16 countries including Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Cameroon, Angola and South Africa, with no rest days.

He said the idea of the marathon challenge across Africa came about after he ran from Asia to London in 2019 solo and unassisted.

That feat saw him complete 71 marathons in 66 days through 11 countries, including Turkey and Germany.

So far, Mr Cook has raised more than £140,000 for charity and he hopes to raise funds for vital work The Running Charity does to help those facing difficulties.

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