‘Hardest Geezer’ is setting off on new brutal challenge today just two months after running length of Africa
Russ Cook earned himself the mother of all rests after becoming the first person to successfully run the length of Africa, but now he's put his running shoes back on and is undertaking another challenge.
The 'Hardest Geezer' made it over his finish line in Tunisia on 7 April and enjoyed the simple pleasure of a strawberry daiquiri.
He later spoke out about about the difficulty of taking on another challenge in the aftermath of making it all the way up the length of Africa, saying: "Probably what will be a big concern for me if I ever did something this big again, I'd be like 'do you want it enough though Russ?
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"I'd have to check myself to be like 'do you actually want', because it's f**king hard! Do you know what I mean?
"So if you don't want it you're done."
However, it looks like Russ has found another challenge he wants to do, and he's setting off on another run today (11 June), though thankfully he's not planning on going quite such a long distance this time.
The 'Hardest Geezer' intends to run from Wembley Stadium in London to Gelsenkirchen in Germany on Sunday (16 June), with the hope of arriving at the city in time for England's opening game of Euro 2024 against Serbia.
Kick-off is at 8pm so he'll have plenty of time on the day itself to complete his run, but that's not going to be the end of his new challenge.
It's going to be a 352 mile run from Wembley to Gelsenkirchen, and after that Russ is planning to run across Germany following the Three Lions throughout the tournament.
After Sunday's game there'll be a second group game on Thursday (20 June) in Frankfurt, followed by another group stage game against Slovenia in Cologne two weeks from today (25 June).
“I am buzzing to be back on the road again," Russ said of getting back out there for another run, and he hopes his fellow Euro 2024 fans will give him a friendly greeting as he goes by.
“It’s going to be a race against the clock, but I’m determined to support Gareth and the boys.
“If people spot me along the way please feel free to give me a wave or even run alongside me for a while.”
He's being sponsored on this latest run by Sports Direct and Score Draw, with money he raises going towards The Running Charity which helps young people who are homeless or have complex needs.
As with his run up the length of Africa there'll be regular updates on his progress, though we hope this time his journey will be slightly less eventful than some of the episodes from his last challenge where he was robbed at gunpoint, surrounded by 'blokes with machetes' and needed some diplomatic efforts to allow him to complete his journey.
Topics: Sport, Football, Charity, UK News, World News
Joe Harker