Russ Prepare dinner finishes the journey of greater than 16,000km (9,940 miles) in 352 days, elevating $870,000 for 2 separate charities.
Sore and sandblasted however triumphant, runner Russ Prepare dinner has reached the northernmost level of Africa, virtually a yr after he set off from its southern tip on a quest to run the size of the continent.
Dozens of supporters gathered on a rocky outcrop on Sunday beside the Mediterranean in northern Tunisia, cheering on the British charity fundraiser, who has run greater than 16,000km (9,940 miles) throughout 16 international locations in 352 days, and is believed to be the primary particular person to finish the feat.
“I’m just a little bit drained,” Prepare dinner mentioned – probably an understatement.
In the middle of his journey, the 27-year-old endurance athlete from Worthing in southern England crossed jungle and desert, swerved battle zones and was delayed by theft, harm and visa issues.
Prepare dinner – identified on social media by his nickname, Hardest Geezer – set off on April 22, 2023 from Cape Agulhas in South Africa, the continent’s southernmost level. He hoped to finish the journey in 240 days, working the equal of greater than a marathon every single day.
Robbed in Angola
Prepare dinner and his group had cash, passports and tools stolen in a gunpoint theft in Angola. He was quickly halted by again ache in Nigeria. And he was virtually stopped in his tracks by the shortage of a visa to enter Algeria, earlier than diplomatic intervention from the Algerian embassy in the UK managed to safe the required paperwork.
Prepare dinner, who has spoken about how working helped him take care of his personal psychological well being struggles, beforehand ran about 3,000km (1,860 miles) from Istanbul to Worthing in 68 days.
His African run has raised greater than 690,000 kilos ($870,000) for The Operating Charity, which works with homeless younger individuals, and Sandblast, a charity that helps displaced individuals from Western Sahara.
“It’s fairly onerous to place into phrases, 352 days on the street, very long time with out seeing household, my girlfriend,” Prepare dinner informed Sky Information as he began working on Sunday, accompanied by supporters who’d come from far and huge to run the ultimate stretch with him.
“My physique is in a variety of ache. However yet one more day, I’m not about to complain.”
Prepare dinner mentioned he deliberate to have a good time with a celebration, the place British band Mushy Play was on account of carry out.
“We’re going to have strawberry daiquiris on the seaside tonight,” he mentioned. “It’s going to be unreal.”