Foreign Office issues travel warning to man running entire length of Africa

25 January 2024 , 15:44

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Russell Cook, 26, began his run in South Africa (Image: hardestgeezer/Instagram)

A man who is halfway through his challenge to run the length Africa has been warned by the Foreign Office to skip Algeria amid safety concerns.

Russell Cook, 26, from Worthing, West Sussex, began his run at South Africa's most southerly point on April 22 to raise funds for The Running Charity. So far, he has raised £144,492. His plan is to complete 360 marathons in the span of 240 days, but visa complications could disrupt that goal. However, the government warned that terrorists were "likely" to try to carry out attacks in Algeria, including kidnappings.

Mr Cook, nicknamed "Hardest Geezer" has so far been running for 278 days and has been held back by a number of issues, including complications with his visa, health scares and being robbed at gunpoint. It meant his challenge had to be extended as he couldn't meet his goal to run 9,320 miles (14,500km) and cross 16 borders.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said Mr Cook was given travel advice. A spokesperson said: "It clearly sets out the risks involved travelling through these dangerous areas, to where we clearly advise against all travel," a spokesman said.

"Our travel advice is just that, advice, and it is up to individuals to decide whether to follow it. Visa applications are a matter for the issuing country." Mr Cook, known as @thehardestgeezer on X, formerly known as Twitter, feared he wouldn't be able to reach his targets if he couldn't secure permission to cross the border from Mauritania into Algeria. Telling is followers, he said: "I've been on the road for 278 days, ran 12,000km (7,456 miles) across 13 different countries, raised over £140,000 for charity - but it is all hanging in the balance."

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MP Alexander Stafford, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Algeria, wrote to the Algerian Ambassador to the UK asking him to help grant a visa to Mr Cook. In a letter to Nourredine Yazid, he said: "I know that you, the government of Algeria, will not want to see Russ fail at this final hurdle, and I hope that this letter might help expediate his application.

"Russ' journey is truly inspirational to us all", he added. Conservative MP for East Worthing, Tim Loughton, has also publicly offered the runner his support. Mr Cook, who is currently on day 279 of the challenge, is due to end his run at Tunisia's most northerly point and would have crossed the west saharan desert.

Zahra Khaliq