A British man trying to be the first person to run the entire length of Africa has had to temporarily stop running after he was robbed at gunpoint.
Russell Cook was trying to complete 360 marathons in 240 days. Last month, the 26-year-old and his three-person support crew had their cameras, phones, cash and passports stolen in a robbery in Angola, a country located in the western part of Southern Africa.
Now, he is facing a “frustrating” delay of up to two weeks until he and his crew can get new visas. “They took my passport, which had a visa for Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Congo in it,” he says.
On day 64 of his run through Africa, he and his support crew were approached by two men with guns who “demanded everything. We lost a few thousand quids worth of stuff which is a big problem for us.”
“Logistics in Africa is especially difficult. We were in Luanda,” the capital of Angola, “for six days trying to get the new visa, sweet talking every man and his dog. But ultimately, we left with our pants pulled firmly down. We can’t go anywhere until we have the visas.”
“One of the reasons why I wanted to run the length of Africa is because no one has ever done it before, and now we are finding out why,” he said.
His run began at South Africa’s most southerly point, Cape Agulhas, on April 22, and will finish at Tunisia’s most northerly point, Cape Angela.
Cook expects to pass through the dangerous Lake Chad region of central Africa, where villagers are periodically killed by terrorist groups like Boko Haram. In March 2020, Boko Haram terrorists killed 98 Chadian soldiers near Boma in the Lake Chad region, the deadliest single attack in Chad’s history. Boko Haram has inflicted far more damage across the border in Northeastern Nigeria, and has also killed villagers in neighboring northern Cameroon and eastern Niger.
Cook hopes to cover over 9,300 miles during the challenge, crossing 16 borders and going through cities, rainforests and a three-month stretch in the blazing hot Sahara Desert.
“Not many people live there, so in terms food, petrol and water, it’s slim pickings,” he said. “Then you’ve got the sheer fact it’s boiling hot during the day, freezing cold at night and I’ll be running on sand, which is an absolute killer.”
He is doing the run as an extreme challenge to raise money for The Running Charity and Water Aid..
He was on day 77 when his run was forced to stop by the lack of visas.
Mr Cook said he and his team had driven 1300 miles in reverse — going back south to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, in an attempt to get the visas quicker, even though that was going back toward where his journey had begun (South Africa, the country just south of Namibia).
