‘Hardest Geezer’ Russ Cook reveals mental techniques he uses in extreme endurance sports challenges
Russ Cook made history in 2024 when he ran the full length of Africa — the equivalent of 378 full marathons — and raised more than £1 million for charity.
It took him less than a year (352 days) to complete the 10,000-mile endurance challenge, during which he earned his self-styled nickname "The Hardest Geezer".
Since completing the challenge in April 2024, he's run the London Marathon as well as completing the 1,512-mile length of New Zealand in just 73 days.
His next project is teaming up with Huel for the Limit Seekers Fund.
A £10,000 fund will be shared by 10 individuals who are planning epic challenges of their own, including climbing Antarctica's highest summit and cycling 20,000km from the UK to Austria.
Each participant will receive personal funding, nutritional guidance, unlimited Huel and mentoring and support from Russ along the way.
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I spoke to Russ after the Limit Seeker fund was announced, keen to find out what mental and physical strength is required for endurance events and how we can all take inspiration from this to help with our own goals, in sport and in everyday life.
You ran the entire length of Africa, covering 16,000 km across 16 countries. When did this journey stop being just a physical challenge and become something more?
This journey was not without its challenges.
While there were amazing highs, there were a lot of terrifying moments.
We were robbed at gunpoint several times.
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At one point, I was pissing blood and had a trapped nerve in my back, but I still had to keep running.
There were times when it was difficult to cross borders, and we were seriously thinking we might have to give up.
But the worst was when I was held hostage in the jungle, as I had no immediate idea how to get out of the situation.
Some people might have given in if one of those things happened to them, but I wasn't going to do that.
I would have done anything it took to complete it.
How do you keep your mind from falling apart in these circumstances?
Finding the strength to keep going is always personal to an individual and involves a macro level and a micro level of motivation.
On a macro level, you have to understand the why and spend time thinking about what led you to start the challenge in the first place.
Ideally, you want to make it bigger than you, so raising money for a charity is a good one, then you're not just letting yourself down if you quit, but you're letting them down too.
Ideally, you want to make it bigger than you, so raising money for a charity is a good one, then you're not just letting yourself down if you quit, but you're letting them down too.
I was filming everything on YouTube, as well as raising money for charities that I care about, so I didn't want to suddenly say that I was stopping and giving up.
On a micro level, it's important to try little techniques that will help you keep putting one foot in front of the other.
For example, it's daunting to try to imagine running 10,000 miles across Africa.
So I broke it down into thinking about running 30 miles to 40 miles a day, and that's more manageable - it's just over a marathon a day.
Then I thought, I'll run 10 miles, then have some breakfast, run another 10 and have lunch and then do another 10 to be finished for the day.
This way of thinking works well for everyday life too.
If you're a business person, you can't think too much about how you're going to build a company with 200 employees and millions of profit.
Before you do that, you need to think about what you're actually going to do each day to get you to that level.
When you focus on the day-to-day, the whole picture becomes less scary.
What attracted you to become an ambassador for the Huel Limit Seekers Fund, where you will mentor others through their challenges?
I've done a lot of my own challenges over the past few years, and now I get to help others on their journeys.
The Huel campaign aligns with my mission because it's about pushing people further and helping them piece things together to make their goals happen.
The people I'm mentoring are from all walks of life, and what they have in common is a desire to challenge themselves.
The people I'm mentoring are from all walks of life, and what they have in common is a desire to challenge themselves.
I'm honoured to be giving them what advice I can and be there to witness their dreams coming together.
As well as that, I do genuinely use Huel every day and have done for years.
When you're as busy as I am, it's a lifesaver to have nutritionally complete meals that you can eat on the go.
I love the pre-made drinks that I can grab on the go, and I pack nutritionally complete powders for the challenges
I use the Huel Black edition powder.
I love the pre-made drinks that I can grab on the go, and I pack nutritionally complete powders for the challenges, just in case the food that's out there isn't enough for my needs.
What mindset shift do you encourage in someone who doubts their ability to do hard things?
Sometimes doubts are normal as they're a way of keeping you safe, to stop you from breaking your body.
But if it feels like darkness is closing in on you and you know in your heart that you have more to give, it feels like everything is zooming in on you, and your emotions are high.
Your job is to zoom out.
Tell yourself that this thing will be over in a matter of a few hours and ask yourself how you want to feel at the end of those five hours.
Do you want to feel amazing and have conquered something impressive, or do you want to give up and have regrets?
It's the pain of quitting vs the pain of taking another step - you have to weigh it up.
Quickfire Q&A with Russ Cook
Get to know Russ Cook better as he answers six questions in 60 seconds
- Who's your sporting hero? Mo Farah. Of course, he was an absolute hero in the 2012 Olympics. But before that, just getting out of Somalia and coming to the UK and then building up from that to be a world-class athlete: it's a remarkable journey.
- Training gadget you can't live without? Garmin Enduro 2 - this was a lifesaver in the Sahara Desert. There were no roads, so I had to use the watch to navigate.
- Training style in three words? Ferocious. Peaceful. Bold
- How do you fuel your training? The cornerstone of it is Huel. I take it everywhere I go, as I know it gives my body what it needs. I also have a high-protein diet, including things like 500g of meat, salmon fillets, and four eggs on toast.
- Favourite recovery meal? Pizza or sausage rolls. Or both. But I don’t indulge all the time.
- Fact about you that readers might not know? I've cut my own hair for seven years.
What’s your advice to someone who’s not naturally fit, but wants to take on their first fitness challenge?
First of all start where you are at.
If you look at social media, you'll see that people are doing crazy things, and then it's easy to feel like you're not good enough.
In that case, you need to humble yourself — if you can only run 1K, do that.
Then do some more the next day.
All challenges and hard events are you today versus you yesterday.
All challenges and hard events are you today versus you yesterday.
If you suddenly try to do a marathon when you've only done 1km before, you'll crash and burn and not want to run again.
If you build up slowly, you'll run that marathon before you know it.
Also, get some accountability and tell your flatmate, or your mum, or another person that you're doing it.
Putting it out there in the world is a signal that you're serious about this.
Also, if you quit, then you'll need to admit to everyone that you quit, and it's much easier to cheat or let yourself down than to cheat someone else.
How do you deal with the come-down after a major adventure? Is it harder to stop than to keep going?
If you're aiming towards something for a long time, you miss that direction and forward momentum and purpose when it's over.
Even now, most people know me as the man who ran Africa.
It's important to have an identity aside from that.
You need to live a life where you get purpose and meaning from different pots - not just one challenge, but from friends and family and other things that bring you joy.
You need to live a life where you get purpose and meaning from different pots - not just one challenge, but from friends and family and other things that bring you joy.
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Otherwise, you can get tunnel vision and come to the end of a goal and have no life outside of that, which is dangerous.
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