‘Hardest Geezer’ is the absolute legend running the entire length of Africa for charity and we have no words
While we're struggling to get out of bed on a Monday morning, this fair-skinned ginger bloke is running across Africa in scorching temperatures and a retro England shirt.
We come across all kinds of incredible human feats and charitable efforts in our line of work, but every now and again someone comes along that truly captures our attention and, in this case, that person is the one they call ‘The Hardest Geezer’: the man who is running the entire length of Africa.
As in all of it…
Real name Russell Cook, or Russ to his mates, this man has earned the title of Worthing’s ‘Hardest Geezer’ after completing numerous incredible and, frankly, insane endurance challenges, including becoming the first person in history to run from London to Asia. A well-earned moniker, we’d say.
Cut to April 22 onwards and his latest effort is Project Africa, inspired by the challenge to cycle 13,000 km across the Eastern seaboard of the continent — an epic journey in itself which takes over 10 months to complete. The only difference is this lad is doing it all on foot. As you do.
Setting himself the incredibly tall order of running the equivalent of 360 marathons in 240 days, Russ is now three weeks into his long-haul trek with well over 150 kilometres already ran.
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His journey will take him through South Africa, Namibia, Angola; the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon; Nigeria, Benin, Togo; Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea; Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria and finally Tunisia where his gargantuan run will finish.
Oh yeah, did we mention that includes part of the Sahara Desert, you know, famously one of the hottest places on Earth? I mean, he’s an experienced ultra-marathon runner but this is just nuts.
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As for what keeps him motivated, it’s a very simple message that we can all learn from: “one day at a time, you’ve just got to keep showing up”, no matter the obstacles.
Blokes running the entire length of Africa in an England retro shirt, feet like Swiss cheese and he's escaping muggings. He's earned the name 'hardest geezer'. https://t.co/4e7DblHlBp
It’s safe to say that beyond all his previous ultra marathon challenges, this is one of the greatest feats of human endurance ever and he’s documenting the whole thing on his socials and on his YouTube channel.
We still get over the fact he’s ginger either — putting that fair skin under the African heat for hours and hours every day is bravery in itself! Thank god for that sun hat.
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Speaking to Sky Sports this week, he explained how part of his inspiration came from “working jobs that [he] really didn’t like and feeling like [he] wasn’t living a meaningful, fulfilling life” and since then he’s had one overarching goal: “get after as much life I can”.
As running the entire length of Africa wasn’t brilliant enough, the thing we love most about this bloke — other than his incredible levels of positivity — is he’s fundraising along the way, raising money not only for The Running Charity which helps the homeless but WaterAid too, which provides clean water and sanitation to areas in need across the globe.
What a guy.
You can get behind him by donating to his Project Africa fundraiser HERE and we’ll leave you with one of our favourite videos he’s posted so far.
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You’re an inspiration to all of us and make us want to wake up and put in the graft, good on ya’.
Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – better known together as Westside Cowboy – formed back in 2023 when they were students at the Royal Northern College of Music, so while they may not all be from Manchester, they definitely have the spirit of our city at the heart of everything they do.
After playing in different bands across the city throughout their student years, the four-piece joined forces to create Westside Cowboy – an indie rock collective credited with self-coining the genre of ‘Britainicana’.
Put simply, Britainicana is a cultural concept that mixes the hazy, mythic feel of American country and folk, with the sound of raw British punk, indie rock, and small-town life.
Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On / Credit: Clementine Schniedermann (Press Shots – Supplied)
If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll be pleased to know that Westside Cowboy have released their debut album, It Goes On, to the world today (21 August).
And the reception from critics, arguably, couldn’t be better.
Prior to the release of their debut album, the band had released two EPs, including So Much Country ‘Till We Get There in January earlier this year, and had started to make a name for themselves with their popular debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’ in 2024.
They went onto make even further waves when they supported equally-rising American rock band Geese on their UK and Irish tour back in March – with many fans calling it one of the best support and main act combinations in some time.
Three singles from their debut album were shared with the world ahead of its release – ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ came first, followed by ‘Pin Up Boys’ and ‘Dobro’.
So, it’s fair to say the anticipation for album was high… and if the reviews are anything to go by (which we think they are), it looks like the band has very much delivered what they set out to achieve.
Westside Cowboy’s debut album It Goes On is now available to stream, or you can purchase a physical copy in a range of formats from their website here.
Take a listen👇
Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied)
News
UK set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn
Emily Sergeant
The UK is being told to brace for a series of storms this autumn when the ‘unprecedented’ El Niño weather event arrives.
It’s already been a summer of extremes for the country, with multiple heatwaves over the past couple of months, but now it appears that autumn and winter are set to have some extremes of their own, as the Met Office is warning that this upcoming El Niño could be one of the most significant in recent memory.
El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average, which therefore impacts global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
The natural warming of sea temperatures is forecast to reach more than 3°C in the coming months, according to the Met Office, making this year’s weather event have the potential to be ‘the largest since the 19th century’.
The UK is set to be battered by storms as ‘unprecedented’ El Niño arrives this autumn / Credit: Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
El Niño will create a heightened risk of drought in the tropics, southern Africa, and north eastern Australia, but over in north western Europe – including the UK – it means we are likely to experience wetter and stormier conditions.
The UK, and of course Greater Manchester, is absolutely no stranger to a storm around this time of year, but forecasters say this could be an entirely different beast.
“We should be clear that this is an unprecedented event,” warned Professor Adam Scaife, who is the Head of Long Range Forecasting at the Met Office.
“I have never seen an El Nino signal this intense in our forecasts.”
Professor Scaife concluded: “A typical El Nino leads to an equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature rise of between one to 2°C, with 2°C being a really big event. This implies that, if the forecast is accurate, and other forecast systems show similar extreme values, then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences.’
Forecasters and officials, however, have warned that it could take months of sustained rainfall before rivers, reservoirs, and groundwaters are ‘completely replenished’ – which is when a drought can officially be declared as over.
It also warned drought conditions could persist into the new year as, despite El Niño, as current forecasts do not suggest this autumn will have the amount of rainfall needed to drive recovery.
Danny Jones -
13th May 2023 
