'Hardest geezer' Russ Cook reunited with 'absolute diamond' girlfriend

Russel Cook's 'rock bottom' came at 3am in a Brighton nightclub when, aged 19, and already a voracious drinker and gambler who was 'overweight, miserable and angry at the world', he asked himself: 'What am I doing with my life? Something needs to change.'

Traversing 9,891 miles from the tip of South Africa to the northernmost point of Tunisia, his journey spanned 16 countries His flowing beard and long, red hair, uncut for nearly a year, glinted in the sun as he described his 352-day ordeal as 'an immense honour', and embraced his publicity-shy girlfriend Emily Bell.

He previously became the first person to complete a marathon on crutches and to run a marathon while stopping every mile to drink a bottle of Corona beer Human nature plays a part, he says — our sofa-bound lifestyles being at odds with our ancestral desire to fight and conquer. 'If I were living in a different time, I'd have been rolling around with a sword on a horse trying to slash people's necks, but the year is 2023 so I'll run the length of Africa instead,' he told the Wide Awake podcast last April. 'It's the rage that needs quenching.

With only water and ventilation tubes to keep him alive, he was forced to contemplate 'what was important in my life... what did I want my legacy to be?'With only water and ventilation tubes to keep him alive, he was forced to contemplate 'what was important in my life... what did I want my legacy to be?'

On day 64, in Angola last June, Cook — passport number tattooed on his arm in case it was stolen — was robbed at gunpoint. With every month, Cook seemed to appear both scrawnier and stronger. Nonetheless, he sometimes broke under the pressureWith every month, Cook seemed to appear both scrawnier and stronger. Nonetheless, he sometimes broke under the pressure.

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