‘Hardest Geezer’ is back on the road as he embarks on run across New Zealand

“Hardest Geezer” Russ Cook, who ran the length of Africa last year, is excited to be “back on the road” as he embarks on his latest running challenge across New Zealand.

The charity fundraiser, from West Sussex, is taking on his first major expedition since Africa, running the 3,000km (1,864 miles) Te Araroa, a mountainous trail which spans the length of New Zealand.

Mr Cook, 27, is kicking off his journey on Wednesday from Stirling Point in Bluff at the southern tip of the South Island, and will run northbound for 60 days to the finish line in Cape Rēinga in Northland.

On the route, which is the equivalent of 60 ultramarathons, the ultra-runner will encounter a diverse range of terrains from mountains and native forests to coastlines and cities.

“I know there’s going to be a fair share of challenges that I’ve not yet faced before, as the terrain is so diverse on Te Araroa but I’m excited.”

Mr Cook, who covered more than 16,000km when he ran the length of Africa, said he is most nervous about New Zealand’s mountainous terrain.

“New Zealand, terrain wise, has an insane amount of mountains. In the South Island the route is just purely mountainous,” he said.

“I’m going to be climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest 10 times in the next 10 weeks or so, which is more than the African route had for its entire 16,000 km.”

Mr Cook has also partnered with 100% Pure New Zealand, a campaign by Tourism New Zealand promoting the country’s tourism, where he is expected to explore the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, visit the Whanganui River and Waipoua Forest, and see the Maori Rock Art sites.

He will also experience extreme sports including bungee jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, skydiving above Abel Tasman National Park and a swing across a canyon in Queenstown.

Although the ultra-runner is no stranger to adversity having faced visa complications, health scares and an armed robbery while running across Africa, he said he still has his fears.

“I think, if anything from my experiences before in Africa, it has made me more finely attuned to the risks that I can take and the risks that I can’t take,” he said.

“A lot of personal growth is done in those little uncomfortable spots.

“You’re not totally 100% sure, but you go for it anyway, and you make it happen, and that’s when you learn.”

“When I was younger, I was one of these people, I was very much searching for meaning in my life, quite intensely,” he said.

“It started off in all the easy places, like nights out, drinking, partying, all of this kind of stuff.

“I realised, probably after two or three years, it wasn’t really working for me. I needed something different and very spontaneously I decided to run home from a nightclub.”

When Mr Cook started to train for marathons he said it made him believe in himself for the first time.

“For the first time, I was seeing if I put the work in, then there’s actually tangible results.

“I got quite obsessive with it and started training loads.”

He also set a world record for the fastest marathon run whilst pulling a car, in 9 hours, 56 minutes in 2020.

He raised over £1 million for charity for his Africa challenge, which saw him cover more than 16,000km, take some 19 million steps and pass through 16 countries .

Mr Cook says he plans to continue living adventurously as long as his body allows.

“When I’m older, when the body’s keeled over a bit, I expect I’ll pick up where I left off,” he said.