British man trying to run length of Africa ‘kidnapped by machete-wielding men’
A British man attempting to run the entire length of Africa in 240 days was ‘kidnapped’ in Congo by a gang of men armed with machetes.
Deserts, mountains and jungles are just some of the difficulties that Russell Cook has faced in the last 107 days since embarking on his journey.
Starting at the most southerly point in South Africa, the 26-year-old is hoping to reach the most northerly point in Tunisia by Christmas.
Under the nickname ‘Hardest Geezer’, he has been documenting his gargantuan task online.
But his latest update on Sunday describing the last few days as ‘the toughest of my life’ shocked his 216,000 followers on Twitter.
Russell shared how he got separated from his support team after encountering some impassable roads in the planned route.
What followed was a ‘horror’ story involving a seven-hour motorbike ride deep into a jungle after which he had to negotiate his release.
‘In an attempt to find the boys at a village on the plan B route, I stumbled into a rural settlement where the chief told me I must give him money. I had none,’ the runner wrote.
‘So that went down well. Pretty soon I found myself surrounded by lots of game blokes with machetes. Was escorted out the village into the bush.
‘Emptied my bag to show I had nothing but a half eaten biscuit. Gave it to them, and ran. Spent the next few hours bushwhacking through overgrown jungle paths. Trying to stay off any tracks until I was far away.
‘Made it to the village on the plan B route to find the road was also impassable for the support van again. Exhausted and dehydrated, I started heading back to the last known place with passable roads when two blokes pulled up on a bike.
‘They spoke no English but tried to communicate I must come with them to get back to my friends.
‘What happened next was a seven-hour motorbike ride deeper into the jungle. In my head I thought this was it. Me. The self proclaimed hardest geezer. About to get held in a Congo gulag before being ripped apart limb by limb and eaten.’
Eventually, Russell was driven into a village late in the evening where he was taken into a hut.
He recalled a group of men arguing about what to do with him and talking about how much money he owed them.
After some negotiating, he managed to contact his team, who spent the next few days coming up with a rescue plan.
Russell ended his story on a positive note, saying: ‘We made it out. And travelled back to the start point of day 102, where I ran 60km today on our new route.
‘My head ain’t fully there right now. But we move the same way as always, forward.’
This is not the first time he has got stuck in a potentially life-threatening situation during his challenge.
In July, Russell shared that he had been robbed at gunpoint in Namibia, but did not divulge any more details.
Along the way, he has been raising money for the Running Charity and WaterAid.
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