British man running length of Africa nears finish line

A man from the U.K. who has been running the length of Africa for charity set off from the Tunisian city of Bizerte on Sunday in what he hoped would be the last leg of his long journey.

Russ Cook, who calls himself the “Hardest Geezer”, began the challenge in April last year, starting out in the southernmost point of the African continent, Cape Agulhas in South Africa.

He crossed over into Tunisia on Thursday night and says he aims to complete the mammoth feat by Sunday, ending at the northernmost point of the continent in Cape Angela.

The 26-year-old was joined by supporters on Sunday as they ran alongside him at the start of his final leg of the more than 16,000km journey.

Cook is running to raise money for two causes, The Running Charity, which supports young people with complex needs or who are homeless, and Sandblast, which aims to build awareness and support for indigenous Saharawis of Western Sahara.

He has recently seen a surge in donations with more than £650,000 raised ($808,832) of his £1 million goal.