by A Danish ultrarunner challenging a Briton’s claim to be the first person to run the length of Africa has said the Briton has achieved an “unbelievable feat” but wants to “get the facts right”. .
Russ Cook, known as the Hardest Geezer, celebrated crossing the finish line on Sunday after running more than 10,000 miles (16,100km) in 352 days on his way from Cape Agulhas, South Africa, to Ras Angela in Tunisia.
Mr Cook claimed to be the first person to run the length of Africa, but this feat is disputed by the World Runners Association (WRA) who say their member Jesper Kenn Olsen, from Denmark, completed a similar journey in 2010.
Mr Olsen began his challenge on 28 December 2008 in Taba, Egypt, before a 7,948 mile (12,791km) journey to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, completing 434 running days before ending in March 2010.
Mr Olsen, 52, told the PA news agency that he was “very impressed” by Mr Cook’s challenge but was “surprised” that he claimed to be the first person to run the length of Africa and was not he contacted the WRA – group. made up of seven athletes who managed to go around the world on foot.
He also said he was aware of another runner before his own feat, Briton Nick Bourne, who ran 10,000km (6,200 miles) from South Africa to Egypt in 1998 according to a contemporary BBC article.
“This is more about getting the facts right and so, it’s really nice that a lot of media were quick enough to find out that there was something to research about this,” said he.
“For me, it’s not so much about whether I’m the first person or the second person or whether you are, because of course, for us, the biggest thing is the run around the world.
“It is much more important that you keep the honor than whether you are number one, two or three.
“However, as far as I understand, he is definitely the fastest.”
Mr Olsen described Mr Cook’s feat as an “incredible feat” but said making sure you recognize “the people who have gone before” is “really cool” on the run.
“It’s the hallmark of the hardest sports and the same in the culture of the tour that you always recognize what came before,” he said.
“That’s why we were very surprised, because that usually doesn’t happen in ultra running, you always respect what’s gone before.”
“It’s an incredible feat… I mean, so few people have been able to do it and when I did it, I thought, if I knew how hard it is, I I probably wouldn’t touch her – and that’s coming from someone. which is taking place across the other five continents.”
Mr Olsen said he only learned of Mr Cook’s challenge two weeks ago.
Another WRA member Marie Leautey said the group was made aware of this one month ago and tried to contact him before releasing his statement.
Ms Leautey, 46, praised Mr Cook’s effort but said she did not want her friend Mr Olsen’s achievement to be “written off history”.
Ms Leautey, a London-based financial adviser, told PA: “It’s not really about claiming a title or a claim to fame or recognition, it’s just a fact-check and it’s about sports.
“We are a small community, only seven of us, we all respect the people who have done it before because they are the ones who have enabled us to do it.
“(Mr Cook) has had a great run and we want to commend him for it and say congratulations, but we also don’t want Jesper’s run to be written off from history because it doesn’t feel right.”
She said the incumbent group had received backlash online for calling for Mr Olsen to run ahead of Mr Cook’s challenge.
“We got a lot of abuse from people … it was disappointing,” she said.
“They don’t realize that WRA is not a big association, we are just seven people who run around the world – we set up the community not only to protect our heritage, but we also try to inspire others.”
Ms Leautey also said she hopes to speak to the endurance runner and invite him into the WRA.
“The door is very open for Russ and we want to talk to him as well,” she said.
“We consider what he has done to be part of our community.
“It’s amazing what he’s done and it’s really inspiring.”
To date Mr Cook, from Worthing, Sussex, has raised more than £800,000 for two charities – the Running Charity and Sandblast.
A Guinness World Records spokesman said: “We do not monitor a record for the first crossing of Africa on foot, as there is no recognized standard for the route, distance or time it takes.
“Because of this, we focus on monitoring the fastest foot crossing for Africa and various other routes around the world.”
They added: “Congratulations to Russ on his incredible achievement and we look forward to hearing from him on his record for the fastest (male) crossing of Africa on foot.
