Russ Cook, the “Hardest Geezer” who ran the length of Africa, is set to start a new long-distance running challenge.
The fundraising runner, from Worthing, West Sussex, finished a 16,000km (9,941 miles) journey from the southernmost point of the continent – Cape Agulhas in South Africa – to Ras Angela, Tunisia in April last year.
Speaking to Kay Burley and Rob Harris on Sky News Breakfast, Cook said he will now run 3,000km (1,864 miles) and navigate mountainous terrain on the Te Araroa trail across New Zealand.
“We got about 30,000ft of elevation gain, [like] 60 back-to-back marathons,” he said. “I’m really excited to go out there and explore the country and get after it.”
Image: Russ Cook ran the entire length of Africa – from South Africa to Tunisia. Pic: Reuters
The 27-year-old will kick off his latest challenge in March from Stirling Point in Bluff, located at the southern tip of the South Island.
With the finish line at Cape Reinga in Northland at the top of the North Island, Cook must navigate diverse terrain including mountains, native forests, cities and coastlines.
“It’s been a little while now since Africa, so the cogs are turning again and we’re back out there for another landmass,” he added.
“New Zealand, I couldn’t think of a better place to go… obviously, we banked up quite a lot of mileage in Africa, so the legs are well accustomed to that now.”
Image: Russ Cook’s route along the length of Africa
‘Thought I was going to die’
Cook also told Sky News about a moment during his Africa run when he was held hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said he was “separated from my sports team and then ended up on the back of a motorbike for seven hours” while running through the country – one of 16 he crossed during the ultra-marathon.
“We got driven into this little village… I thought I was going to die, it’s actually quite dramatic. We made contact with my team, and they got a rescue mission together, took about two days.
“And then we squared some money and it was all alright in the end. Lucky one, it really changed the way I thought about a lot of things.”
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1:12
April 2024: Sky reporter runs with ‘Hardest Geezer’
‘Ten Mount Everests’
The runner – also known as Hardest Geezer – added “there’s a lot of things with this one that I’m not quite sure how it’s going to go” – pointing to the elevation he’ll be running in New Zealand.
“We’re looking at about 10 Mount Everests in 10 weeks of elevation gain,” Cook said. “So you’re just going to be scaling mountains. We’ve also got to go through rivers, forests, the trail – it is really diverse.”
This time, Cook and his team will stop along the way to talk with people, with the runner saying: “It was one of the things I really like in Africa, getting to dive into a lot of the culture and learn about a lot of different people in a lot of different places.
“So with New Zealand, we’re going to really make an effort, stop and do that a little bit more this time, and get to learn about the Maori people and the indigenous culture.”
Cook has partnered with 100% Pure New Zealand, a campaign by Tourism New Zealand promoting the country, for this long-distance run.
Along with his 3,000km run, he will also go bungee jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, skydiving above Abel Tasman National Park and swing across a canyon in Queenstown.
Rene de Monchy, chief executive at 100% Pure New Zealand, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Russ on his next incredible mission, and excited to help guide him through the wealth of landscapes, coasts, culture and cuisine the country has to offer all year round.
“Russ’s determination, sense of adventure and kindness towards others truly reflect the values of our nation.”
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has told Sky News that councils that believe they don’t have a problem with grooming gangs are “idiots” – as she denied Elon Musk influenced the decision to have a national inquiry on the subject.
The minister said: “I don’t follow Elon Musk’s advice on anything although maybe I too would like to go to Mars.
“Before anyone even knew Elon Musk’s name, I was working with the victims of these crimes.”
Mr Musk, then a close aide of US President Donald Trump, sparked a significant political row with his comments – with the Conservative Party and Reform UK calling for a new public inquiry into grooming gangs.
At the time, Ms Phillips denied a request for a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham on the basis that it should be done at a local level.
But the government announced a national inquiry after Baroness Casey’s rapid audit on grooming gangs, which was published in June.
Asked if she thought there was, in the words of Baroness Casey, “over representation” among suspects of Asian and Pakistani men, Ms Phillips replied: “My own experience of working with many young girls in my area – yes there is a problem. There are different parts of the country where the problem will look different, organised crime has different flavours across the board.
“But I have to look at the evidence… and the government reacts to the evidence.”
Ms Phillips also said the home secretary has written to all police chiefs telling them that data collection on ethnicity “has to change”, to ensure that it is always recorded, promising “we will legislate to change the way this [collection] is done if necessary”.
Operation Beaconport has since been established, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), and will be reviewing more than 1,200 closed cases of child sexual exploitation.
Ms Phillips revealed that at least “five, six” councils have asked to be a part of the national review – and denounced councils that believed they don’t have a problem with grooming gangs as “idiots”.
“I don’t want [the inquiry] just to go over places that have already had inquiries and find things the Casey had already identified,” she said.
She confirmed that a shortlist for a chair has been drawn up, and she expects the inquiry to be finished within three years.
Ms Phillips’s comments come after she announced £426,000 of funding to roll out artificial intelligence tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales to speed up investigations into modern slavery, child sex abuse and county lines gangs.
Some 13 forces have access to the AI apps, which the Home Office says have saved more than £20m and 16,000 hours for investigators.
The apps can translate large amounts of text in foreign languages and analyse data to find relationships between suspects.
Her comments followed the departure of the prince and several others from the organisation in March.
They had asked her to step down, alleging it was in the “best interest of the charity”.
Dr Chandauka told Sky News that Harry had “authorised the release of a damaging piece of news to the outside world” without informing her or Sentebale directors.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to offer any formal response.
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4:43
Why was Prince Harry accused of ‘bullying’?
‘Strong perception of ill-treatment’
The Charity Commission said it was reporting after a “damaging internal dispute emerged” and has “criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it to play out publicly”.
That “severely impacted the charity’s reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally”, it said.
But it found no evidence of “widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir at the charity”.
Nevertheless, it did acknowledge the “strong perception of ill-treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute and the impact this may have had on them personally”.
It also found no evidence of “‘over-reach’ by either the chair or the Duke of Sussex as patron”.
‘Confusion exacerbated tensions’
But it was critical of the charity’s “lack of clarity in delegations to the chair which allowed for misunderstandings to occur”.
And it has “identified a lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies as the primary cause for weaknesses in the charity’s management”.
That “confusion exacerbated tensions, which culminated in a dispute and multiple resignations of trustees and both founding patrons”.
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4:43
Why was Prince Harry accused of ‘bullying’?
Harry: Report falls troublingly short
A spokesperson for Prince Harry said it was “unsurprising” that the commission had announced “no findings of wrongdoing in relation to Sentebale’s co-founder and former patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex”.
They added: “Despite all that, their report falls troublingly short in many regards, primarily the fact that the consequences of the current chair’s actions will not be borne by her, but by the children who rely on Sentebale’s support.”
They said the prince will “now focus on finding new ways to continue supporting the children of Lesotho and Botswana”.
Dr Chandauka said: “I appreciate the Charity Commission for its conclusions which confirm the governance concerns I raised privately in February 2025.”
But she added: “The unexpected adverse media campaign that was launched by those who resigned on 24 March 2025 has caused incalculable damage and offers a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in private.”
All police forces investigating grooming gangs in England and Wales will be given access to new AI tools to help speed up their investigations.
The artificial intelligence tools are already thought to have saved officers in 13 forces more than £20m and 16,000 hours of investigation time.
The apps can translate large amounts of text in foreign languages from mobile phones seized by police, and analyse a mass of digital data to find patterns and relationships between suspects.
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2:00
Grooming gang inquiry: ‘Our chance for justice’
‘We must punish perpetrators’
The rollout is part of a £426,000 boost for the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) programme, which supports officers to investigate complex cases involving modern slavery, county lines and child sex abuse.
“The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes, and we must punish perpetrators, provide justice for victims and survivors, and protect today’s children from harm,” said safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.
“Baroness Casey flagged the need to upgrade police information systems to improve investigations and safeguard children at risk. Today we are investing in these critical tools.”
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1:36
Key takeaways from the Casey review
Lack of ethnicity data ‘a major failing’
Police forces have also been instructed by the home secretary to collect ethnicity data, as recommended by Baroness Casey.
Her June report found the lack of data showing sex offenders’ ethnicity and nationality in grooming gangs was “a major failing over the last decade or more”.
She found that officials avoided the issue of ethnicity for fear of being called racist, but there were enough convictions of Asian men “to have warranted closer examination”.
The government has launched a national inquiry into the abuse and further details are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.