A British man who calls himself “the toughest old man” has finally completed the African race after nearly a year of arduous challenges.

Russ Cook, from Worthing, West Sussex, joined supporters as he crossed the finish line in Ras Angela, Tunisia, in the far north of the continent on Sunday.

“It’s good, I’m a bit tired,” he told Sky News after a dip in the sea.

On April 22, 2023, he began his 16,000-kilometer (9,941-mile) journey from the southernmost tip of Cape Agulhas, South Africa.

The 27-year-old has said that if he completes the challenge, he will become the first person to complete the entire African race.

He has traveled through 16 countries and run approximately 376 marathons.

One supporter who ran the distance with Mr Cook said: “As he was doing this I realized my wife was pregnant and had a baby and we now have a two-month-old baby, This really puts this issue into perspective.”

He added: “It leaves me speechless.”

In the hours leading up to completing the challenge, Mr Cook posted on the X social media platform: “Can’t believe it’s almost over. See you soon at Shell Garage boys and girls.”

Mr Cook has raised more than £600,000 for two charities, but it’s not just the heat and physical exertion he has to contend with.

In Angola, he and his team were robbed at gunpoint. Their cameras, mobile phones and passports were stolen.

Then in August, he disappeared and was separated from his supporters for days in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They eventually freed him by bribing villagers armed with machetes.

In January, he used social media to help obtain a visa to enter Algeria from the Mauritanian border.

At the time, he said his challenge might end without a visa because he had “no other way” to reach the northern tip of Africa.

After a massive social media campaign, The Algerian embassy said it would grant him a courtesy visa “On the spot,” meaning he could cross the border.

On the final day of the challenge, Mr Cook invited his supporters to join him in the final marathon.

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Mr Cook also announced he would celebrate his achievement with a finish line party at a hotel in Bizerte, Tunisia.

The party will include a performance by the rock band Soft Play, formerly known as the Slaves, consisting of Laurie Vincent and Isaac Holman.

The funds he raises in the challenge, Project Africa, will be donated to The Running Charity, which supports the mental health of young people with complex needs or who are homeless, and Sandblast, which educates people about the Sahara culture.

While crossing Africa was his biggest challenge, it wasn’t his first.

At the age of 22, Mr Cook ran from Asia to the UK, completing 71 marathons in 66 days.

He had only run the Brighton Marathon before he decided to run from Asia to the UK.