The ‘Hardest Geezer’ Russ Cook admits he has had to ‘eat a nice slice of humble pie’ after accepting that his goal of running this year’s London Marathon in a sub-2:30 time was unachievable.
As an ultrarunner who has already proven so many people wrong with his extraordinary endurance challenges, the thought of admitting defeat is not something he relishes – even if his new target is only five minutes slower.
Last month, he hit back at the doubters who claimed he was ‘nowhere near his target time’ and asked, ‘at what point is it all just chatting rubbish?’. It was such criticism that he said was going to fuel his desire to prove them wrong.
The first of seven ‘semi-impossible’ challenges
Now, the man who sprang to prominence when he became the first to run the entire length of Africa has been forced to reappraise his target, with the big race just over a month away.
London is the first of seven ‘semi-impossible’ ultra-endurance challenges that Cook has set himself, as he also looks to run a sub-7:30 100km, complete a 250km race in 24 hours, qualify for the Team GB 24-hour team, set a new world record for the Land’s End to John o’ Groats run, race from San Francisco to New York, and complete the longest non-stop run ever of 581km.
“At the start of the year, I announced my new goal to try and qualify for Team GB in ultrarunning,” he says on a video posted to his Instagram page. “The first part of my plan was to run a sub-2:30 marathon in London, but I felt like ‘I’m not really getting anywhere, not really getting any faster’.
“Until now, and it finally feels like the results are starting to pay off. It’s been a long, hard winter out there in the cold, freezing rain, and I have been thinking, why am I putting in such a massive shift, and nothing seems to be happening to my speed? But we have trusted the process, and now we are getting there.
‘I don’t think a 2:30 is going to happen in London’
“Now, I’ll be honest, I don’t think a 2:30 is going to happen in London, but the new adjusted goal of 2:35? I can see it! I can nearly feel it! I can nearly taste it! And believe you me, we are going to throw the absolute kitchen sink at trying to make this thing happen. London Marathon 2026, sub-2:35, let’s have it.”
In the accompanying post, he explains that the dream of a sub-2:30 marathon is not dead… simply postponed for a short while.
“I’m readjusting the goal for London Marathon,” he confirmed. “The sub-2:30 dream will happen one day, I’m sure of it, but with less than 6 weeks to go until London, it is time to eat a nice slice of humble pie.
“After the marathon, my plan will be to ramp the weekly mileage back up, race some bigger ultra distances throughout the summer (let me know in the comments what races you think I should do!) and then try and lay down a decent qualification time in the 24-hour event towards the end of the year.”
Expecting a baby girl
He also included the line that he is expecting the ‘added bonus of a sleep deprivation block’ as he and partner Emily Bell expect their first child, something that he announced in an earlier post, where he explained all those long, lonely hours on the road had often been spent thinking about being a dad.
“For a long time, I’ve hoped that one day I’d get to become a dad. I’ve thought about it a lot on those long, lonely days spent on the road,” he wrote. “During moments where it felt like I couldn’t carry on, and moments where it felt like I might not even survive to carry on.
“What a lot of those moments showed me is that life’s deepest struggles aren’t always overcome. But they can be carried by love. Often, that’s been the love I share with Em and the love I could already feel for the family I hoped we would build one day.
“Well… that family is almost here. And if she’s anything like us, we’re gonna have an absolute handful 🤣. But I can’t wait for the greatest adventure we’ll ever take on: becoming parents to our baby girl.”
The man who enjoys setting himself a challenge is now ready to tackle the greatest of them all… parenthood.
![Russ Cook completes his epic run across the entire length of Africa [Photo credit: The Snapshot People Ltd]](https://run247.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Russ-Cook-completes-length-of-Africa-run-2024.jpg)
