Hardest geezer visits former schools in Worthing

Russ Cook, better known by his moniker “Hardest Geezer”, became the first person to run the length of Africa in April.

The Worthing resident ran 9,940 miles through 16 countries in 352 days, raising more than £700,000 for charity.

The endurance athlete visited his old primary school, Vale School in Vale Avenue, Worthing.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "We were so excited to welcome Russ, particularly as he is an ex-pupil of ours. The children loved having the opportunity to run alongside Russ and hear him talk about his experiences in assembly.

“Russ has been an absolute inspiration to our pupils, and we are very grateful that he has taken the time to visit us." 

Russ inspired the pupils to dream big (Image: The Vale) Russ completed his trip down memory lane with a visit to Worthing College, his former sixth form. He spoke to students about self-belief, the importance of teamwork, resilience, challenging yourself and kindness.

Russ said: “I had a great time at Worthing College, especially with the sport. They ran football, and that was a bit of a haven for me. 

“I think it was probably the first time I've really been in a training setup that was properly organised. So that kind of made me see that if I trained properly and really started applying myself, that I was actually more capable than I realised. 

Russ spoke to students at Worthing College about resilience and teamwork (Image: Worthing College)

“I've done a couple of talks here over the years actually, and it's just really nice to visit somewhere that I used to come. It's quite nice to speak to the students and maybe one or two things that I might say to one or two of them may help a little bit.” 

Helena Thomas, Principal at Worthing College, added: "We were incredibly proud to welcome Russ back to Worthing College. His journey from being a student here to achieving such remarkable feats is truly inspiring for our students.”