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How I escaped after being kidnapped by a machete-wielding gang: 'Hardest Geezer' RUSS COOK reveals his terrifying encounter... and how it pushed him to his limits

Already I've pounded 50 kilometres of road. I've escaped a group of men carrying machetes. These guys on the motorbike said they would help me; that they were my friends. They're not.

I got a series of dead-end jobs to fund the rent on a small flat, finding relief from the monotony of my daily life in binge drinking and incessant online gambling. People in ragged clothing sat on the side of the road holding up ten rand notes to hitch a lift to the next town. I arrived alone in the middle of the night at the border crossing: I was wearing my running gear and a head torch and carried with me nothing but my passport and the contents of my rucksack: sausage rolls, a slab of Dairy Milk, some sweets and some wet wipes.

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