British ultrarunner William Goodge is chasing his most bold feat but—a transcontinental velocity report for the quickest run throughout Australia, from Perth to Sydney. Masking 3,800 km (the equal of 90 marathons) in simply 35 days, Goodge hopes to surpass the 2023 report set by Australian Chris Turnbull.
Goodge is not any stranger to transcontinental challenges. In 2018, he turned to operating as a manner to deal with the lack of his mom to most cancers —and in the end, to honour her reminiscence. Within the years since, he’s turn into the quickest British man to run throughout the U.S., and has completed a marathon in each county in England, typically utilizing his efforts to lift cash and consciousness for most cancers analysis.
As a former Rugby Sevens participant, Goodge’s profession shifted after struggling a number of concussions. Throughout his restoration, whereas navigating grief, he found operating as an emotional outlet to cope with the lack of his mother. “I didn’t begin with any plan,” he says. “I used to be at all times annoyed or offended once I ran. I discovered it was simply my solution to cope with any emotion.”
What began as a coping mechanism rapidly become extremely challenges. In 2019, Goodge ran 55 miles a day for 16 consecutive days throughout his run the size of the U.Okay., which was timed to coincide with what would have been his mom’s 54th birthday. He recollects his first problem as “whole self-destruction,” pushing by way of extreme ankle ache with the assistance of an in depth pal and fellow ultrarunner Robbie Balenger. “Robbie instructed me to push by way of, and my thoughts and physique would determine it out,” Goodge says. “His recommendation modified all the pieces for me.”
Balenger stays a key determine in Goodge’s life, even serving to him with this transcontinental problem. “He appears like an older brother to me—simply conjures up me a lot,” he says.
The 31-year-old’s choice to run throughout Australia has emotional ties. A trip at age 11 marked the primary time Goodge left Europe along with his dad and mom. At 18, he returned to journey the nation for six months. Now, he’s again with one focus: to beat its huge (and harsh) panorama on foot. The warmth and desert terrain of Australia alone can pose a brutal problem to anybody, nevertheless it’s one he feels ready for. “Plenty of the ultramarathons I’ve carried out have been within the desert,” he says, citing his Eleventh-place end at final yr’s Moab 240.
This new problem, dubbed Run Throughout Australia: The Document, started on April 15 at Cottesloe Seaside in Perth, from there he’ll run greater than 100 kilometres every day till he reaches Bondi Seaside in Sydney. To arrange, Goodge skilled for six months in South Africa, the place he logged between 45 and 85 miles every week, specializing in operating effectivity reasonably than quantity. “The important thing for my coaching was to not overdo it,” he explains. “We did a whole lot of tempo work and double threshold efforts [instead of longer efforts] to make me extra environment friendly throughout lengthy distances.”
Regardless of the tall (or lengthy) activity, Goodge has stored the logistics of his problem surprisingly easy. He says the route was deliberate “hitting the stroll button” on Google Maps from Cottesloe Seaside in Perth to Bondi Seaside in Sydney. “Planning gas and help stations is the toughest half, however you sort of determine these issues out as you go,” laughs Goodge.
In preparation for his Australia run, Goodge ran throughout Japan in February and March. That exact journey introduced on a whole lot of emotion—seeing the cherry blossoms, a second he had at all times needed to share along with his mom: “Being there, along with her in my head, meant the world.”
As for what he’s wanting ahead to most in Australia, Goodge is candid. “It’s discovering my very own self-destruction,” he says. “I need to query all the pieces—why I’m right here, what I’m doing it for. I do these challenges to be taught extra about myself and see what I’m made from.”
If profitable, he already has his eye on what may come subsequent. “I’ve leaned into the warmth,” he says. “However I feel I would like to check myself within the chilly. I’m curious how my physique would reply.”
For these eager about following Goodge’s journey, you may monitor his run on Strava, go to his web site, or comply with his dwell updates by way of Garmin InReach.