Grief got William Goodge into running. Now it is a source of joy as he gears up for a world record attempt Down Under.
The British endurance athlete lost his mum Amanda to cancer in 2018 when she was just 53, and he turned to running as a coping mechanism.
Since then he’s inspired fans around the world by raising more than $250,000 for charity in her honour on some of the hardest runs on the planet.
Biggest challenge yet for Goodge
And now he’s getting ready for his biggest challenge yet – running across Australia from Perth to Sydney in just 35 days.
Goodge told RUN247: “For me, running was an expression of pain. Now it’s more of a celebration. I was 23 when I lost my Mum. I was an adult but I hadn’t matured into a man yet.
“I had two paths I could have gone down – to go out partying and ruin your life with drugs and alcohol, or use this negative emotion elsewhere, and running was what I chose to do.
“I would be really upset and just start running, and by the time I got back I felt a bit better about it. Getting into the charity side, it all just clicked for me.
“It was helping me cope with something bad, and something good was coming out of it as well. I was raising money for cancer charities because they directly helped my Mum.
“So there has been an evolution. At the start, running was something I could do to feel physical suffering, so it would help me deal with the mental suffering I was going through. Now it’s something I’m really proud of. It’s turned into something really beautiful.
“People used to say Mum would be proud of me, and I couldn’t really feel that. Now I can. And I can honestly say I feel proud of some of the stuff I’ve done as well.”
Goodge raising vital charity funds
He certainly should. Goodge has raised over £200,000 for charities like Macmillan Cancer Support, which supported his mother at the Macmillan Primrose Unit at Bedford Hospital.
And he constantly has fans approach him on social media telling him that his story has inspired them to take up running too.
“Yeah, that happens pretty frequently,” he said. “When you start doing this you’re being selfish because you’re trying to help yourself. You’re backed into a corner and you’re figuring out how to deal with something that’s hard for you.
“But once you’ve shown you can deal with it, it can inspire other people. It’s pretty humbling. I’m lucky I get to do this, and now it’s a job.”
Goodge, a former semi-pro rugby player, has had plenty of other jobs, working on building sites, spending six months as an estate agent, and even being a professional model.
But nothing has compared to ultra-running, a sport in which his notable achievements include becoming the fastest Brit to run across the USA, completing a marathon in every county in England, and participating in numerous ultra-marathons.
A new test awaits, this time in Australia
Now, on April 15, he has a new challenge – Run Across Australia: The Record – where he will attempt to run the equivalent of 90 marathons, or more than two a day, across 4,000km of unforgiving terrain.
Goodge, who will turn 31 during the run, said: “It has the potential to be the hardest one I’ve done because I’ve put myself out there saying I’m going to beat a record and there’s no escape from that. There’s no pulling the plug. There’s a lot of pressure. But it’s good pressure.
“For me its a big step up. I’ve run across the US, which was longer than this. But it was super varied terrain. Australia is very flat which sounds good for moving faster but it does mean I’m going to be using the same muscle groups. And it could be relentlessly hot. That will be a challenge. It’s turning up the intensity.”
Confident of a new record
The current record is held by Aussie Chris Turnbull, who completed the route in 39 days and eight hours last October.
Goodge, who says Turnbull has been “incredibly helpful” with advice for his record attempt, said: “I think I can do it in 35. It will be tough. But the legs feel strong. Everything’s primed for what will be a great adventure.”
