British endurance athlete William Goodge is now more than halfway there as he bids to become the fastest man ever to run across Australia.
Goodge, who turned to running to cope with the death of mum Amanda to cancer in 2018 when she was just 53, has already run over 2,000km Down Under.
Now he’s on the home stretch as he bids to complete the challenge in a world record 35 days – beating the previous record set by Aussie Chris Turnbull, who completed the route in 39 days and eight hours last October.
William Goodge record attempt latest
Posting an update on vuoriclothing Instagram 20 days into the challenge, Goodge wrote: “Halfway through the run across Australia. Over 2,000km behind me, nearly 1,800km still ahead. A lot of road, a lot of time with myself.
“Each step has brought a different feeling. Some I expected — pain, fatigue, defeat. Others caught me off guard — moments of peace, strange joy, deep connection. It’s all been welcome. It all has a place out here.
“I’ve come to realise: the body only moves because the mind says it can. When it says we keep going — we do. Even when everything else wants to stop.
“This isn’t just about running anymore. It’s about trust. Between the mind and the body. Between the man and the road.”
Goodge, from Ampthill in Bedfordshire, set off on April 15 to run run the equivalent of 90 marathons, or more than two a day, across 4,000km of unforgiving terrain from Perth to Sydney, raising money for charity.
Speaking to RUN247 before he set off, he outlined how he planned his route using Googlemaps, and how he made sure his challenge was a family affair.
He said: “There’s five crew members, including my Dad, coming with me. You don’t need a massive crew. I have an RV they’re all going to sleep in, and an Ineos Grenadier off-road vehicle pulling a small caravan which will be my zone that I can sleep out of. I will see the crew every six to seven miles. I don’t want to be without them for any more than an hour and a half.
Daily target and schedule
“I’m doing 108-110km a day. That’s the target. Some days it might take 11 hours. Some days closer to 16. But there comes a tipping point where if you don’t rest enough then the next day you’re already in a deficit.
“There’s a cut-off time. There’s no point in me slowing down and walking slowly into the night. It’s better to stop, eat, rest and get up the next day feeling better so I can be more efficient.”
Goodge, who is already the fastest Brit to run across the USA and is turning 31 during this latest run, has faced plenty of challenges in Australia.
Only one functioning Achilles
In a post over the weekend on his own Instagram, he wrote: “Hills, head winds, heat, dirt storms, one functioning achilles. Fun..” But he still managed 110km that day in 14 hours and 30 minutes.
Goodge posted two days ago that he reckons he needs to average 89km a day to beat the record, and 109km a day to do it in 35 days. Can he do it?
You can keep track of William’s progress here. And his fundraising page is here.
