British ultrarunner William Goodge is chasing his most formidable feat but—a transcontinental pace document for the quickest run throughout Australia, from Perth to Sydney. Protecting 3,800 km (the equal of 90 marathons) in simply 35 days, Goodge hopes to surpass the 2023 document set by Australian Chris Turnbull.

Goodge is not any stranger to transcontinental challenges. In 2018, he turned to operating as a method to deal with the lack of his mom to most cancers —and finally, to honour her reminiscence. Within the years since, he’s develop 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 all the time 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 was extremely challenges. In 2019, Goodge ran 55 miles a day for 16 consecutive days throughout his run the size of the U.Ok., 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 extreme ankle ache with the assistance of a detailed pal and fellow ultrarunner Robbie Balenger. “Robbie informed me to push by, and my thoughts and physique would determine it out,” Goodge says. “His recommendation modified the whole lot for me.”

Balenger stays a key determine in Goodge’s life, even serving to him with this transcontinental problem.  “He seems like an older brother to me—simply evokes me a lot,” he says.

The 31-year-old’s determination to run throughout Australia has emotional ties. A trip at age 11 marked the primary time Goodge left Europe together with his mother and father. 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, but it surely’s one he feels ready for. “A number of the ultramarathons I’ve performed 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 File, started on April 15 at Cottesloe Seashore in Perth, from there he’ll run greater than 100 kilometres every day till he reaches Bondi Seashore in Sydney. To arrange, Goodge educated for six months in South Africa, the place he logged between 45 and 85 miles per week, specializing in operating effectivity slightly than quantity. “The important thing for my coaching was to not overdo it,” he explains. “We did loads 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) job, 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 Seashore in Perth to Bondi Seashore in Sydney. “Planning gasoline and assist stations is the toughest half, however you type 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 specific journey introduced on loads of emotion—seeing the cherry blossoms, a second he had all the time wished to share together with his mom: “Being there, together with her in my head, meant the world.”

As for what he’s trying ahead to most in Australia, Goodge is candid. “It’s discovering my very own self-destruction,” he says. “I wish to query the whole lot—why I’m right here, what I’m doing it for. I do these challenges to study extra about myself and see what I’m manufactured from.”

If profitable, he already has his eye on what may come subsequent. “I’ve leaned into the warmth,” he says. “However I believe I want to check myself within the chilly. I’m curious how my physique would reply.”

For these inquisitive about following Goodge’s journey, you possibly can observe his run on Strava, go to his web site, or observe his reside updates through Garmin InReach.