Pom smashes iconic Aus record but tracking furore rears ugly head
The 31-year-old beat Australian Chris Turnbull's previous record by a staggering four days, as he ran from Cottesloe Beach in Perth to Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach in just 35 days.
He remarkably completed the 3,952 kilometre journey from west to east 12 days faster than notable Australian Nedd Brockmann did three years ago with roughly 500 people waiting to greet him at the finish line.
 Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
Goodge, who was once a model and semi-professional rugby player, spent 15 hours a day pounding pavement and ran roughly 110km per day on average to break the record.
All the while, his more than 250,000 Instagram followers came along for the journey as they scrolled on their phones.
The numbers are simply mind-blowing.
It is little wonder the Englishman told foxsports.com.au he has 'been pretty horizontal' in the days since he completed his epic journey.
Officially the fastest human to run across Australia.
William Goodge.
Congratulations to Will, well done to his team, and thank you to everyone that showed up to support the finish.
��🇦🇰� pic.twitter.com/kjxJFaaazf
— Represent (@representclo) May 19, 2025
But Goodge's success is not being widely celebrated among the ultra-running community.
Running such vast distances is largely reliant on self-reporting via the data collected on a GPS watch, and some have accused Goodge of fudging his numbers.
Fellow English runner William Cockerell voiced concerns about Goodge's heart rate data when he completed his run across the United States of America two years ago.
Goodge ran from Huntington Beach in California to New York in 55 days, making him the fastest Englishman to ever do so.
He was 13 days shy of American Pete Kostelnick's record, but Cockerell believed Goodge's heart rate was too low for the extreme distances he was running.
Cockerell even went to America to follow Goodge during his run, trying to catch him swapping his official GPS watch with different runners and having a rest.
The pair then clashed on the side of a road, which made for a fiery YouTube video.
Goodge passionately denies the allegations, simply saying 'we had a tracker on, it was on me at all times' after his Australian record.
'People could come cheer me on or come for a run sometimes,' he added.
The accusations come not just from Cockerell, however.
Fellow British runner Robert Pope, who grew a massive beard in 2016 and recreated Forrest Gump's run, told British newspaper The Times last month that he doubted Goodge, saying his 'heart rate doesn't make sense'.
The ABC reported that suspicions were heightened by Strava data on day two of Goodge's run across Australia when followers noticed that he had covered 400 metres in just 23 seconds - 20 seconds faster than South African Wayde van Niekerk's world record set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Canadian Running Magazine also published that they had picked up that Goodge's data said he ran at faster than 80km/h on occasions.
The anomalies could simply have been transmission errors as he ran through remote areas.
While the heart rate concerns could be explained by him running slowly, or the fact often he ran with a face covering may helped.
Regardless, Goodge has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.
'I've done everything I've ever said I've done,' Goodge told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) before he set off from Perth.
'But I appreciate that there is a higher burden of proof when you say you're going for an actual record.'
With his feet up after the run, Goodge instead chose to focus on the positives.
His efforts have raised more than $20,000 for the Cancer Council of Australia as well as thousands of dollars for UK charity Macmillan Cancer Support and the American Cancer Society.
Goodge lost his mother from non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2018, and her memory was well and truly on his mind as he made his away across Australia.
He lay flowers for her when he arrived at Bondi Beach, and the inspiration for his journey was a family holiday as a primary school aged child.
'I've always loved the country. I came for the first time when I was 11 and went all over the place. After that trip, I'd always bug my parents to move,' Goodge said of Australia.
'I wanted to grow up like an Aussie kid outdoors, everything seems super positive and obviously the weather is pretty good here compared to the UK.
'When I'm intrigued by a place, my way of going and looking at it is running across it or doing a big run within it. So, it seemed like a natural next step and one that I really wanted to do.'
Family was also physically part of the whole journey as his father was part of the five member crew that supported Goodge in almost any way possible.
'The only things I do for myself are run every step and wipe my own ass,' he said with a laugh.
'They're literally helping with everything from the moment I wake up to when I go to bed.'
Their support was essential particularly in the early stages, with the opening stanza out of Perth and dodging road trains and wildlife across the Nullabor proving most challenging.
'The first nine days were kind of like a revolving nightmare that I couldn't get out of,' Goodge said.
'I couldn't sleep at night because I was in so much pain.
'Obviously when you're not sleeping a lot, and you're going out and pushing hard again, it's relentless and it takes your head into some strange places.'
Helping him as well was the support of new-found friends Brockmann and fellow Brit Russell Cook, who boasts 1.2 million Instagram followers under the moniker 'Hardest Geezer' after he ran from the southern most point of Africa to the northern most point.
'Nedd Brockmann is a friend of mine. We'd spoke beforehand and we chatted along the way,' Goodge said.
'It's quite hard to find similar people to yourself when you do cross country, literally across a country, not the traditional way.'
Brockmann was one of the first people to comment on Goodge's Instagram post announcing he had broken the record, writing 'incredible my man'.
'You deserve it all mate. What a feat of human endurance, thanks for the daily inspiration and reminding us all we can always do more!! King Goodge!' he continued.
Australian comedians Matt Ford and Jack Steele from The Inspired Unemployed also leant a hand by sending Goodge and his team some of their Better Beers for the celebrations.
Goodge did not shy away from having a beer and a cigarette across the journey for his mental health and as he needed to consume roughly 7000 calories a day to fuel his body.
He sometimes took those down moments as a chance to take aim at his vocal critics on social media, however.
'Keep talking motherf******, keep adding fuel to the fire and I'll make it even more unbelievable,' he wrote in one Instagram post.
Another Instagram story was captioned: 'And from all of us at the record down under team, to the nay sayers we sincerely say f*** you.'
Goodge insists his main motivation is not fighting his opponents, however.
He says he will keep taking on these challenges, with the Berlin and New York marathons, as well as a project in Iceland, in his sights for the remainder of the year, because the finish line feeling is like no other.
'It's an unbelievable feeling because you've been out there for more than a month. Especially when you're in the middle of it, you think it's never going to end,' Goodge said.
'It's definitely a big amount of relief and gratitude to those who helped me. That feeling of crossing the line is like no other I can imagine.
'That's the real reason I keep going back to these things.
'It can only be attained through a huge and physical mental output.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
42 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Manifestly unfair': Eddie McGuire proposes ‘controversial' ban path
Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has weighed in on how the AFL will continue to handle any future cases of offensive slurs. Adelaide's Izak Rankine finds himself under investigation after allegations he used a homophobic slur in his side's win over Collingwood on Saturday. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The Crows forward is staring down the barrel of a lengthy suspension that could ultimately see him miss the entire 2025 finals series. If the AFL continue to operate in a similar manner to previous bans, Rankine could be hit with a ban of more than six weeks. It comes after Richmond's Jack Graham was banned for four matches after round 17, while in July Sydney's Riak Andrew was hit with a five match ban for using a homophobic slur during a VFL match. McGuire however wonders if going down that same path is the correct way moving forward or if the league will change the punishments. 'Straight up, if this happens in round four, how many weeks does he get? When the first player got suspended for this they got three weeks, then it went to four weeks, then five … the bottom line is it's gone up,' McGuire said on Nine's Eddie and Jimmy podcast. 'The AFL made the point at the time, they've never officially said this is the rule, but they've floated it into the aether that until this is stamped out, it's going to get higher and higher. 'We're now in a situation where if Izak Rankine was to get seven weeks, according to the sliding scale of the AFL, or even five weeks, it means he'll miss the entire finals series. 'If we want to stamp out homophobic slurs, then it's buyer beware, you knew what would happen. 'Or do we get to a stage, which is controversial, where somebody like Greg Swann, who has been brought in to recalibrate a lot of the decisions that have gone way off the track in the AFL, and he comes in and sensibly says going forward, and from this day forward, if you're found guilty of a homophobic slur, you get two weeks. And if you're guilty a second time, you get 12 weeks. 'Or do you just come out and say, sorry Izak, seven weeks pal. You knew what was coming. And the next person gets eight weeks. 'I know Greg Swann in his heart of hearts would be saying (seven weeks) is a bit harsh. We don't know whether (the offence) was said as a throwaway line or whether it was vehement. Who heard it, how it was reported, was anyone upset - that'll come out in due course. 'We get to this stage, seven weeks, and go, OK, is this manifestly unfair? Or is it a stake in the ground? 'I think they've got to pull it back. At the AFL tribunal, there are no precedents. Each case is taken on its merits. I think it's going to cause a lot of friction at headquarters if Greg Swann goes down the common sense football approach to this, as opposed to the other side of things that are red hot on social impact.' The Crows have locked themselves into the top two on the ladder with one hand on the minor premiership and only one round remaining in the season. But they're now bracing to be without their star forward for the finals as a lengthy ban looms overhead. Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson admitted the situation was 'not ideal' but added it was a waiting game while the league took appropriate measures. 'Obviously it is not ideal, but it is in the AFL's hands. It is being investigated, and we will see what happens,' he said outside Crows headquarters on Monday morning. 'We will wait and see and leave it up to the AFL to go through what they have to. 'No, I don't think so (there is a cultural problem in the AFL).' Later on Monday, key forward Darcy Fogarty fronted media at West Lakes and was subject to similar questioning as his skipper. 'It's obviously not ideal, but we're going to move on pretty quickly, we've got a big game against North this week, so that's what's going to take up a fair bit of our focus,' he said of the situation. Fogarty was asked specifically if the numerous recent instances of homophobic slurs spoke to a wider cultural problem throughout the competition. 'I don't think so. I think as far as what I can comment on through my lens and from what I've seen, it's been positive and supportive,' he said. The spearhead later added: 'We're massive role models for the community, so we've got to be really careful in how we use that power, I guess.' On the prospect on losing Rankine for critical September fixtures, Fogarty said: 'We've had a massive sort of process for the whole year (with) 'next guy up', so we've got massive belief in any role can be filled at the moment with the boys that are playing and the squad that we've got at the moment. We've got full confidence.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Collingwood's Brayden Maynard says AFL must stamp out homophobic slurs amid Izak Rankine investigation
Homophobic incidents have happened too often in the AFL and need to be stamped out of the game, says Collingwood vice-captain Brayden Maynard. Adelaide ace Izak Rankine is under investigation for an alleged homophobic slur towards a Collingwood opponent and faces being banned for the AFL finals. It is the fourth such alleged incident at AFL level in the past two seasons, and sixth involving AFL-listed players. Last year, Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson was banned for three games, and Gold Coast's Wil Powell was later suspended for five matches for making homophobic comments to opponents. In July, the AFL banned West Coast's Jack Graham for four games after he admitted to a homophobic slur against a GWS opponent. St Kilda youngster Lance Collard last year received a six-game ban for directing homophobic slurs towards VFL opponents. This July, Sydney draftee Riak Andrew was given a five-game suspension for a "highly offensive" slur in a VFL match. "It's happened too often now," Maynard said. "It's happened, what, three or four times now, so we clearly need to stamp it out and I think we're doing a great job of that, I think we're doing as best as we can to stamp all that stuff out of the game. "So yeah, it's not good to see. And I think we're doing everything we can, both from a women's program and a men's program to stamp it out." AFLW veteran Sabrina Frederick stressed the importance of a no-tolerance approach to ensure the environment was safe for players, fans and supporters. "Safety in football is huge," Frederick said. "Creating an environment where players are safe to come to work, fans and supporters are safe to come and experience the entertainment for all — that's really important to us here at Collingwood, but (also) across the entire AFL. "As players, especially, we're strong on making sure that the football is a really safe environment. "Safety is really important for us to do our job, but (also) for people to actually experience the football in all its glory. "So in terms of no tolerance, we're really big at that with Collingwood, just making sure it's a really safe environment for people to do their thing and people to experience it in a really positive light." AAP
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Will remote work be replaced by AI? National economic round table starts tomorrow
Independent news and stories connecting you to life in Australia and Japanese-speaking Australians. Ease into the English language and Australian culture. We make learning English convenient, fun and practical.
