Brit who broke the record for running across Australia by FOUR DAYS faces claims he cheated - as critics raise questions over data gathered from his tracking device

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

British endurance runner William Goodge completed a remarkable feat earlier this month, crossing the vast, unforgiving expanse of Australia on foot in a record-breaking 35 days.
From Perth to Sydney, the charismatic and sometimes combative athlete averaged over 100 kilometres per day through searing heat, rolling elevation and endless stretches of remote highway to smash the previous record by four whole days.
It was a performance that, on the surface, seemed to cement his status among the elite in the already extreme world of ultrarunning.
But well before Goodge reached the finish line at Bondi Beach, controversy was already swirling over whether the run should have been considered as a legitimate world record attempt in the first place.
For years, Goodge's incredible feats of endurance have been scrutinised by fellow ultrarunners and sporting enthusiasts alike.
At the heart of the debate are questions surrounding the validity of his performance data - heart rate readings that seem improbably low, instances of suspiciously high speed recorded on tracking platforms - and Goodge's apparent inability to replicate his stunning performances in races alongside other competitors.
According to his critics, these anomalies hint at a record too good to be true, with Goodge lapping up plaudits from social media followers while enjoying royalties from a plethora of sponsors.
But for his supporters, the anomalies can be put down to digital errors from unreliable GPS technology and wearable trackers - unfortunate discrepancies that distract from Goodge's admirable charitable endeavours and fundraising efforts.
For Goodge himself, his controversial world record is the product of a journey born from a deeply personal place of grief.
British ultra endurance runner William Goodge recently set a new world record as the fastest person to run across Australia, running from Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia to Bondi Beach in Sydney
Who is William Goodge and why is he running ultramarathons?
William Goodge, from Ampthill, Bedfordshire, was a model and semi-professional rugby player who turned to running as a coping mechanism following a family tragedy.
William's mother, former nurse and committed charity fundraiser Amanda Goodge, succumbed to Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer, in early 2018 at the age of 53.
She had beaten the disease twice previously, but the cancer's eventual triumph left William and his father Graham devastated.
'Running helped me to deal with my demons,' he told the Mail.
'And I found I liked running on my own, because it helped my mind to process and deal with the things I faced.
'We went through a lot as a family. I thought that if I felt either good energy or bad energy, then either way, I could put it into running and it would help.
'If I felt bad, I would go on a run and by the end of it I'd feel slightly better. It became a coping mechanism and I'd be able to deal with the bad things for another day.'
Goodge took part in his first major run on Christmas Day 2018, months after his mother's passing, when he ran a marathon around his home town Ampthill to raise £12,000 for Macmillan cancer, as well as the Primrose unit at Bedford Hospital where his mother was cared for.
'Growing up, mum was a nurse and she and her friends were all nurses too,' Goodge said.
'They would sponsor girls in Africa through their schooling, right through to them getting jobs... I wanted to carry on that legacy of fundraising for her. I wanted to do something she'd still like. That's why I'm so committed to raising money for charity.'
The fundraising successes and catharsis derived from running propelled Goodge to a string of major athletic feats, and in turn, social media stardom and influencer status.
He has taken on modelling projects, graced the front cover of Men's Health and taken on all manner of endurance challenges, including a West-to-East coast run of the United States known as the 'TransCon', and several ultramarathon races.
But the runfluencer's latest scarcely believable feat Down Under has invited a torrent of speculation - and it's not the first time the authenticity of his achievements have been called into question.
What are the claims against Goodge?
The allegations that Goodge had cheated along the way to the finish line in Sydney earlier this month spring primarily from anomalous heart rate and pace data, the inaccuracy of his tracking methods, and inconsistencies with other performances.
Critics say Goodge's average heart rate during his mammoth run was simply too low - and too consistent - to be true, especially when taking into account he was typically running more than 100 kilometres each day in extremely harsh conditions with regular elevation changes.
Heart rate zones, often used by endurance athletes to measure output and tracked by platforms like Strava, are split into five levels of intensity.
The easiest, Zone 1, sits at roughly 50 per cent of a person's maximum heart rate - a zone of minimal exertion where conversation comes easily and breathing stays relaxed. Zone 5, at the other end of the scale, is breached during intense efforts like sprinting that push the heart rate to its peak and leave little to no room for talking.
According to Goodge's publicly available Strava data, he usually spent between 85-90% of his runs in Zone 1 - anything under 123 beats per minute (bpm) - including during segments where he was running uphill with negligible change to his pace.
One example of this phenomenon came on May 16 - some 32 days into his cross-country expedition - when Goodge covered 109km in 13 hours, 49 minutes and 44 seconds - a pace of 7:37/km.
Between kilometres 74 and 75, he set what was recorded by Strava as a 'Course Record' on a segment known as the Burley Griffin Way Climb - an 800 metre stretch of road with an elevation gain of 41 metres.
Despite the rapid elevation gain - and with 74 kilometres in his legs that day alone - Goodge's Strava data showed his heart rate never got above Zone 1, even as he finished the segment in 7 minutes and 24 seconds - quicker than his overall average pace for the day.
There were also shocking anomalies when it came to Goodge's speed. In an early run, Strava data showed Goodge clocked a 400 metre time of 23 seconds - a physically impossible feat some 20 seconds faster than the world record.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the runner's In Reach data - another tracking service provided by tech company Garmin - by Running Magazine suggested there were brief moments in which Goodge was recorded moving at speeds in excess of 80kph.
According to Goodge's publicly available Strava data, he usually spent between 85-90% of his runs in Zone 1 - anything under 123 beats per minute (bpm) - including during segments where he was running uphill with negligible change to his pace
In an early run, Strava data showed Goodge clocked a 400 metre time of 23 seconds - a physically impossible feat some 20 seconds faster than the world record
The allegations that Goodge had cheated along the way to the finish line in Sydney earlier this month spring primarily from anomalous heart rate and pace data, as well as the inaccuracy of his tracking methods
The controversy around Goodge's run across Australia was swirling well before he crossed the finish line.
That's because the runner has already faced an outpouring of criticism for his TransCon run across the United States in 2023.
In that run, his heart rate and pace data appeared to offer up similar anomalies, leading a fellow British runner and author William Cockerell to openly accuse Goodge of cheating.
So perturbed by Goodge's exploits was Cockerel that he flew to the US to join Goodge on part of his run.
The meeting was brought to an abrupt end when the pair fell out, with Cockerel claiming Goodge threw a rock at his support car.
The critic was unable to detect any anomalies with Goodge's data during their run together and was forced to admit that the Briton ran every step they were together.
But he maintained that Goodge's tracking data began returning discrepancies again shortly after he departed.
Critics have also asked why Goodge only tracked his run with a wrist-based heart monitor and GPS tracker, pointing out that chest-mounted straps are a far more reliable alternative for a world record.
Besides the divisive performance data and tracking anomalies, the other main source of criticism is Goodge's relatively poor performance in official races when competing against other runners.
Doubters say his fitness level and endurance capabilities suggest he should stack up well against the best ultramarathoners in the world, but in two world-renowned competitions he turned in less than stellar performances.
In October, he placed 11th in the MOAB 240 - a 240-mile (368km) race in Utah, USA, and came in 174th place in the 2022 Marathon des Sables (257km) across the Sahara desert. There is no speculation over anomalous performance data in those races.
The concern over Goodge's performances was summed up best by endurance expert and bestselling author Alex Hutchinson, who wrote: 'What's worrying is when the data is internally inconsistent: a given pace should correlate with a given heart rate reasonably well for any given person.
'Goodge's low heart rate while running insanely long distances isn't 'impossible', but it's highly unlikely - especially since he only seems to be able to do it when no one is watching.'
What do his supporters say?
Despite the questions over the veracity of his data and the suspicious fluctuations in Goodge's solo versus group race performances, the runner has a great many supporters.
Chief among those are other ultramarathon runners, including the likes of Ned Brockmann - who in 2022 completed a similar route across Australia - and Chris Turnbull - the man who held the previous record for the Perth-to-Sydney course at 39 days.
When asked whether Goodge's feat was physically possible, Turnbull - whose record was demolished by Goodge with four days to spare - told The Project: 'Absolutely, and he's done it. So I think that shows it.
'Very impressive performance from William Goodge - there's not many people that have done such a run like that. If he has done it authentically then I think I'd find it hard to live with myself if I didn't congratulate him.
'I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt and be a supporter.'
Brockmann meanwhile wrote: '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!'
As regards the various allegations of cheating, Goodge's supporters have justly pointed out that watches and other tracking devices used to measure heart rate and pace are prone to inconsistencies and errors.
Others have pointed out that the primary goal of Goodge's various exploits is to raise awareness and money for cancer research, mental health and other charitable endeavours - admirable achievements for a journey that at its core is fuelled by grief.
His exploits have inspired people the world over - as evidenced by the torrent of well wishes and positive interactions Goodge has shared with social media users on each of his posts.
How has Goodge responded to allegations of cheating?
The majority of Goodge's responses to the criticism came in the form of unapologetic, brash and often expletive-laden posts shared to social media, primarily Instagram.
In one Instagram Story, he was seen holding a cigarette and a beer with members of his support team with the caption: 'From all of us at the record down under team, to the nay sayers we sincerely say f*** you.'
But he also spoke with ABC to brush off claims he had cheated.
'I knew it was gonna come. I was prepared for that and just, it comes with the territory. And you can't blame people for coming at you and questioning your stuff. Like, it's just part and parcel of it.
'Obviously we do everything we can, like, put the tracker up live so if anyone ever wanted to come and see us - and we had a lot of people that wanted to come out and run - just come and find us.
'But there's obviously a limit. I can't live stream the whole event. Maybe that would be something you could do in the future but being on roads like that as well, it's really tough.'
He also made a reference to the speculation over his publicly available heart rate data and offered a brief, if vague, explanation.
'There's also just so many other aspects to this that you can't really consider all the time.
'Like, I'm running past roadkill and I'm putting something over my face, or a dust storm has come in, or a road train has come close to me, or I'm literally running along and I'm singing.
'So there's so many variables involved of why my heart rate might go up at a particular point, even though my pace is the same, or go down.'