This influencer is crushing a trans-Australia record—so why is there doubt?

For the last 30 days, British social media fitness influencer and model William Goodge has run more than 3,000 kilometres in an attempt to become the fastest man ever to run across Australia. With the 31-year-old projected to finish on May 20 in Sydney, he’s on the home stretch to complete the challenge in a world record 35 days, beating the previous record of 39 days set by Aussie Chris Turnbull in 2023. Despite this astronomical achievement, many in the running community are skeptical of Goodge’s transcontinental pursuit.

Who is William Goodge?

If you’re unfamiliar with Goodge, he’s a former rugby player turned ultrarunner, who pivoted to the sport to cope with the death of his mother, Amanda, in 2018. If you follow Goodge on Instagram, you might recognize him for his brash, middle-finger-raised personality, who follows a David Goggins-esque approach to his running and challenges. As an ultrarunner, he’s run the entire length of the U.K. and says he’s the fastest British man to run across the U.S. (both efforts used to raise money and awareness for cancer research.)

While Goodge’s style is undeniably reckless, many have doubted his ability to run 110 kilometres a day at 7:00/km pace at a heart rate of 100, given that he has no prior significant results besides an 11th-place finish at last year’s Moab 240. The trans-Australia run is no casual feat. Over 60 per cent of the route cuts through some of the world’s most isolated terrain. Daily 110-kilometre efforts in this environment require elite-level fitness, impeccable logistics, and most importantly, transparency. That last point is where things start to unravel.

Digging into the data

Goodge has worn a Garmin InReach tracker in a waist pack and uploaded his daily progress to Strava. Both are required by Guinness World Records and Fastest Known Time (FKT), the two organizations that recognize a transcontinental record like this. What has been interesting is the reported inconsistencies between the two. The InReach has occasionally recorded movement at speeds exceeding 80 km/h—impossible for a runner but typical for a vehicle, while his average heart rate (recorded by his WHOOP and Coros Vertix 2 device) is frequently reported around 100–105 bpm, which many have pointed out, shockingly low for 14+ hour days in a harsh climate.

Even human performance experts like Alex Hutchinson, author of the New York Times bestseller Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, have questioned Goodge’s physiological plausibility: “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.”

The tough questions

While his Instagram and Strava followers have praised Goodge as “superhuman,” the doubters have asked harsh but fair questions. Why is his heart rate so low, especially when suffering a swollen Achilles tendon (as shown on May 4)? Why are some InReach logs indistinguishable from car speeds? Why do his daily outputs appear physiologically inconsistent with past attempts by more credentialed runners like Nedd Brockmann or Turnbull?

When I contacted Goodge’s agent about the low heart rate data and GPS logs, he responded: “Goodge stands by his record keeping and asserts that he is taking every single step.” When I pushed further, suggesting many followers want a livestream or more verifiable tracking, the door slammed shut. “There are no plans to add any more tracking.”

Rather than addressing doubters head-on with evidence, Goodge’s crew has ignored them. A few doubters were banned from Strava for commenting on his posts. When Goodge was notified of the ban, he posted an Instagram story, smiling, while giving them the middle finger. One of the banned users, William Cockerell, flew out to tail Goodge on a previous transcontinental run across the U.S. in 2023, where he reportedly was greeted with flying rocks, according to Goodge’s crew.

Is William Goodge running?

Despite 60 per cent of this challenge being in remote areas, several runners have made the trek to see Goodge on his transcontinental run. One of those is Ballarat’s James Leviston, who encountered Goodge twice during a trip to Western Australia, and he told Canadian Running he came away deeply moved. “Will was happy, jovial, contemplative and chatty,” Leviston said. “No complaints. No ego. Just pure grit.” Leviston says he was so inspired that he returned to help the team later on his Day 14 route. Leviston praised Goodge’s crew for their commitment and hospitality, and for letting him run 10 miles alongside his idol.

Leviston’s interaction on Day 14 echoes the opinion of many of Goodge’s supporters that there’s a palpable camaraderie around the run, one that many observers say is too emotionally charged to fake. Even former marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge put together a video to give Goodge some inspirational words.

At the heart of the transcontinental record, it isn’t just one man’s GPS data or heart rate variability. It’s a question of what we demand from those who blur the line between performance and content creation. Many have compared Goodge’s run to British runner Robert Young’s U.S. transcontinental attempt in 2016.

Scrutiny about Young’s cross-U.S. run began when a forum user posted on LetsRun.com that he wanted to run a few kilometres with Young, but said that Young was riding slowly in an RV (the crew’s support vehicle), instead of on foot. Eventually, Barkley Marathons race director Laz Lake and a team of so-called “Geezers” travelled to catch Young in the act. Young abandoned the challenge in Indiana due to suffering a fractured toe and cellulitis after allegedly completing 3,200 kilometres in 36 days.

Leviston is one of dozens of runners who have joined Goodge for a few miles during his 3,800km challenge, all of whom say they’ve seen him running. But on Day 30 (May 15), Goodge said in a video posted to Instagram that he will no longer have people out running with him. “It’s been overwhelming,” he said. “I understand they’ve travelled, but running 110 kilometres a day takes everything from me mentally. I can’t do it—I’ll have to finish this alone.”

As record-setting feats move into the digital social media era, the rules around evidence and verification should be adapted to give the utmost transparency. Transcontinental ultrarunning attempts have a long history of self-reporting, and even though Goodge might be accomplishing something remarkable, when your team refuses simple beneficial suggestions like a live stream or running with other people, the challenge shouldn’t be surprised by skepticism.