William Goodge arrived in Bondi on Monday after 34 days and approximately eight hours of running across the country.
Goodge’s effort saw him beat the previous record, held by Australian ultra-runner Chris Turnbull, of 39 days, eight hours, and one minute.
However, some are raising questions over the legitimacy of Goodge’s record. Here’s what you need to know.
Critics
Goodge’s record-breaking feat has attracted some criticism from the ultra-running community. The main criticism is that Goodge’s data sometimes seems too good to be true. For example, his data often shows a heart rate that is lower than some believe is possible for such tough physical feats.
This has led to some sceptics accusing him of ‘watch muling’, where the athlete swaps the watch with another runner to stay fresh.
Goodge recorded his run across Australia with a tracking device on at all times and also uploaded his runs to Strava for the public to see.
In response to the critics, he told the ABC: "You can't blame people for coming at you and questioning your stuff. Like, it's just part and parcel of it.”
Goodge
31-year-old Goodge has been running to raise money for cancer charities since his mother died of cancer in 2018.
Since taking up ultra-running, he has achieved several things, including running the length of Great Britain in 16 days, becoming the fastest British person to run across America (55 days), and finishing 11th at the Moab 240, a prestigious 240-mile (386km) ultra race in Utah.
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Goodge is not a traditional ultra-runner in the sense that he has also carved out a career as a model and influencer with just under 250,000 followers on Instagram.
How are ultra-running records verified?
Two organisations can verify ultra-running records: the commonly known Guinness World Records (GWR) and the more obscure Fastest Known Time (FKT).
The GWR that Goodge is eligible for is ‘The fastest journey on foot across Australia (Perth to Sydney) (male)’. It’s unclear whether or not he will apply for the record, which requires submitting evidence on the organisation’s website. On GWR’s website, the record belongs to Turnbull. According to the website, before Turnbull, the record was over 67 days and had stood since 2002. That means faster continent crossings since then, such as Brockmann’s, had either not been submitted to the organisation, or the application was rejected.
FKT is respected within the ultra-running community because it specifically works to track the speed records for running and hiking routes. At a minimum, the routes must be at least eight kilometres long with at least 150 metres of elevation. There are currently 6,708 routes on the FKT website, with records being tracked since 2017.
To be verified by FKT, the athlete must submit a file with the GPS data of their effort and a link to the activity on a tracking app such as Strava or Garmin. To improve their chances of verification, they can include photos and a detailed report in their submission.
Growing popularity of ultra-running
The public’s interest in ultra-running has grown dramatically in recent decades. A 2020 study by RunRepeat found that in the previous decade, ultra-running participation had increased by 345%. As the sport becomes more popular, the records will likely become subject to a higher level of scrutiny from participants and the media.
In 2022, Nedd Brockmann captured Australia’s attention by running from Perth to Bondi, which he completed in 44 days. At the time, the record was 43 days, set by German runner Achim Heukemes in 2005.
Then, in 2023, Turnbull set a new record, which Goodge has just broken.
