William Goodge Completes 3000 mile TransCon United States
"There's so much beauty and simplicity in everyday life"
New York was the goal; 3,064 miles away, 13 states to cross. William re-tied his shoes, took a deep breath and set off from Huntington Beach Pier in Los Angeles, dedicated to his new normal for the next few months.
You see, William Goodge had always seen running as a punishment. When he was a semi-professional rugby player, running was a punishment to keep players in line.
“I actually hated it. I didn’t see why anyone would do it,” he said.
However, that changed one morning while visiting a former girlfriend in the beautiful bear flag state, California. His jet lag meant their sleep schedules needed to be more aligned, and he found himself on the beach at four in the morning.
“I was like if I’m ever going to enjoy a run, I reckon it might be today. I’ll run until sunrise and begin running towards Malibu along the boardwalk. I got to the end of the beach, where it becomes the Malibu hills, and you can’t get any further unless you go onto the road. So the only way to get back was to run back.”
Upon further investigation, William realised he had run around 14km and was impressed by what he could do with little training. Upon his return, he experienced the famed ‘runners high’ that keeps us all returning. However, this moment was also notable for another reason.
William’s mum had been battling cancer and called him at this exact moment to tell him she had gone into remission. He said: “If I have to pinpoint the happiest moment of my life, I can very easily say it was after that long run, that moment there, like, I had the best day. I was celebrating my mind. She’d beaten cancer; she’d won. Unfortunately, a few months later, the cancer came back, and nine months later, she passed away. It was a very challenging time for me.”
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