Overview of If I Can, I Will: William Goodge On Running 50 Marathons In 50 States In 24 Days
Rich Roll sits down with ultra-runner William Goodge to unpack Mission America: an audacious attempt to run 50 marathons in 50 U.S. states in 24 days, finishing at the New York City Marathon. The conversation goes far beyond the challenge itself, covering Goodge’s grief-driven origin story, his evolving training methods, the military-grade logistics behind the project, his relationship with his late mother, and how he deals with criticism, fear, and the pressure of public performance.
The Challenge: Mission America
What he’s attempting
- 50 marathons in 50 states
- In 24 days (starting October 9)
- Finishing at the New York City Marathon
- On some days he’ll run:
- Two marathons in two states
- On four especially brutal days, three marathons in one 24-hour period
Why it’s uniquely difficult
- It’s not just an endurance feat — it’s also a travel and scheduling operation
- The route depends on a mix of:
- Commercial flights
- Private flights
- Driving in vans
- The team built in a four-day buffer in case weather, flight delays, or vehicle issues disrupt the plan
Public participation
- In each state, Goodge plans to open up the first 3–5K so local runners can join him
- The project is designed to be a community event, not just a solo performance
Logistics, Support Team, and Structure
Behind-the-scenes operation
- Goodge describes the project as closer to a special forces or Formula 1-style operation than a typical ultra run
- Roughly 50 people are involved across partners, crew, logistics, media, and fundraising
Key support players
- Goodwin: main logistical partner and major sponsor
- Stand Up To Cancer: fundraising beneficiary
- GoFundMe: donation platform
- His core crew includes trusted friends and former military guys like Robbie Ballinger, Jason, and Peter John
Route planning
- The route is designed to hit major cities and iconic locations, including:
- Los Angeles / Santa Monica Beach
- Miami Beach
- Dallas
- Mount Rushmore area
- Honolulu to start
Training and Performance Preparation
How he’s training differently now
Goodge says he used to mostly rely on high mileage and strength work, but his preparation has become more sophisticated:
- 100+ miles per week
- Strength training year-round
- Speed/tempo sessions even for an ultra event
- Heat training
- Fasted runs at times to improve metabolic efficiency
- A conscious focus on turnover, even though he won’t be racing fast paces
Heat training
- Influenced by Max Jolliffe’s Badwater performance
- Uses:
- A heat suit
- A hoodie layered over it
- Runs after already elevating core temperature
- Sauna sessions as passive heat exposure
- Goal:
- Improve blood plasma volume
- Help the body regulate temperature better
- Reduce overheating and speed up recovery
Recovery strategy
- Goodge is skeptical of overcomplicated recovery systems
- He emphasizes basics:
- Sleep
- Whole foods
- Compression boots/sleeves
- Napping when possible
- He notes that during previous multi-day events, his body was so taxed that he needed extreme sleep and recovery afterward
Motivation: Grief, Purpose, and Philanthropy
His mother’s death shaped everything
- Goodge’s mother died of cancer after a long battle
- He first turned to marathon running as a way to process grief and anger
- That first charity run raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support
- Since then, charity has become central to his identity as an athlete
Why this matters to him
- Running gave him an outlet for:
- grief
- rage
- confusion
- self-destruction impulses
- He says the positive side of that pain is now:
- honoring his mother
- helping other families affected by cancer
- making the effort bigger than himself
His birthday tradition
- Every year, he runs the number of miles corresponding to the age his mother would have been if she were still alive
- It’s both a memorial ritual and a fundraising opportunity
Mindset: Fear, Simplicity, and “One More Step”
His core mental model
Goodge repeatedly returns to a simple phrase:
- “Can I take another step?”
- The answer is always yes unless something truly catastrophic happens
What that mindset does
- Keeps him focused on the present
- Prevents him from getting overwhelmed by the full scale of the challenge
- Applies beyond running:
- starting a project
- making a life change
- dealing with fear
- getting out of a rut
His broader message
- Stop waiting to feel ready
- Fear often stops people from chasing what they want
- The best time to begin is now
- He wants people to feel:
- less scared
- more willing to take action
- more open to reinvention
Psychedelics, Spirituality, and Perspective
Goodge’s psilocybin experiences
He discusses two significant psychedelic experiences that helped reshape his outlook:
- One experience gave him a deep sense of:
- connection to his mother
- reassurance that energy continues
- forgiveness toward others
- Another experience, shared with Robbie and Jason in Colorado, helped him feel:
- more mature
- capable of leading
- ready to stand on his own
The takeaway
- He does not frame psychedelics as a cure-all
- He sees them as one part of a larger process of:
- therapy
- reflection
- grief work
- integrating hard experiences into his life
Controversy, Data, and Public Scrutiny
The criticism he faces
Goodge acknowledges that public skepticism follows him, especially around:
- heart-rate data
- pace data
- whether his performances are being properly verified
How he responds
- He says official bodies like Guinness and Fastest Known Time (FKT) are the real standards
- He has now had his Australia transcontinental FKT officially verified
- For Mission America, he plans to be even more transparent:
- live tracker
- Strava-backed data
- two watches for redundancy
- visible routes
- open participation at the start of each state
His view of the haters
- He dismisses most criticism as irrelevant
- But he also admits that public attention — even negative attention — ends up helping the project grow
Key Relationships and Support System
Robbie Ballinger
- One of the most important people in Goodge’s life
- Goodge describes him as:
- mentor
- voice of reason
- emotional anchor
- a substitute father/guardian figure in some ways
- Robbie’s belief in him helped him survive early challenges and avoid quitting
The broader ultra community
He also cites inspiration from:
- Max Jolliffe
- Mark Dowdle
- Truett Hanes
- Harvey Lewis
- George Mills
- David Roche
- Killian Jornet
He likes athletes who are:
- authentic
- experimental
- relentless
- not afraid to do things their own way
Resources and Where to Follow
Website
- missionamerica50.org
- live tracking
- donation links
- route details
- partner information
- community participation tools
Charity
- Donations support Stand Up To Cancer
- There will also be:
- merch sales
- donation tiers
- fundraising tied to participation challenges
Main Takeaways
- William Goodge is attempting one of the most logistically complex endurance feats ever: 50 marathons in 50 states in 24 days
- The challenge is rooted in grief, purpose, and fundraising, not ego
- His philosophy is simple but powerful: focus on the next step
- He’s become more scientific in training, especially around heat adaptation, fueling, and recovery
- He sees public scrutiny as part of the deal, but official verification and transparency matter
- At the heart of the project is a broader message: don’t let fear stop you from starting