A man ran across the US in 55 days. Here's what he ate, wore, and listened to on his 3,175-mile journey.

• William Goodge ran from California to New York in 55 days, running up to 70 miles every day.
• He got through 13 pairs of running shoes and consumed 6,000 to 7,000 calories a day.
• After losing his mother, Goodge was motivated to run to raise money for cancer charities. 

On April 2, 2023, William Goodge set off from Huntington Beach, California, for New York — on foot. 55 days of running 50 to 70 miles every day later, Goodge completed his run across the US.

He ran 3,175 miles, ate 6,000-7,000 calories a day, and got through 13 pairs of running shoes, all to raise money for cancer charities in memory of his mother, Mandy, who died from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2018.

It was tough mentally and physically, but Goodge kept going by just focusing on the next step.

"If you keep taking that extra step, you're probably going to get to where you're supposed to be going," he told Insider.

Running used to be a punishment

Goodge, 29, was an active kid who played a lot of sports, but he never liked running and couldn't have imagined he'd enjoy ultrarunning one day. 

"Running for me was a punishment for if you were late for training," he said. But his perspective shifted when his mother was ill.

Nine months before Mandy died, Goodge, who is based in London, UK, woke up jet-lagged at 4 a.m. in Santa Monica and decided to kill some time with a sunrise run along the beach. When he got back, his mom called him to say she was in remission from cancer.

"It was the happiest moment of my life," Goodge said.

When the cancer returned and Goodge lost his mother, he felt sad, angry, and upset in the months after, and he was surprised to discover he wanted to run in those moments — whether it was 3 a.m. or noon.

"I think I was trying to get back to that moment of happiness nine months before," he said.

Goodge said he quickly took his new running journey "to an extreme," with challenges including running the length of the UK.

To prepare for his biggest challenge yet, Goodge kept up his strength training (which he credits for his lack of injuries) and also ran at higher altitudes. The most he ever ran in one week of training was 140 miles (less than half of what he did in the US) so as not to overdo it, he said.

Going too hard too quickly would have been a mistake

Goodge achieved his goal of running across the US in 55 days, hopefully becoming the fastest British man to do so. But he didn't plan in advance how far he would run each day or where he and his five-person-strong team would stop for the night, so he could see how each day went.

He ended up averaging 55 miles — and as much as 70 towards the end — depending on the terrain, wind direction, weather conditions, and how he was feeling. 

Goodge and his team slept in two vans so they could stop anywhere, with Goodge alone in a small transit van fitted with a bed and wardrobe, in case he let out groans of pain at night.

While Goodge was tempted to push himself harder and run further in the first few days, his team stopped him from doing more and he built up gradually.

"If I went too hard too soon, that would increase my injury risk and might wipe myself out and not be able to perform as well," Goodge said. "I went a lot harder towards the end when my body and mind had adapted."

By the last day, Goodge said he could have quite happily kept going because it just felt like a routine for him, he said.

The run was broken into 6-mile chunks

Goodge typically woke up before daylight and started running as the sun rose, finishing anywhere between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., he said.

Every six miles, which took Goodge about 60 to 90 minutes to complete, he stopped to see his crew for breaks while walking for about 10 minutes and eating something. "Breaking it down that way makes it somewhat manageable," he said.

Once a day between mile 30 and 42, Goodge napped for an hour before his final running stint. He said neuroacoustic software app NuCalm (which sponsored the trip) helped him to fall asleep quickly and wake up feeling refreshed.

Goodge consumed 6,000-7,000 calories a day

Goodge needed to eat between 6,000 to 7,000 calories a day to fuel his 110,000 (on average) daily steps without feeling too heavy to run, with 2,500 coming from a high-carb electrolyte drink that he sipped over the day.

For breakfast, Goodge had cereal and coffee, followed by whole foods during the route to help keep his energy stable and to avoid putting too much strain on his digestion, but Goodge had a pastry most days, too.

Audio books and music kept him entertained

Goodge would run the first 30 miles, which he considered his "business operating hours," on his own, while keeping himself entertained with music — from heavy rap to jazz to classical, and audiobooks including ultramarathon runner David Goggins' latest book, "Never Finished."

He'd complete the final stint with one of his  team members or, on a couple of occasions, his dad or a friend who had come out to visit.

"It was really good to have different energy come in and bring me up, crack a joke, just be there," Goodge said.

Goodge got through 13 pairs of running shoes

Goodge changed his shoes every day after his nap, mostly wearing On Cloudmonster running shoes, as well as HOKA Bondi 7 or the On Cloudgo.   

"It really helps to switch up shoes as you'll change how your foot is landing and the muscles you are using," Goodge said.

Changing his socks and shoes regularly also meant Goodge had only two blisters in the first week and none after.

Clothes-wise, Goodge wore items specifically created for his challenge by fitness brand Represent 247. "I had a little bit of chafing but nothing worth noting. I wore the Represent 247 Half Tight nearly every day and they were a dream," he said.

Recovery was key

Goodge knew that running with such intensity required equally intense recovery. "You can only perform as well as you've recovered," he said.

Every night, Good, who is an ambassador for wellness brand PureSport, would take their CBD oil and capsules — which he said helped him unwind —  and used the brand's Muscle and Joint Balm and Freeze Roll On to help soothe his muscles and joints, alongside a foam roller, lacrosse ball, or massage gun.

He also used Hyperice Normatec boots which massage the legs, boost circulation, and reduce swelling.

The main issue Goodge encountered was hamstring pain, because the roads were slightly uneven and he would run on the left facing oncoming traffic, meaning the muscles and ligaments in each leg worked slightly differently. But massaging the area and running on the other side of the road generally fixed the problem, he said.

"I had basically every kind of running pain you can imagine at one point or another, but there was always a relatively simple way of not necessarily fixing it, but making it manageable so I could run," Goodge said.

Mental resilience was his biggest asset

The worst part of the run was Oklahoma because of the monotonous long, straight roads, Goodge said.

"One day I did 50 miles, completely straight, zero turns," he said. "That was the general theme, vast open space on a straight road. Every mile felt like a copy and paste of the last one."

As challenging as the run was physically, it was tougher mentally. However, Goodge believes his mental resilience is his biggest asset — and he knows why he has it.

"When you've seen someone fight for their life who didn't choose to be there, it gives you a certain amount of ignorance to your own suffering," Goodge said. "So the way I look at it, I don't have cancer or, well, a life threatening disease. I chose to be out there running. My question to myself is, can I take another step? And the answer is always 'yes.'"