William Goodge’s ambitious calendar for 2026 just got even more crowded.
The British runner and influencer has applied for the Badwater 135, according to confirmation he shared on Instagram this week. If accepted, Goodge would line up at one of the most demanding ultra-endurance races in the world, alongside preparations for his recently announced Mission America project.
Badwater 135 is held annually in California’s Death Valley and covers 135 miles from Badwater Basin to Mount Whitney, often in extreme heat. The race, however, is invite-only, capped at a small field, and tightly controlled, with strict qualifying standards, mandatory crew rules, and continuous monitoring. Even some of the most experienced ultra-runners regularly fail to finish.
For Goodge, the Badwater application is a big swing.
Much of his recent running has been self-directed endurance challenges rather than traditional races. He has completed transcontinental runs across the United States and Australia, along with multi-day marathon blocks in Europe.
Now, of course, those efforts helped grow his following but also drew scrutiny around tracking data, recovery claims, and verification.
Badwater offers little flexibility on any of that.
The course is fixed, the rules are printed in black and white, and runners are watched from start to finish. If Goodge is accepted and starts the race, it would place him in one of the most controlled environments he has competed in to date.
The timing is also something to look at.
Badwater typically requires months of heat adaptation and focused preparation, and a lot of participants build their entire seasons around it. How that level of specificity would coexist with Mission America, his plan to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 20 days, remains unclear.
Goodge has not mentioned how Badwater would fit into his broader plans, and as we know, acceptance into the race is not guaranteed. Many qualified applicants are turned away each year due to limited space.
Still, the application adds yet another ambitious and audacious dimension to his 2026 goals. Badwater is not a project that can be shaped by logistics or storytelling. If he earns a spot and makes it to the start line, the outcome will be straightforward and quite telling.
