50-state marathons in 24 days for cancer charity: Ultra-marathon runner coming to Idaho Falls

IDAHO FALLS — British ultra-endurance marathon runner William Goodge is set to run a marathon in Idaho Falls on Monday as part of a cancer awareness campaign.

In memory of his mother, Amanda, who died of cancer, Goodge will be running 50 separate marathons across all 50 states in the United States in 24 days beginning Friday.

As part of his campaign called Mission America, Goodge will pass through Idaho Falls on Monday and he invites participants or viewers to see him off or run the first three miles with him.

“I would like people to join if they can … emotion is energy,” Goodge said.

When he is running for such incredible distances such as a 26.2-mile marathon, Goodge explained that encouragement and people joining alongside him feel like he is converting the emotional energy he gets into physical energy that keeps him going.

With a history of similar feats, including holding the record for the fastest run across Australia in 2025, Goodge is prepared to tackle this new challenge.

“Having that foundation of big mileage, big expedition, experience, really helps, and what I did was I tuned up for the past four to five months,” Goodge said.

The 50 states in 24 days ultra-marathon will require Goodge to run at least two marathons for much of the time, but this challenge will also include running three marathons in a single day several times to reach his goal.

Goodge’s first marathon will be in Hawaii on Friday, and he will conclude his journey in New York by Nov. 1.

Goodge’s athletic career began back in 2019 when he performed his first ultra-marathon in the UK. Over the course of seven years, he has continued to challenge himself and tackle new feats.

Goodge said running allows him not only to think and process emotions, but it has also been a vehicle for his charity.

“I wanted to get out … (use) my energy in a way that wasn’t destructive,” Goodge said about his mother’s passing. “Soon as I started raising money for charity, I saw it as something that was both helping myself personally, but then also people going through cancer.”

The goal for this fundraiser is to reach $250,000, which has been set to be donated to the Stand Up to Cancer charity.

According to its website, the charity’s mission is to raise awareness and fund research towards the cure for cancer in all patients.

More information on Goodge’s ultra-marathon can be found here.

The website includes an interactive map to follow Goodge’s progress as well as a schedule where more information will be released if the time changes for his arrival in Idaho Falls.