Another run across America underway - is it legit? Boots currently on the ground

Blimey, I see what you did there. It's all true, burglar alarm system has gone up from half an hour, to an hour and a half. No need to keep the vans together either.

More from Marshall Ulrich, 52 day Transconner:

Wow. Correct a tracker has to be on the person or it absolutely doesn't count. The other thing that bothers me is the fact that these folks can find others to support them! I've seen it time and time again.

It boils down to why? The sport of ultrarunning is hard to make a living at even for the elite. It used to be impossible which was great as everyone was in it for the right reasons. Things have changed for the worse and social media has become part of the problem.

Keep up fighting the good fight.

We can safely eliminate Elliot Clements-Hill as a possible watch mule. He simply can't produce a cadence above 164 when running slow. Seems that Robbie and Goodge have perfected the pitter patter of 176-180 while moving along like a snail. Not sure who that other runner is that is seen in videos.

It's their very close mate Pete John, very much part of the tribe. Nice enough guy but fully salaried for this, ex-military. He ran up to me and said he couldn't possibly be muling as he doesn't wear a watch in photos. I replied that shorts have pockets [or words to that effect].

Pockets don't give HR readings and he's always got his shirt off.

Would live to know what the salary is as all he seems to do is cook very delicious looking meals. I'll take that job if anyone is hiring.

Interesting that he would bring up the watch mule method to you unprompted.

Here is a question for research..

Have Robbie and Goodge ever done one of these fund raising stunts together or are they always crewing for one another? We run marathons together with our friends, We run ultras with our friends. Why would these two friends not run their stunts together instead of one at a time? Besides making the watch mule thing impossible.

And a little odd that for the key, often active crew member who does much pacing, that he "never" wears a watch. I feel naked without one, and it shows such little interest for how Will's getting along and his splits etc. Say Pete is running with W and feels the pace has picked up too much, he can't say: 'that was a 9.50 mile, we really should back off.' That sort of thing. Another little detail that makes no sense.

Also, crewing, you clock him out on your watch, then you keep a track and if no sign when expected you shift quickly into gear. Who doesn't wear a watch as a crucial crew member at a time like this?

No, they only crew for each other, don't do the missions as a duo.

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A brief diversion: WG follows Lance Armstrong on Strava. Of course I don't read anything sinister into that - but this is just the sort of thing that taps right into LA's sociopathy - his Strava bio:

"Father of 5. Endūrance junkie. Host of The Forward Podcast. Founder of WEDŪ. 7 x TdF champ."

Sooooooo cheeky, just can't bloody resist, can he?! The ultimate troll, to this day.

Probably because their egos are too big to share the spotlight.

I think the investigation is essentially closed. I agree with Mr.Ulrich above. The run does not count in terms of being official.

The single statement is: “For the run to be considered official and verified, a live GPS tracker must be on the runner at all times. William Goodge refused to wear a live GPS tracker despite multiple requests from officials. As a result of refusal to wear a live GPS tracker, the run has been disqualified and is not considered verified, official”.

I've been following this from the start and this has always been the major red flag for me. With all the support and money involved, why no tracker on the athlete?

It also beggers belief in terms of safety.

For me, this may be the scenario, RB jumps into one of the support vehicles whilst the others leap frog, those in that vehicle are aware of the plan, they watch mule, allowing WG the last, say 1k each time, that way every time a camera is present they film him coming in. The camera crew might know its fishy but the genuinely havent seen anything so can call it clean from what they witnessed.

Mr Booger, sir, can you share with me where this official rulebook is located? I don't seem to be able to find it. For the life of me, I can't find it anyone on this World Wide Web thingy we are on where it says that one must wear a live tracker for any transcontinental run to count.

And, since there obviously must be a rulebook somewhere with this in it, I am sure that every person that has completed a TC since trackers were created surely had one on them, and there is some list that verifies that...

Do you really think that is plausible? They are, what, 2300-ish miles in. Since the vehicles and camera crew are there every 6 miles, you are saying that for 383 times they have "swapped" WG back into action? Really??

I’m not worried about the camera guy. There is no way this guy is with the crew 14 hours per day 60 days in a row. When you calculate the amount of alone time of this event the opportunity to cheat unseen by others is enormous! And they have 3 vehicles!! Any of those vehicles can deliver the relay runner to give Godge his rests and take over watch mule duties. Camera guy and even other crew members would be oblivious to the scheme.

You are correct. I am a trusting person because I believe in the good in people. You are also correct in that I have not been involved in following these scandals before. I've only heard about them after the fact. Since I don't know the answer to these questions, perhaps you could fill me in: 1) Have any legitimate TC finishes completed without the runner wearing a tracker...any? 2) Prior to this journey, has any TC runner been scrutinized for their heartrate data? 3) Have any previous TC runner been scrutinized because they weren't built like a traditional runner? 4) Have any previous TC runner been scrutinized because they had a well funded team?

To Will, and anyone else with experience on these sorts of multi-day ultraruns.

Devil's advocate. Going back to the topic of pedigree, and how performances over standard distances (marathon etc) can translate to events like this, could the recovery protocols available to Will in combination with his age, equipment and - possibly - physique, not be playing a large role in the perceived ease of his crossing vs far more talented athletes? The man has 6000 calories per day carefully prepped and fed to him, a team looking after him so all he needs to do is jog, a bed to rest in, massages, and very possibly, ahem, "special sports supplements" at his disposal - huge recovery advantages that most runners simply wouldn't have had.

There are so many red flags on this run (the HR data pattern being one of many), but it'd be good to examine some potential explanations.

You only have to plan for 1 day for the plan to be effective. Just do it every day.

For example - every afternoon, first few hundred metres WG runs cameras gone other crew gone, select few in the know left. RB takes over. Last few hundred metres WG again for the cameras. Rest up every afternoon, fresh for for the cameras, beers and party every night. Back to the grind with generally believable HR in the morning.

Its entirely plausible. Its really not difficult.

Yes, to be clear to all, WG was desperately isolated when I was there. Maybe 80% of the time. I was really confused how a crew of 6 could leave him so isolated, and I thought it very dangerous. I strongly believe they completely mixed things up with me, and that they're not the heartless bastards that I was seeing. I raised a big welfare alarm with them when I was there, that he didn't look at all well and was about 2 miles back. They appeared surprised. If that had been in bad weather, it would have been abuse.

But for one videographer to say on FB: "I've seen him do every step," is a complete nonsense. WG would get fed and watered at a stop and the whole circus would p*ss off 6 miles up the road and wait for 70-90 mins. The videographer is seeing some 5% of the day, when not out on the blades. And I barely ever saw the lead cameraman Robinson. Maybe he walked the odd beer mile? When I was jogging back for my observation relays, they were as much for welfare checks. I remember thinking to myself, "thank goodness he's got me, because no-one else seems to give a toss." Aside from RB's wife who did a few late shifts and James on the rollerblades every now and again, I saw so very little of the other two key support runners. It's almost like they got sidelined from duty when I was there.

I am convinced the modus operandi was totally different when I was there, to when I wasn't. And if not, then sweet mother of pearl - what a colossal waste!

There have been several on here that have been skeptical of WG's efforts, most notably Will C, who challenged them before they even began. This group of doubters have gone on about HR, 5mile splits, no tracker on runner, too much support, too well funded, using GoFundMe, doesn't look like a runner, has covered face from heat, uses products from sponsors during run to aid in recovery, uses some foul language, gets angry when called a fraud, doesn't suffer enough, not enough pedigree in long distance running, and on an on. These same doubters have yet to show where the magic rulebook is, saying all the things one must do to be considered a legitimate run. They have most definitely voiced them on here with many variations.