Marathon and ultramarathon running
Goggins attempted to enter the Badwater-135 Ultramarathon as a fundraiser, but was told by organizers that he needed to enter another ultramarathon first; as the Badwater is an invitational event. In 2005, Goggins entered the San Diego One Day, a 24-hour ultramarathon held at Hospitality Point in San Diego. He was able to run the 100 miles in under 19 hours after he had only run a marathon once before. He was subsequently granted entry into the 2006 Badwater-135. During the 2006 Badwater-135, he finished 5th overall, an unheard of result from an ultramarathon novice at a world-class event.[8]
Over the next two years, he competed in another 14 ultra-endurance races, with top-five finishes in nine of them. He set a course record at the 48-hour national championships, beating the previous record by 20 miles with a total distance traveled of 203.5 miles and earning himself a spot among the top 20 ultramarathoners in the world.
In 2008 he was named a "Hero of Running" by Runner's World.[10]