Mission America | Dallas News Live

I got to work a little late because I was doing a story. It freaked out my news director because I was a little late. 50 marathons, 50 states in 24 days. I definitely could not do one, at least not right now. But you're about to meet a guy who can. Will Gouge is a marathoner running to raise money for cancer awareness. I met him in Fort Worth before his run today. How you doing, man? I'm okay, yeah. I woke up a bit discombobulated, but the Texas sun will bring me back, so I'll be okay, yeah. Man, you got good weather. You came at a perfect time where the temperature dropped a little. How's the runs been in every state? This is state number, what, 15? This is marathon number 14, day 8. How's your body feeling? It's all right. I'm hanging in there. I've got every reason to keep going. I'm not going to be quitting soon, but we've got so much different weather, topography, geography. We started in Hawaii that was really hot, then straight to Anchorage, Alaska, polar opposites. The Pacific Midwest has been cold, windy. We had snow up in Montana. So, yeah, we've had a bit of everything. And this, to me, is like, other than the wind, perfect temp. A lot of people know you on social media, but for those who don't know, what made you really start running in the last couple of years? I know you experienced a personal loss. Tell me about your mom. So I lost my mum when I was 23 and as a man you're considered in society like an adult but I don't think you're that mentally mature. I was devastated by that experience and I felt for the first time in my life I had two very clear paths. There was one that was very self-destructive that would have been a real easy way out to use her as an excuse to ruin my life, numb it with alcohol, drugs, whatever or find something to use that pain, emotional pain for a purpose. I didn't know what it was to begin with i just naturally found myself running it was like my version of therapy and as soon as i started raising money for cancer charities as well i was like okay so running's helping me but it's also helping people like my mom who are dealing with cancer and also their friends and immediate family um because a lot of these cancer organizations kind of help everyone in and around that person so yeah i realized how much good it was doing for those three things and And I was like, we love Will. Will is the best. You got fans everywhere, Will. Yeah, it's beautiful, man. It's beautiful. Yeah, as soon as that started happening, I was like, well, how can I do more? How can I make it more extreme? And here we are today. 100 pounds ago, I was a sprinter in high school. I don't do the long distances. What do you get out of running these marathons? I mean, everybody can't run a marathon. Everyone can if they prepare for it. but you're doing multiple in 20 days. Yeah, the thing for me is pushing it to the max. I've been doing this for eight years now. I'm always trying to make it bigger, better, longer, faster. It's just like the athlete in me. I used to play rugby, so I was 220 pounds. Now I'm probably like 175 after the first half. Just brag, man. You're just bragging. Yeah, but I lost that from running. It's like the competitor in me. I've got to push to the limit and also raising money for Stand Up To Cancer and doing it in my mom's honor. It's like, I don't want to go and beat a record by an hour or a day. I have to set myself what I think is the absolute limit of what I can do it in and then I'll pursue that. Will, what do you want the people watching this today to get out of what you're doing, the purpose of this? I mean, one, trying to break the record, but two, also bringing awareness to raising money for cancer. the main thing for me is that people can use and see like negative things that happen in their life with a with a different point of view you can use that as fuel for something i'm not telling you to go and run 50 marathons not even one marathon but when you have pain in your heart and your soul you can use that as energy towards something beautiful you can you can be the one that reacts and changes the the bad time into something that's good for yourself and good for people around you So find something that helps you, push it out there, and you never know how many people you're going to reach. Now, I've got to ask you before I leave you. I know you're a healthy guy. I've seen the pics, the abs and stuff. But are you getting some barbecue while you're in Texas? 100%. I'm hoping someone brings me some brisket, some everything. How does that mess up your regimen, or does it? It's an eating competition at the same time. Trust me, you can't actually get enough calories in as you're running. So, yeah, I'm ready for the real Texas. All right, well, congrats on what you've done so far, and we look forward to day 20 to see you finish. Thank you very much, brother. I appreciate it.