For most runners, simply completing a grueling marathon is the sport's ultimate prize. For Charles Williams, it's been a journey far greater than 42 kilometres.
After starting at the Aboriginal Blacks, Charles was on track for a career as a professional basketball player in the United States.
When that dream faded, the father of three faltered.
"I guess I'd had some troubles in my life where I was really unhealthy," he says. "[I] lost my family and went through separation because of drugs."
Charles' desire to re-connect with his partner and children outweighed his craving for drugs. But it wasn't easy.
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Running, he says, became a pivotal part of his long road to recovery.
"Without the running I would definitely not be with my family. It wouldn't have been possible and I would be dead or in jail and that would have been a guarentee," he says.
Running became his new addiction and therapy.
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