Ex- soldier steps up for daughter

FORMER soldier Caine Williams has drawn inspiration from his daughter to lace up his shoes for his first marathon in support of veterans suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Williams, now an underground coal miner, will run in the Soldier On Memorial Run on Sunday as part of the Townsville Running Festival’s Townsville Marathon.

The memorial run aims to raise funds and awareness for Soldier On, an organisation supporting returned soldiers.

“Being an ex- soldier, I have mates who had their own struggles after deployment, and I lost a friend earlier this year to PTSD,” Mr Williams said.

“So when I heard the Memorial Run was happening for Soldier On, I was quick to jump on board. I haven’t run anywhere near marathon distances before – the furthest I’ve run is 30km … and that hurt.”

Mr Williams’ initial was his daughter, Jessika.

“Jessika always represented her school and North Queensland at cross country. We said we would run a marathon together one day,” he said. “But while she was in Year 12, she developed Supraventricular Tachycardia, a heart condition.

“She’s had two heart operations … so there isn’t much chance that she’ll get to run a marathon but I’m not breaking my promise.”

Townsville Road Runners president Tony Gordon said the Soldier On run would be part of the event in the future.

To donate to Mr Williams’ effort visit soldieron. giveeasy. org/ campaigns/ cwilly- for- soldier- on

motivation