The Tamworth-based teenager spent much of that time with his head buried in textbooks, doing homework while his dad's Metallica-heavy playlist blared through the speakers.

The purpose of their long-distance road trip was to take part in the Oceania Athletics Championships from June 7 to 11, and the NSW Cross Country Championships on the Saturday just gone.

"[The Oceania Championships] was probably the highest level of competition I've ever run in," Williams said.

As a member of the Regional Australian team, the teenager came away with a gold medal in the under 18s three kilometre event in Mackay, Queensland.

That win, Williams said, was fueled by a desire to prove himself after missing out on selection for the Australian team due to a bout of COVID-19.

"I knew I was capable [of being selected on the Australian team], and I trained for it," he said.

"I knew I could win it, but I guess [the other competitors] didn't expect that."

Once he had crossed the finish line in the lead by a narrow margin, the reality of the result took some moments to sink in.

"In the first minute or so after the race, I didn't think it was real," Williams said.

"I was ecstatic, I was just really happy with the result. I knew I could do it, but there's a difference between believing in it, and it actually happening."

He followed that up with a gold medal in the under 18s six kilometre race at the in the state cross country event at Wilandra last weekend.

Williams credited the medals to his rigorous seven-day-a-week training schedule, in which he runs six days and hits the gym twice.

His desire to train is matched only by his appetite for study. Williams is currently in Year 11 at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, and hopes to study medicine once he graduates.

With a full classload featuring chemistry, biology, and physics, alongside running, hard work has always been an inherent trait of his.

"I talk to my coach and my competitors, and they don't understand how I train by myself," Williams said.

"They're in big squads in Sydney and they say they wouldn't be able to do it [alone], but I don't know. The thought has never gone through my mind about how hard it is to train by myself."

With dreams of qualifying for the Olympic team, this work ethic will hold Williams in good stead. But he has not forgotten how important the contributions are from his family and team.

"I couldn't do it without my mum and dad, and all the support team, I'm really thankful," Williams said.

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