Middle-distance runner Hamish Carson almost gave up on his dream - but overcame numerous setbacks on his journey to his first World Championships at Oregon.
Carson, 33, will compete in the US next week after a gruelling 15 months, which saw him suffer with COVID-19, travel restrictions and financial problems.
He admits the journey hasn't been easy, but running has been a constant in an otherwise unpredictable last year and a half.
"It's been really tough actually," Carson told Newshub."It was all a big nightmare.
"But thanks to a lot of help from others, I've managed to scrape by and here I am."
Carson broke his 5000 metre personal best by 33 seconds, just weeks after recovering from COVID-19, and with less than ideal training circumstances.
He was stuck in very remote parts of Europe, which may have provided a great backdrop, but also lead him to almost running out of money.
But despite having the odds stacked against him, Caron knew he had no choice but to give it his all in order to accomplish what seemed an unlikely goal.
"I just went for it. I knew I didn't have any time to spare. Luckily after all of this. I can say I did something while I was over here."
Carson hopes the adversity will put him in good stead for the World Championships, having overcome much tougher challenges than what's ahead in Oregon.
