If his late mum had not told him to trust world marathon champion Rob de Castella, Western Arrernte man Charlie Maher might not have made history on Sunday.
He has become the first Indigenous man to complete all seven major marathons in the world after completing the Sydney Marathon, alongside two Indigenous women runners, Bianca Graham and Natasha Leslie.
For 15 years, Mr Maher been a part of Mr de Castella’s Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP), taking the track in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
He said Sydney was his toughest yet.
Charlie Maher and Bianca Graham are two of three Indigenous runners to complete all seven major world marathons. (Supplied: IMP )
A question of trust
Mr Maher was not sure about Mr de Castella the first time he met him.
“I didn’t know who he was,” Mr Maher said.
“This non-Indigenous person [came] into my life [and] I thought he was just another one of these people that promises me something and it all falls through.“
Years on, and many thousands of kilometres behind him with Mr de Castella by his side, Mr Maher said he was proud to be a role model and leader for young people.
“I’m just extremely proud of the impact and how far I’ve come, the impact you make on Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but also non-Indigenous people,”
he said.
“I love uniting people together, running is so simple, you know? You just put one foot in front of the other.”
Mr Maher’s late mother and sister are his inspiration. (Supplied)
An ’emotional’ journey
A calf strain meant Mr Maher had to go four weeks without training before the 35,000-person race.
“For me, not training … then running … was really tough because I lost so much fitness,” he said.
“I just had to draw strength on my mental toughness with the people that support me — my family and my friends.“
He said he felt emotional before the marathon began, reminiscing on his journey as a runner.
“You fast forward 15 years on and you’ve got all these Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander [runners] in Sydney [and] all the events around Australia,” Mr Maher said.
“They are travelling overseas and doing marathons, that’s the impact I want to make on people — I got emotional about that.”
Foundation of support
Mr de Castella, who started IMP and its overarching body, the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, said the program started as a talent search.
Bianca Graham and Rob de Castella celebrate a run. (Supplied: IMP)
“It very quickly changed from talent identification to using running to promote health and using the marathon to showcase strength and achievement,” Mr de Castella said.
He said he and Mr Maher had developed “an incredible bond” after the young Aboriginal man was recruited to do something unprecedented — run the New York City Marathon.
“Since then, we’ve been running side-by-side, metaphorically supporting each other,” Mr de Castella said.
“He’s been teaching me about Aboriginal culture and how to deliver and co-design programs to contribute and I’ve been doing everything I can do support his growth personally and professionally.”
Thanks to mum and sister
Mr Maher has lost his two most important people — his mum and his sister.
But he said he worked to make them proud every day.
“[I make them proud by] being kind-hearted, being generous and being humble, just being grateful and blessed to be doing what I do — because I’ve been given a gift,”
he said.
“I’ve got to use the full advantage of my gift to help other people… and inspire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but non-Indigenous people as well.”
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