Now a toned and super-fit athlete, she has been invited to race in the Adventure Racing World Championships in Australia from November 10, by the defending world championship-winning Team Seagate.
Each team of four is required to include at least one member of the opposite sex, so Williams will join captain Nathan Fa'avae (Nelson), Stu Lynch (Auckland) and Chris Forne (Queenstown) for the race, which will take teams representing more than 30 countries on a 14-leg, 627km journey through the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales.
It is estimated the winning team will complete the non-stop, unsupported course of trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, caving and navigation in 4½ days.
Williams (41) is excited and feels it is an honour to have been asked to join Seagate. She even uses the word ``fun'' a few times when talking about the event, in which there are no mandatory stops, no dark zones (where competitors must exit the water and wait for daylight) and no optional checkpoints.
``I know it will push me to another level and will be tough out there. It is a tremendous opportunity to race with a hugely experienced and well-drilled team. I hope to learn a great deal and, most importantly, have a good time,'' Williams said.
Some of her enthusiasm stems from having missed the opportunity to race with a top team about five years ago and she did not want to let this invitation pass her by.
``It makes you realise these opportunities don't come around very often.
``There are a lot of very good racers out there but to get them all in one team - you get an opportunity to race with the best.''
Williams has been committed to racing with her Godzone Adventure Race team-mate for the past three years and fellow Wanaka athlete Simon Bowden and brothers Tom (Queenstown) and George Lucas (Cheviot) in Australia. The foursome raced together recently in the X-Trail adventure race in China, where they placed fifth.
``I did really enjoy racing with those guys so it has been really tough making that call.''
The three men will now race with young Christchurch athlete Isla Smith in Australia.
Other Wanaka athletes competing include Simone Maier, who is racing with top Swedish line-up Thule Adventure Team, and Bob McLachlan, who is joining Australian team Peak Adventure.
Team Seagate's results history made it a hard proposition to turn down.
Fa'avae founded it in 2001 and it went on to become New Zealand's most successful adventure racing team. Seagate won the world championships in 2012, 2014 and 2015 after placing third in 2011. It has won a record number of World Series events and holds the No1 world ranking - the first team in 25 years of adventure racing to attain the maximum world ranking points.
Williams grew up in Ireland and attributes her rise in the world of multisport to her move to Wanaka in 2001.
``You are around people who are doing it,'' she said.
In 2002, she was in a support crew for the Southern Traverse and from then on began trying her hand at a few South Island events for fun.
Her list of entries quickly expanded and includes the Coast to Coast, Goldrush, Peak to Peak and Mountain to Mountain.
``Previously, I would have looked at something like the Southern Traverse and thought the people in it were a bit nutty.''
