Dawson back in the running

But Nick Dawson seemingly isn't most people. The gym manager at Falaise, where he has been since returning from London in March, is fighting fit again and still harbours hopes of pulling on an international athletics vest once more.

"I'm still training full time as well as working full time," he explained. "I'm still trying to chase the dream. I wouldn't be paying my coach (Tony Lester, who trains a number of international runners up in Windsor) if I wasn't. Physically I'm in good shape but it's the running I've not done.

"My immediate target is to stay fit, that's my biggest battle. If I can stay injury-free I will run well and I should be able to make some big teams. There's no reason why I can't run really well next year. Early 46 seconds made the British 4x4 squad this year and I think I'm capable of that."

Won't all those injury problems take their toll, though? "I will never reach the potential I could have done. I'm nervous about my body but I don't think it will hold me back."

The 26-year-old represented Great Britain at a junior international meeting in 1997 and England in the senior Home Internationals back in 2001. He shot to prominence when beating later-to-be-found drugs cheat Dwain Chambers over 200 metres in '98 but "from that point onwards I was fighting injury and have been ever since".

Describing the problems he was experiencing, Nick said: "My knee started collapsing when I was running but no-one knew what the problem was. MRI scans showed negative but I knew there was something there. Eventually they found that I had growths in my knee which had been slicing through cartilage and damaging the ligaments. I had both operations done within six weeks of each other (early this year) and I'm 99 per cent now."

While most people would sit back and feel sorry for themselves when injured, Nick, who gained a 2:1 degree in Sports Science at Brunel University and is still putting the finishing touches to a Masters honour, decided to build his own car - an AC Cobra - of all things.

"I've always loved sports cars and I'm not used to having time on my hands," he continued. "I started on November 22 and finished five weeks ago. It cost me 15,000." With drive like that, the dream could yet become a reality.