Nick Willis is spreading the message to young Kiwis that dreaming big, working hard and making sacrifices pays off with great rewards. Photo / Greg Bowker

Nick Willis is spreading the message to young Kiwis that dreaming big, working hard and making sacrifices pays off with great rewards. Photo / Greg Bowker

He has brought his Olympic medal home - now Nick Willis wants to bring some of his international rivals Downunder too.

The 1500m runner revealed yesterday he has encouraged some top-class runners to face him in a race or series in New Zealand early next year.

Meeting promoters, agents and possible sponsors are in discussion to see if the event can be organised in February or March. "So long as I'm healthy I would like to run at least one race in New Zealand and a couple of people are working with my agent right now," Willis said in Auckland as he prepared for a nationwide tour to talk about his Beijing campaign.

He would like to see as quality a field as possible, though he would not name names. "That's what I'm going to push for - as good as we can get."

Fresh from a holiday with his wife, Sierra, in Fiji, the Hutt Valley-born, United States-based 25-year-old is about to venture on a two-week journey through the country, sharing his medal with school children and athletics fans.

"This is part of the whole Olympic package for me: to come home and share the medal with people so they can see one of their own flesh, a fellow Kiwi who has dreamed far beyond what he could grasp and actually came through.

"There's hope for future kids from backgrounds similar to me - if they're willing to dream, it is achievable to conquer the world."

Willis' incredible dash for the line to clinch the bronze in Beijing was the highlight - so far - of a career which has taken him from the grass tracks and cross country courses of the Hutt Valley, to the nurturing environment of the University of Michigan, to the world.

He showed promise early: after the Games, his father, Richard, dug out a picture of Willis as an 8-year-old being congratulated by running guru Arthur Lydiard following a victory in a local cross country race. Willis remembers the encounter well - he was in awe of Lydiard - and recalls Lydiard telling him he would have a bright future if he trained hard.

And so it has proved. Sure, the rewards have been many, but the training and sacrifices have been great.

"I remember before our bursary exams when everyone else was having end of school celebrations, I was at the Hutt Rec track doing 300m repetitions and wishing I was at the beach with my friends. But I knew I had the New Zealand secondary schools champs coming up and to do well in those would hopefully win me a scholarship to the United States."

The message of sacrifice for ultimate reward is one of the main messages he wants to deliver to his audiences over the next fortnight.