KEY POINTS:
On a wall in his home, Nick Willis has a framed 100 yuan note ($20). The Chinese currency, a souvenir from a trip to Beijing in 2001, has represented the middle-distance runner's dreams for the past seven years.
"I was 18 and I decided to hold on to it until I got to the Beijing Olympics," Willis said this week.
It was a tangible prompt to remind him of his goal. Back then, he dared not dream bigger than just qualifying; the mere act of making it to the Games would have been enough.
As he arrived in Beijing yesterday, his dreams were much more ambitious. Making it was the easy part; this time he wants to leave the city with yet another tangible reminder of his visit - an Olympic medal.
And he likes his chances. Four years ago in Athens, when he made it to the 1500m semifinal as a 21-year-old with virtually no international experience, the field was tough. Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, the eventual winner, was the standout favourite, but there were a clutch of others looking over his shoulder, including three Kenyans headed by Bernard Legat as well as Portugal's Rui Silva.
This year, the field is more open andWillis has shown some promising form, setting a New Zealand record in the mile and running a fast 3min 33.5sec 1500m in Monaco last month.
He competes in the heats on Friday night, but is already looking beyond that to the semifinal on Sunday - and the final on Tuesday night.
"The PC thing to say is to take one race at a time, but when you do that you spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on the heat, rather than on your next race and the final," said Willis.
"I'm really trying to take a more laidback approach to that first race.
"My first run is to go out there and enjoy it so I save myself for the semifinal and I believe I'm in good enough shape and if I need to be a contender for a medal I should be able to get through. At the same time, I've got to respect my competitors and have a good race, but I'm not going to exhaust myself."
In the past year, the Wellington-raised, US-based Willis has been through a lot. In running, he made the final of the world championships in Osaka and the world indoors championships in Valencia. Though those races may not have gone as well as he would have liked (he finished 10th in Osaka and was disqualified in Valencia), they gave him invaluable experience.
In his personal life, he married girlfriend Sierra and the couple bought a house. Having done a lot of growing up, he knows he is more mature and wise, traits which will help him to cope with the Olympic cauldron.
But at the same, he is trying to hang on to some of the characteristics he brought with him to Athens.
"When you're young, you're a little more fearless and you race that way. It's a matter of getting a balance between those two."
For Willis, it's also a matter of believing - in himself and in God. His faith is an important facet of who he is and will be a strength to him, along with the support of family and friends.
When he lines up in the Birds Nest stadium, trackside will be his wife, brother, and father, along with several good friends from Wellington and his coach, Ron Warhurst.
They're all hoping that next week, they'll be able to see Willis collect another Beijing souvenir to hang on his wall.
