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Thursday, as I could feel it was good for me. And, about a month later, I entered the local county championships and won the 100 metres.
    I was lucky enough to have a head teacher who believed in the power of sport and who wanted to help me achieve. He took the time and effort to encourage me. I played lots of different sports – tennis, football, cricket – but athletics was my passion.
    Mr Atkins was a really positive influence on me. I would see him at the running club and he would ask me how my running was getting on. As a young boy, I felt quite cool seeing my headmaster outside school. He showed an interest in my running and asked about my progress, and I felt proud that I was doing what he had asked me to try. There was a social aspect to the sport too, and that was exciting.
    All my teachers became an important influence when they could see my talent. Mr Knight and Mr Hopkins taught PE in my secondary school, Risca Comprehensive, and would stay behind after school and coach me. I really appreciate how much of their time they gave to after-school clubs and teams. That to me is real dedication and I’m sure other pupils in my school feel the same way. School for me was a very happy time. My favourite subject was obviously PE but I also really enjoyed Art and Graphics. I didn’t really like English or Mathematics, as I’m a more visual person, but I was quite good at Art. I remember drawing a picture in my Art class where half my face was my own and half was the face of a devil. In the background I drew a running track. The picture showed how I felt during the pain of training, how hard you had to work and that the devil comes out in you to get you to the finish line. I was very pleased with it and the teacher understood and could see what I was trying to show. My school reports always said the same thing: that I was happy and enthusiastic, or I was friendly and sociable, but the last line always said I needed to concentrate more. I think that’s probably fair.
    School was fun for me. I had lots of friends and I was a happy-go-lucky pupil. I was never alone, always had a lot of energy, and never liked sitting down too long. My favourite school day was always Sports Day. It was a day I could shine and I took part in as many events as I could.
    However, probably one of the worst moments in my athletic career happened during one of my Sports Days. The whole school was watching as I competed in the long jump. I was really pleased that I could do the hitch kick like one of my heroes, Carl Lewis. I ran down the runway, jumped in the air, did a hitch kick and landed much further forward than anyone else. As I landed, though, I broke wind loudly. The crowd was silent until someone shouted loudly, ‘That was Baulchy!’ I was so embarrassed. But the only way to deal with it was to throw my hands in the air, admit it and laugh at myself.
    I was part of a very happy, positive group of people and I’m still best friends with people I was at school with. I’m very proud that we are still friends after all these years. Some of my friends I met playing Under Tens football and that shows the strength of our friendship. Matt Wintle, Chris Williams and Nick Pritchard are three friends who are very important to me. I first met Nick Pritchard on the school bus which took us all to Risca School. Nick was much bigger than me at the time. He turned around to me on the bus and, looking tough, said, ‘Where are you from, butt?’ I wouldn’t back down and said, ‘Cwmbrân, butt.’ ‘So what do you do?’ he said, and I announced, ‘I’m a runner.’ We still laugh about that first meeting now. We did race. I won. But we’re still best mates to this day.

Chapter Three
Be Yourself
    After Risca Comprehensive, I enrolled at Pontypool College to do a PE Foundation course. My tutors there, Avril Williams and Phil Jones, were as supportive as my school teachers had been.