IT did my heart and soul good to see our Olympic and Paralympic athletes parading through the capital showing off more gold than Mr T.

Team GB and Paralympics GB exceeded all expectations in China and the men and women who triumphed in the summer have rightly become national treasures.

It's testament to what hunger, dedication and desire can achieve. This was about pure athletic achievement.

And as the confetti was cleared away and the athletes returned to training, all eyes began to turn London 2012.

On the morning of the parade, I heard a chap from Preston on Five Live complaining that he didn't feel the 2012 Games were for him.

He'd travelled all that way to cheer on our Olympic heroes but didn't feel the excitement that the Olympics were coming to these shores.

And this, I feel, is the hardest race the London 2012 Committee have to win.

Living in East Lancashire, I feel it's of little or no consequence that the games are in the capital.

Being British won't make it easier for me to get to the Games and the legacy it leaves won't travel this far north.

Sure, people in the south will have brand new facilities on which to train once the torch moves on - but where does that leave the rest of the country?

It would be one hell of a commute for any youngster from these parts to pop down to get world-class coaching.

It's closer to people living in Paris than it is to me!

And I see they're building a new Velodrome for the Games - what's wrong with the one we've got in Manchester?

It's nurtured the cream of world cycling - including our own Steven Burke - and having home track advantage would be an even bigger boost to our boys and girls.

The only thing that will venture up this way is the Olympic football with venues including Wembley, Old Trafford, the Millennium Stadium, St James’s Park, Hampden Park and Villa Park.

But with the tournament over-lapping the scheduled start of the Football League and Premier League seasons - is anybody going to go?

It's not enough for the likes of Lord Coe to say these are the nation's games - they have to prove it.

I agree entirely that Britain needs to be a more active nation but if my tax pounds are being used to help pay for the Games I, and more importantly my children, want some of the benefits.

I hope to have caught the Olympic bug by the time 2012 comes around but I'm going to need a lot of persuading.