Given that this is the last piece I will write for insidethegames, I for once find myself rather at a loss about what to say.

I guess that for me, the Olympic adventure really all started in a school classroom at Anglo European School in Essex on July 6, 2005.

It was an A-Level PE lesson but my teacher, Mr White, decided instead to get out a radio and let us listen to the announcement of which city had been awarded the right to stage the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Expecting to hear Paris named, it was a surprise to all of us in that room to hear International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge declare "London" as the winner, cueing rather manic celebrations in that classroom.

Mr White kindly let us head down to the pub to celebrate, but not before saying: "You have no idea how much this will change the landscape of sport in this country."

Back then I certainly didn't, but I was still filled with an immediate, burning desire to somehow be part of London 2012 in whatever way I could.

It was sometime later following a stint at the University of Bedfordshire - four years ago, in fact - that I got such a chance when I first met insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay and commercial director Sarah Bowron.

Following two ultimately successful interviews, my first task for the company as a fresh-faced 21-year-old was the small matter of interviewing the world's fastest man: Usain Bolt. The picture I took with the Jamaican sprint-king that day all those years ago remains perhaps my most treasured one to date.

Since then it has simply been a whirlwind, globetrotting adventure that has felt as much like a wonderful hobby as a job.

Such travels have included stop-offs in Singapore for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, India for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, Mexico for the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games and stays in so many more glamorous countries such as Australia, America, Brazil, China, Russia and New Zealand.

But, despite travelling the world, my undoubted highlight ironically came just 30 minutes away from the front door of my home in Essex.

I refer of course to the event I had heard about in my school classroom - London 2012.

I don't know whether it is a huge positive or depressing negative that my career almost certainly peaked at the age of 24 when I got my hands on a precious accreditation for London 2012 that allowed me full access to every single event at my home Games.

Now framed proudly on my bedroom wall that accreditation was used most responsibly (for the most part) to get a front-row seat for some of the greatest sport the world has ever seen.

Despite my valiant attempts to be as professional as possible, I found it a little difficult to separate the journalist from the fan as I sat in the Olympic Stadium on that unforgettable "Super Saturday" on August 4, 2012, when Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford all stormed to gold medals. The venue was simply rocking against a wall of noise and I was pleased to see even the most hardened and experienced of my colleagues leap up from their chairs with delight as the action unfolded.

"It isn't always like this," I remember Duncan - one of the best and most experienced athletics writers in Britain - telling me following that magical evening session, but I'm not sure those words sunk in.

Those best few weeks of my life ultimately merged into a happy blur of watching Bolt win all three of his gold medals from the front row of the finish-line, seeing swimming icon Michael Phelps become the greatest Olympian ever at the Aquatics Centre, reporting on Sir Chris Hoy become the most decorated British Olympian ever at the Velodrome and generally just being like a "kid in a candy store", to borrow the American phrase.

How I functioned on so little sleep during those weeks I still don't know, but it was a period where sleep felt simply like a waste of valuable time.

From an insidethegames point of view, the post London 2012 period has almost been just as rewarding as the Games. As the end of the Olympics and Paralympics got closer, I was asked almost on a daily basis what I would be doing after London 2012, as if the website would just implode as quickly as the Paralympic Flame extinguished on September 9, 2012, to signal the conclusion of Games.

I can now safely say that  implosion hasn't happened and it has been wonderful to be part of the transition period at insidethegames where, amongst other things, we have proved that we are not a London 2012 website - but rather (if I may be so bold as to say) the leading international website dedicated to covering the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

That has been has been a real pleasure for me. For a young kid from Essex to have walked and talked in the company of the most powerful leaders in world sport still feels just pretty weird.

To even have been granted the privilege of saying farewell on a forum such as this is an honour I am humbled by.

Needless to say, I have met far too many people and made far too many friends to name them all here, but I must indulge in a few quick moments of thanks.

To my colleagues past and present for all their help and support – particularly Emily Goddard, Mike Rowbottom, David Owen, Alan Hubbard Lauren Mattera and James Crook.

To all those great people I have interviewed, or have set up interviews or to those who comment on my articles. Every comment - good or bad - I read with real interest!

But most of all, a huge thanks to Sarah and Duncan for taking a shot on a raw talent four years ago. It has been a privilege to work for them and serve a mere foot solider in the insidethegames machine that will go from strength to strength without me.

Incidentally, I leave to try out the world of PR and Communications, where I will fortunately remain in the world of sport, continuing my trend of undertaking my hobby as a job.

I must apologise for the self-indulgence in this piece but after four years I felt I had to take the liberty of doing so just this once!

I will sign-off with something my friend once told me: "Try everything, keep hold of the good and hold on to the memories because they are the things that no one can ever take from you."

And they never will.

Tom Degun is a former reporter for insidethegames. Follow him on Twitter here.