Only a few people in the world can say they were the “fastest man on the planet.” It ’s even more exclusive to earn that distinction twice. Mark Crear, the 1996 and 2000 Olympic silver and bronze medalist, happens to be in this very elite club. Twice ranked as the world’s number one at 110m hurdles, Mark could literally walk through any city in the world and say, “I’m faster than you, you, you, and even you.” Now retired from the sport, Mark enters the room with his baritone laugh and charismatic style, giving everyone big hugs and “some love.” It ’s been four years since his last professional race, yet I am convinced he could give most of the world a 90m head start and still win. Today Pastor Mark Crear shares the news that the power of faith, hope, and love can get you over life’s hurdles and turn anyone’s silver into gold.

Risen Magazine: You turn forty this year and you’re not that far removed from being number one in the world. Do you still get that “itch” to try to make another run at racing?

Mark Crear: No. I have to thank God that I was blessed to do and accomplish everything that I wanted to do in the sport of track and field. Just the ability to be able to represent your country, represent your faith, and go out there and compete is awesome. In 2004, I took fifth and I needed to take third to make my third Olympic team. Some ugly dude beat me, but it ’s all good. [Laughs]

RM: Are you defined by your Olympic medals?

MC: Defined? No. I have done so much, from writing a book, speaking in prisons and corporations, going into full-time ministry, seeing people getting saved, baptizing people—there have been so many other things that outweigh my medals. If I’m going to be defined by anything, I hope it is more by my character and heart to ser ve the Lord than any medals or records I have achieved.

RM: When did you know that running was your gift?

MC: I knew I could compete at a world-class level when I was at the NCAA Championships with USC. That was by far the most meaningful victor y to me. I was number one in the NCAA and the pressure was on. Everyone was like, “Oh, you’re gonna win!” and I was thinking, Tell that to the seven other guys next me. I had to shoulder the pressure of being number one.

For so long up to that point, I was the “other guy ” in the lane next to “that guy.” I know what the other guys racing are thinking standing next to me: Who are you to be getting all that attention? And when you take your starting position, you can see the media down at the finish line waiting around the lane they think is going to win. If you are in lane two and all the cameras are in lane six, you’re thinking, Man, I’m gonna show all these people who I am. And of course, you’re supposed to be in the zone like I was—comma [laughs]—but sometimes you can’t help but feel the pressure. I went on to win that race and when I cleared that last hurdle, it was like a hundred pounds came off of me. It was then I started to believe that maybe I could do this at the next level.

RM: You talk about knowing your purpose a lot in your book and Web site. You had a gift for running, but when did you know your purpose?

MC: It ’s funny, because I think track found me, I didn’t find track. I started track and field in my eleventh grade year of high school. My high school track coach approached me and asked me to come out and run track. My life was in a hurricane at the time. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I was really lost. I was thinking girls, shorts, tights, you know, and I really went out for that. But something happened when I started running. I fell in love with the sport. Ever y time that I ran, I just felt this weight come off of me. This was the one thing I had that no one could take away from me.

You know, God is so amazing with his perfect will and permissive will. He will always finish the good work. I see now that even then I was being led to my purpose. However, you have to be always aware, be obedient and submissive to his leading in our lives. I always tried to be sensitive to what was going on and tried to act on God’s leading in my life. There is a difference to wanting a hand-out and a hand-up. I didn’t want a hand-out; I wanted a hand-up. All I needed was a lane to run in and I knew the rest would work itself out.

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but when I realized my purpose, I just had to take the first step. We all just have to take the first step; God has already taken the second step for us.

RM: You refer to your relationship with God from an early point in your life. Were you raised in a Christian home?

MC: Man, wow. Well, I don’t know if I can say I was raised in a Christian home. [Chuckles lightly] Well, I can say my mom knows and loves the Lord. I believe she is saved. My life growing up was such a roller coaster that the stability of a home life and church family just wasn’t there. At one point I went to live with my dad and that was tough, because I had to deal with abandonment issues and stuff. One thing I can say about my father is that he played piano in a church. So, in some ways I was stuck in a church, but I realize now that even then I was still being fed [spiritually]. I think that helped me later on in life when I went to college. Looking back, I can see that God was always putting people and situations in my life that would encourage me to get past the tough spots in my life. Again, it ’s a matter of listening to God’s leading. So, God was always a part of my life, even when I was a little kid.

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