Mark Everett Interview

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Mark Everett — August, 2024

Mark Everett represented the United States at three Olympic Games at 800 meters, in 1988 in Seoul, Korea, in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, and in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. He was a U.S. team member at four World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997, earning a Bronze Medal in 1991. Mark won twelve U.S. Championships - eight outdoors at 800 meters and two indoors each at 800 meters and 500 meters. Track and Field News ranked him six times as number one in the U.S. and top ten in the world. He was a three-time Gold Medalist at World Indoor Championships including the 1993 sprint medley relay and the 1993 and 1997 4x400 meter relay. Mark won a Gold Medal at the 1994 USA vs. Africa Classic, 1994 World Cup and 1997 Prefontaine Classic. His other international 800-meter victories include at Oslo’s Bislett Games, Monaco, London, Linz, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, Helsinki, Santiago, Doha, Sopot, Luzern and multiple times in Stockholm, and Rieti. He was the fastest 400/800-meter combo athlete in history with his bests of 44.59 and 1:43.20. Collegiately at the University of Florida, Mark won the 1990 NCAA 800-meter double, indoors and outdoors, and Gold on the 1988 NCAA Indoor 4x400-meter relay. He is the only athlete in Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships history to be a four-time Gold Medalist at 800 meters and the 4x400-meter relay. Mark was a nine-time All-American and a 13-time All-SEC selection. At Milton (Florida) High School, Mark earned FHSAA Gold Medals in the sprint medley relay and 4x400-meter relay. He finished third at the Golden South Invitational at 400 meters in 47.2 seconds. After his competitive years, Mark coached high school, collegiately, and with professional athletes, most notably Samuel Matete. He currently is the Director of PrimeTime Scouting, a recruiting service that helps high school athletes with athletic and academic scholarships. Mark was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and Millrose Games HOF in 2003. His personal best times include: 300m – 33.41; 400m – 44.59; 500m - 1:00.19; 800m - 1:43.20; 1,000m – 2:25.47 and 4x400m relay – 2:59.55. Mark resides in Hoover, Alabama and was very gracious to spend nearly two hours on the telephone for this interview in August 2024.

GCR:

THE BIG PICTURE Let’s start with your achievement of competing in three Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 2000, and four World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997, earning a Bronze Medal in 1991. What did it mean at the time to you the first time you became an Olympian at only age nineteen and to put on the USA jersey at the Olympics and World Championships? What does this accomplishment mean to you now that your competitive days have ended to know that you are forever a seven-time U.S. Olympian and World Championships competitor and a Worlds Medalist?

At the time when I was doing it, I didn’t really realize what I had accomplished. I was so young. I was trying to compete and to make a name for myself with all the big-name people who were out there. As we get older, we look back on it and they are definitely proud moments. One thing my coach always told me is, ‘Don’t read the articles when you are running. Wait until it’s over.’ So, I kind of took that philosophy. Back then we read Track and Field News, unlike all the social media that we have now. I am extremely excited and proud that I was able to accomplish what I have accomplished.

GCR:

When outside observers evaluate athletic careers, they are often people who haven’t competed and may not deserve to make that evaluation. But writers and fans often look at championships and records. In addition to your Olympic and World Championships teams and Bronze Medal, eight times you won U.S. Championships outdoors at 800 meters and Track and Field News ranked you as number one in the U.S. six times and top ten in the world for many years. When you look at these achievements over a lengthy period of time, how do you evaluate your own running career?

I am happy with what I achieved. I wasn’t one of those age-group kids who came up running in track meets. I wasn’t someone who was picked to make teams. I came from behind in races and in my career as a dark horse. It was exciting for me because I usually wasn’t picked to win races or to accomplish what I did in my career. In their minds I was an overachiever. But I worked hard to achieve what I did, and I am proud to have done so.

GCR:

As a competitor, we often think that we could have done something different in training or in racing such as going out faster or slower or making a certain move. How tough is it to earn medals on the World stage and, if you could have ‘do-overs,’ is there anything you could do differently that may have resulted in better outcomes? Or each day did you do your best based on the available information you had and that’s just how it is?

The only thing I wish I had done was to take nutrition more seriously after I ran. I did good before running but not afterwards. When I look at what I accomplished, including a World Championships medal, it is satisfying. I pulled an intercostal muscle in 1992 when I was favored to win in the Olympics. I beat all those guys that year before and after the Olympics. There is timing at championships necessary for races to go the way you want them to go. Not getting all the medals isn’t what I look at as much as the fact that I was able to get there and to fight and compete and represent the United States. I focus more on the experience and the people I met rather than the medals. They only award three medals. I had a chance to win the World Cup and World Indoor Championships in the four by 400-meter relay. It has been a blessing to be able to travel the world and see what I have been able to see after starting out as a small-town country kid.

GCR:

The 800 meters is my favorite track event to watch. It’s a beautiful event because it is always an honest race and is the intersection of 400/800 meter runners whose forte is more speed-oriented and 800/1,500-meter runners whose strength is more endurance-oriented. How was it strategically and tactically with such diverse opponents, maybe four from each camp, knowing that all of you were aiming to use your relative strengths and you had to evaluate where they were at multiple points of the race to still have a kick to the finish to place as highly as possible? Was it a cool chess match out there on the track?

That was how it was one hundred percent. There were guys like Johnny Gray who were going to take it out. Then there were runners like Tony Parrilla and me who kind of laid back and kicked. There was definitely a fine line. This past Olympics was incredible watching so many guys run 1:41s. We didn’t run those times, but the competition was still unbelievable. We never knew who was going to win. At the USA Championships, we had to run four rounds to make the Olympic or World Championship team and it was tough. Once we made it to the finals, everybody had a chance to make the team. It was exciting to try to figure out our strategies. After the most recent Olympics, I posted on Johnny Gray’s Facebook page and said, ‘Johnny, you taught us wrong.’ He asked me what I meant, and I said, ‘We should have gone out in fifty seconds so we could come back in fifty-one or fifty-two seconds instead of going out in forty-seven or forty-eight seconds.’ He was laughing. Today is a different time and there have been changes in training. They are running on the backs of us, just as we ran on the backs of those who came before us. Over time, runners learn different ways of training. Modern tracks make a difference and so do the new shoes. Nonetheless, it is still competition.

GCR:

I went back and watched eight or ten of your races on YouTube to get a good feel for them and you were out toward the back at 400 meters very often. Sometimes you moved up toward the front at the bell, while other times you waited until the start or midpoint of the back stretch. Was there a strategy that suited you best or did it depend on your competitors, their strengths and how the race developed on each particular day?

That is a great question. A lot of the time, it was just a feeling. I might have a philosophy on a day that I was going to take the pace out. But, if I knew someone else was going to, then I would just sit on them, relax, and catch my breath. In the 800 meters, my philosophy was that I had to find a place during the race where I could rest. If I could rest in the second or third two hundred meters, then I would have something to come home with. Everybody talks about the 1992 Olympic Trials race as Goerge Kersh, Tony Parrilla and I were dead last with a hundred fifty meters left. Johnny Gray took it out fast the first two hundred meters. They went through four hundred meters in forty-eight or forty-nine seconds and were still rolling. They went through six hundred meters in 1:15 or 1:16. I knew at that moment that, either everyone up front was going to break the World Record, or there were going to be a bunch of guys back-pedaling. And that’s what happened. Once they started slowing down is when I knew it was time to go.

GCR:

We will talk in detail about all your Olympic Trials, Olympics, and other big races. Before we get into the nuts and bolts of your competitions, let’s explore a bit deeper the recent 2024 Olympic 800 meters which was the fastest top six in history with Emmanuel Wanyonyi leading from the gun in 50.28 at 400 meters and pulling everybody along like David Rudisha did at the 2012 London Olympics when he set the still-standing World Record of 1:40.91 seconds. And how exciting was it with Wanyonyi edging Marco Arop by a hundredth of a second 1:41.19 to 1:14.20 followed by Djamel Sedjati in 1:41.50, Bryce Hoppel out of the medals in a U.S. Record 1:41.67, Mohamed Attaoui in 1:42.08 and Gabriel Tual in 1:42.14?

That was mind-boggling for someone to run 1:41 and not get a medal. That would have never happened in any Olympics or World Championships. The talent that was there was incredible. The guy that got dead last place ran 1:43.8. It shows us how tough they all are and how different the 800 meters is today. And I’m glad they are running those fast times. It took someone like David Rudisha going under 1:41 to show that it is possible. I liken it to Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile. When people see that something can be done it moves the needle. Guys now realize that they can go under 1:42. It has been such an elusive time. Back when I was running, only two athletes had run under 1:42. Sebastion Coe had the World Record of 1:41.73. Joachim Cruz broke the NCAA Record with a 1:41.77. They were the only two runners in history to go under 1:42. Now there are several. It portends much for the future. During the remainder of the season, it is possible that we will see a World Record.

GCR:

Since five athletes broke 1:42 this year including the four who did so in the Olympics, do you see not just David Rudisha’s World Record in jeopardy, but can the elusive 1:40 barrier be broken this season or next year? Or is that still a long way away even though it is a second to a second-and-a-half for these five men?

I personally say, ‘No.’ Fifty seconds on the first lap isn’t going to do it. Runners will have to go out in forty-eight or forty-nine seconds and then come back in fifty or fifty-one seconds to break 1:40. Going out in fifty seconds is not going to do it. Someone will have to go out in forty-eight high or forty-nine low and then maintain pace. Back when I was running, there was a differential at the professional level of about three seconds from the first to the second lap. For high school kids it was around seven seconds. College runners had a slowdown of five or six seconds. For World Class runners, it was about two or three seconds. If my first lap was fifty and my second lap could be fifty-three seconds, that is what I was trying to achieve. The guys now have a one second differential which is amazing.

GCR:

OLYMPIC TRIALS AND OLYMPICS At the 1988 Olympic Trials, you were a nineteen-year-old young man running collegiately for the Florida Gators. There were so many great competitors that, when Johnny Gray won the final in 1:43.96, with you second in 1:44.46 and Tracy Baskin third in 1:44.91, great runners such as George Kersh, Ocky Clark, John Marshall and James Robinson were left in your wake and didn’t make the team. What was it like to compete with six studs who could all make the team and, if you don’t have a good day, could thwart your efforts to make the Olympic team?

That Olympic Trials was special to me because, earlier that season, I went to the NCAAs favored to win and was not focused. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do, and I ended up getting eighth place. I was disappointed in myself as far as what I was supposed to do as an athlete. That year, the USA Championships were called The Athletics Congress, and I had a chance to go down to TAC in Tampa. When I won that in 1:45, I knew I had a chance to make the Olympic Trials finals. The 1992 Olympic team was a tough team to make with past Olympians Johnny Gray, James Robinson, and John Marshall from the 1984 team. Then there was George Kersh – the 1:46 high school guy. It was an unbelievable field. What was important for me at those Olympic Trials was to save energy, place in the top four each round and to make the finals. In the finals, it was go time. I was in fifth or sixth place at four hundred meters. At five hundred meters, George Kersh moved up to second place. I knew I had to go with Kersh. I passed Kersh with two hundred meters left going into the turn and I pulled up next to Johnny Gray. I looked at him and was thinking, ‘That’s the American Record Holder. That’s my idol.’ I looked back and saw Kersh. I realized that Johnny was going to get first, I would be second and Kersh would finish third. I crossed the line and was in unbelievable pain because I had broken 1:45 for the first time with a 1:44.46. Then Tracy Baskin was hugging me. I was trying to figure out why he was hugging me, and I didn’t even know who he was. Next someone gave a flag to Tracy Baskin. I looked at George Kersh and I couldn’t believe that he didn’t make the team. A funny aside is that people talk about that race and how I was the first person to shut down the Olympic Trials. They wanted me to jog around the track. I walked all the way around and was near the one hundred meter starting line. Someone said, ‘Congratulations.’ I looked over and it was Carl Lewis. I walked that whole lap slowly and shut the meet down because I couldn’t run. I couldn’t jog. My legs were dead. Afterwards, the media wanted to talk to me. I told them that first I had to call my mom. There weren’t cell phones back then, so I went to a regular phone, called mom, and said, ‘Mom, I made the Olympic team, and I think our life is going to change.’ Mom just said, ‘Did you behave yourself?’ ‘Yes, I did.’ ‘Then I’m proud of you.’ I did interviews and the rest is history.

GCR:

You went half way around the world to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. What was the experience like as you went through the check-in and waiting room before your race? As you ran 1:49.86 for fourth place in your heat and didn’t advance, what did you take away from that experience?

The thing about it that was crazy was that, after I made the 1988 team, I didn’t do much training. I also didn’t go to Europe to race. I was on this tour of having fun and I forgot that I had to go to the Olympics until it was time. When I got to the Olympics, I saw Johnny Gray and Tracy Baskin and realized this was real. I told myself that I just needed to get in the top three in my heat. I went out in the race and felt rather good. I was in second place with two hundred meters left. Then another guy passed me, and I was in third place. The last fifty meters I ran out of energy. I got fourth and realized my Olympic racing was over. I was disappointed and felt like I let the whole world down because Johnny and I were number one and number two in terms of times going into the Olympics. I was ready to leave and go home because I was so embarrassed. I’ll never forget that Mike Powell, who later became the World Record holder in the long jump and Olympic Silver Medalist, pulled me to the side and asked me where I was going. ‘I’m going home.’ ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because I didn’t win a medal.’ He said, ‘Mark, you’re nineteen. This is your first Olympics. Enjoy this. Enjoy the Olympics. Enjoy being here. Enjoy what you have because you will never have this experience again of a first Olympics.’ So, I had a pity party for about a day. Then I realized Mike was right. So, I enjoyed the festivities and meeting people. It was unbelievable.

GCR:

Jumping forward to the 1992 Olympic Trials there was another strong group of competitors, and Johnny Gray dominated the final in 1:42.80 but the guys who were toward the front early – Stanley Redwine, George Kersh and Ocky Clark – faded as you in 1:43.67 and Tony Parilla in 1:43.97 moved up to make the team. Were you feeling comfortable and strong and biding your time before you made your move to clinch your second Olympic team berth?

I didn’t think the pace would stay that way for six hundred meters. I knew it would for four hundred meters because Johnny would take it out. The qualifying was the top two in each of three semifinals and the next two fastest times. Tony Parrilla ran a PR in his semifinal. Johnny was in the second semifinal, and I was in the third. I saw Johnny’s look and thought, ‘It’s on now.’ I knew he was ready to go. In the final, he did that in the first two hundred meters, and I thought, ‘Oh no, he taking it to the Gray zone.’ At two hundred meters they were screaming. When they came through four hundred meters they were pushing. Then they pushed to six hundred meters, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God.’ At six hundred fifty meters they were still rolling. Then I could start to see some fatigue going into one hundred meters to go. I knew it was all or nothing and I had to put my head down and go.

GCR:

At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, you did well through your heat and semifinal with two second place finishes. I watched the video of the final and, at the break after the first curve, you were off by Tanui and pushed him coming off the first turn. You were fifth after 400 meters but faded and dropped out on the backstretch. Did Tanui throw you off and what happened?

I don’t think that bump with Tanui had anything to do with it. That happens in races, so I won’t blame it on that. I got to about five hundred meters and started saying to myself, ‘You are about to become Olympic champion.’ Right when I got to six hundred meters, I was on the ground. I got up and was looking around like, ‘What happened?’ My side was in excruciating pain. I looked toward the finish line, and I saw Tanui, Kiprotich and Johnny Gray go one, two, three. I was confused. I went to the training room and the doctor was checking me. He asked, ‘Do you know what intercostal muscles are?’ I didn’t know. ‘They are muscles between your ribs, and I think you pulled one.’ I asked when it could have happened. ‘It could be in training and the strain of the Olympics made it worse. That was hard for me because Coach Rosen was going to put me on the four by four-hundred-meter relay team and I couldn’t run. So, that was very disheartening.

GCR:	How disappointing was it to not make the Olympic team in 1996?
ME	I thought I was going to make the team, but I came in seventh place at the Olympic Trials. It was the first team I hadn’t made since 1988. I was thinking about quitting and not running anymore. But I stuck in there and hung in there.

GCR:

What was your goal as the 2000 Olympic Trials approached and you had a chance to make your third team?

My goal was to do something I had never done and that was to win the Olympic Trials. With the U.S. team, people will talk about the medals. But, because our trials are so hard, we truly have to make sure we have our ‘A game.’ If I’m not ready for the Olympic Trials, the Games don’t count. Making the team is one thing, but having some more in you to get on the top step of the podium is a whole bigger accomplishment. So, my whole goal going into that year was to win the Olympic Trials. I was second in 1988, second in 1992 and seventh in 1996. To win was my whole goal and my whole focus and I was able to accomplish that.

GCR:

It's interesting because, at the 2000 Olympic Trials, Trinity Gray did what Johnny Gray usually did. You still had a competitor take it out in the ‘Gray Zone,’ but it was Trinity Gray. When he came through four hundred meters in 50.7 seconds, you must have been thinking, ‘Wait a minute! I don’t have Johnny Gray pushing the pace, but I have Trinity Gray.’

The funny thing about that Trials is that I played everybody in the rounds. Every time I crossed the finish line, I pretended I was tired, though I wasn’t, because I knew they were looking at me. The media asked me, ‘What do you think about the finals?’ I said, ‘I’m older. I’m glad to be here and I hope Trinity Gray doesn’t go out faster than fifty-one seconds because, if he does, we are in trouble.’ I knew Trinity Gray would read that and he did exactly that. He went out fast and I knew at six hundred meters he was gassed.

GCR:

I watched the video recently and you made a nice move with two hundred fifty meters left to move from fifth to second place. Then you blasted into the lead with eighty meters to go. Rich Kenah made a strong move to go from sixth to second place in the final fifty meters. What is your take as you did win in 1:45.67, followed by Rich Kenah in1:46.05 and Bryan Woodward in1:46.09 with Khadevis Robinson just missing the team in 1:46.36?

Bryan Woodward also made a big move late because his coach had told him to wait until the last two hundred meters, hang in there and the leaders would come back to him. They both listened to their coach and made the team. It was a great Olympic Trials, and it was fun.

GCR:

What was it like in the 2000 Olympics to be there again though you only ran 1:49.77 for fifth in your heat and didn’t advance?

None of us advanced beyond our heat, and there is something I want to touch on. The Olympic Trials need to mimic more of what happens at the World Championships and Olympics. My first time at the Olympics, when they sat us in the waiting room for an hour before I ran was different to deal with. If we are racing at one o’clock, we go into the call room about 11:30. We move from room to room and can’t warm up anymore. We get about a minute after all that waiting around to check our bag and our spikes. Then we get on the track and get about fifty meters to sprint and go. I think that mentally a lot of people lose it. I think in 1991 that happened to Johnny. Our goal was to go one-two at the World Championships. As we moved from room to room, I looked at Johnny and he had that look of, ‘Let’s go, let’s go.’ By the time we got to the third room, I looked at Johnny and his head was down. I thought, ‘Oh, my God. This is my role model. Please let us do what we need to do.’ Johnny got out but, I don’t what happened. Maybe he psyched himself out. It seemed like mentally he had checked out. We came down the homestretch and Konchella and Barbosa were up front. I saw Olympic Champion, Paul Ereng, in third place and I knew I had to catch him. When I passed him, he made a noise that seemed to mean, ‘Oh, anybody but Mark.’ That was some redemption. I had to get him back. We raced many times, and we were probably fifty-fifty on who beat who. He has the same pattern as I do of coming from behind. So, outkicking a kicker was definitely exciting. Getting a World Championships Medal was exciting as was running in the prelims of the four by 400-meter relay and getting a Silver Medal with that team. That was a bonus that I loved.

GCR:

Before we move on to some other areas, let’s look at the Olympic experience. What are outstanding memories from your three Olympic Games the cities, the people, or other highlights when you were Seoul, Barcelona, and Sydney?

One of the most interesting stories was during the 2000 Olympics in the Olympic Village. It was like a big campus. Buses took us to the cafeteria, front gate, bowling alley or anywhere. I was getting on a bus to go to the cafeteria, and I saw some guys from another country. I don’t remember what country, but I could tell they were table tennis players. I asked if they were table tennis players, and they said they were. ‘Oh man, I love table tennis.’ They said, ‘Do you want to go with us and watch practice?’ I was excited. I had beat everyone on the Olympic track and field team who was training in Brisbane in table tennis. Of all who played, I was the champion. So, in my mind, I thought that if I ever practiced table tennis, I could be in the top ten in the world. So, I was hitting with one of the guys and we were volleying back and forth. I asked him, ‘Hey, do you want to play?’ He said, ‘You mean play a match?’ I say, ‘Oh, yeah.’ And he beat me twenty-one to zero. I said, ‘Hey, let’s play another game. I wasn’t ready that time.’ He agrees. Then he reached in his bag and pulled out a different paddle. It had a regular handle, but the paddle wasn’t normal size. It was only as big as the table tennis ball.’ I said, ‘Are you going to play with that?’ He nodded. ‘You’re going to play with that little bitty racket against me?’ ‘Yes.’ So, he’s up fifteen to zero and I say, ‘Listen, I have a serve that no one can return.’ He asked if it was one where he wouldn’t be able to see the ball. I told him that was it and he said it was illegal because in regulation table tennis your opponent has to be able to see the ball. He said, ‘You can serve it.’ I sent it to him three or four times and he hit it back off the table and bounced the ball into my chest, my stomach, and my forehead. I thought, ‘Oh my, I’m playing against the Gold Medalist.’ I sat down after I was stomped twenty-one to zero twice. They started playing table tennis with each other and it was amazing. The next day they were playing a match against another country, and they got destroyed. Afterwards I asked them, ‘What happened?’ They said, ‘Dude, we suck. We are about number fifty in the world.’ I thought I was playing with the Gold Medalists, so it showed me the reality of my thoughts. I knew then that I was a ping-pong player, and they played table tennis.

GCR:

Did you participate in Opening Ceremonies and stay around for any of the Closing Ceremonies, which seem on television to be a fun atmosphere as the competition is over and everybody is happy and letting off steam and did you have a favorite Olympics?

All of the Olympics were different. During the Opening Ceremonies of 1988, I didn’t really know what it meant. I had watched it on television but, being there was different. I remember being with Kate Schmidt who is a javelin thrower. She had these things on her legs like she was robocop. We were walking out, and she was crying. I asked her why she was crying. I think this was her fourth Olympic team and she said, ‘Mark, you don’t understand that there is all this work I have done to finally get here again, and I know that this is my last time. You’ll understand.’ Fast forward to 2000 when I made it to the Sydney, Australia Olympics. I had made the 1988 team and 1992 team, missed it in 1996 and came back in 2000 to make the team again. I knew that was my last hurrah and there were young people asking me the same questions I asked Kate years earlier. It was the evolution from a nineteen-year-old to a thirty-two-year-old. Those were two different phases of my life.

GCR:

OTHER ELITE TRACK AND FIELD COMPETITIONS Earlier you spoke about the 1991 World Championships where you scored the Bronze Medal behind Billy Konchella and Jose Luis Barbosa as you nipped Paul Ereng. You also competed in the World Championships in 1993 where you placed eighth in your semifinal and then in 1995 and 1997 where you made the final but finished eighth both times. Were those times where you were held so long in the holding rooms that it was hard to race well?

For the athletes who did it, they did it. But for me it did not work. If I could have warmed up, ran out to the track, and then raced, I think my performances would have been much better. When I’m cold and not ready, it is mentally draining. I’m sure that’s what happened to Johny Gray in 1991. Johnny was definitely ready to win or at least get a medal. My brain would start racing. I would think about how cold I was, and I didn’t feel like myself.

GCR:

Let’s chat about the USA Championships. At both the 1990 and 1991 USA Championships, you won followed by, in order, George Kersh, Johnny Gray, and Ocky Clark, who now coaches at Winter Springs High School in the Greater Orlando area. What were key points that led to you besting Kersh, Gray and Clark as you guys were the ‘Fab Four’ those two years?

We had a strong contingency of U.S. guys. There were about six guys, and on any given day any of us could win. One thing I looked at when I went into the USA Championships was that I knew I was going to finish in the top three. I didn’t feel that there were three guys that could knock me off making those teams. So, I trained like a madman waiting for those moments. The only person I felt could beat me in any of those races was Johnny Gray. Now that our competitive days are long gone, I can say that if we came into the USA Championships and Johnny had run fast, I knew that I could beat him. If he came in and he hadn’t run fast, we were in trouble. That was always the case. Every time he came in without running fast, he ran fast in the championships. If he had been to Europe and raced fast, then I would have had a chance to beat him. But, as we got older, Johnny and I would talk to each other. He would tell me his strategy and I would show him my strategy. We helped each other and made sure we finished one-two. I would say something like, ‘Johnny, you take them out fast and I’ll try to go by at six hundred meters and break them. Then we can fight down the home stretch.’ We did that many times. At the 1992 Olympic Trials, Johnny took it out and ran 1:42.6 and I ran 1:43.7.

GCR:	Since you mentioned the 1992 Trials, didn’t that set you up for great racing in Oslo at the Bislett Games shortly thereafter?
ME	Yes, when we went to Oslo, I said to Johnny, ‘Today’s the day.’ Johnny took it out and, at five or six hundred meters, I went by and kept pushing. I ran 1:43.40 which catapulted me to number one in the world going into the 1992 Olympic Games. I beat Nixon Kiprotich, William Tanui and a bunch of other top guys. So, I felt greatly confident going into the 1992 Olympic Games.

GCR:

At the 1993 USA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Johnny led as usual at 200 meters and down the home stretch, but you took the lead before the bell which was not your norm. Johhny stayed on your shoulder the remainder of the race as you held on to win in 1:44.43 while he was a close second in 1:44.67. What was that race like?

I knew Johnny was going to take the race out, but I knew I had to throw a curveball at him. And I love racing in Eugene. It is a special place to run in the U.S. because of the fans and the support we receive there. I decided to throw him that curveball to make him decide early in the race. With 400 meters to go, I just went by him. He gave me a look that said, ‘What are you doing?’ Down the back stretch he kept pulling up on me and we kept bumping each other. I kept hitting him as he tried to close in. I thought, ‘Not today.’ On the home stretch I knew it was time to push go. After the race, he said, ‘That was a good one. You got me.’

GCR:

When we fast forward four years to the 1997 USA Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis, Brandon Rock leads the first lap before you and Johnny Gray move into second and third at the bell. You led off the final curve with Rock on your shoulder and held him off in 1:44.37 to 1:44.79. Was this similar to Johnny Gray leading as it was a different man up front, but you took him down for the win?

That year was interesting. If you remember, two years earlier in 1995 I finished second at USAs to Brandon Rock. He was hot that year as he had won the NCAAs. The back story is that in 1995 New Balance sponsored me, but I couldn’t get on my toes in their spikes. I told the people at New Balance that, if they could make me spikes that performed like the Nike spikes, I would wear them, but I couldn’t run in them. New Balance was good to me. put me on posters and used me in their marketing. I really loved the New Balance family. So, in 1995 I didn’t use their spikes though Rock still beat me and that didn’t sit well with me. In 1997 in Indianapolis against Rock it was a grudge match to show him that now I had shoes and could run. That race was a statement. A lot of my races were statements. I would read something in the newspaper or Track and Field News, and I am one of the worst people in the world to say something to or about if you are going to race me.

GCR:

1998 USA Outdoor Championships in New Orleans had an added feature as, coming into the race, both Johnny and you had won six USA Championships and you each had the opportunity to break the tie. Johnny took the lead before two hundred meters and both Khadevis Robinson and Trinity Gray were in the mix. You were in seventh at the bell but made a quick move up to second place on the back stretch. Can you take us through that race and especially the last 150 meters as you pulled up on Johnny’s shoulder, took the lead with eighty meters to go and narrowly won in 1:45.28 to 1:45.47?

When I go by Johnny easy, we talk. When I go by someone otherwise, we aren’t talking. I went by him easy and tried to encourage him. When I won, it was very satisfying. But watching Johnny when he won was also satisfying. He was like a brother to me. To have someone whom I admired for so many years, watching him run and seeing what he’s done being the American Record holder for so many years, to run with him, and to be a friend has been awesome. The knowledge he gave me was invaluable. Even though he isn’t the American Record holder now, he is still the American Record holder to me because he was when I was running. That was something we all tried to achieve. Johnny is still the man. He is still the GOAT for me in track and field. Even though others have run faster, no one did it better than Johnny Gray.

GCR:

Let’s switch gears and talk about a few other big races. First, you won the Stockholm DN Galan in 1990, 1992 and 1993. Did you like racing in Scandinavia?

Stockholm’s track has a crazy set up that many people don’t realize because the finish line is up in the curve. Runners start kicking with what they think is a hundred meters to go, but it is longer than that. I was able to win many of the races there because I knew where the finish line was. Guys would start kicking thinking they had a hundred meters, but they were a hundred and fifteen or twenty meters out. They tried to hold that pace for too long. The other difference between me and the other 800-meter meter runners was that, because I was a four-hundred-meter runner, I knew how to lean. Most 800-meter runners don’t know how to lean at the finish because they didn’t run sprints. In order to run sprints, you have to know how to lean. Running 400s and 200s and four by 400-meter relays helped me. In some races, I blew my competitors away but, any time it came down to a lean, I was going to win. There was not a race I ever ran where I was leaning with someone else that I didn’t win.

GCR:	Let’s talk about another race in Eugene, Oregon where the fans are great. You won the 1997 Prefontaine Classic in 1:44.99, followed by Vincent Malakwen in 1:45.75, Rich Kenah in 1:45.76, and Nico Motchebon in 1:45.84. What was it like to win this prestigious race in front of that large, knowledgeable, and boisterous crowd in Eugene?
ME	That was a big meet. Because of the time difference and television coverage, we raced at about 10:30 in the morning. When those Europeans came over to America to race, I knew it was showtime. I knew those guys were hot and they were ready, but they weren’t ready for what I was about to do. I ended up breaking the Prefontaine Classic Record at the time and it was a great day.

GCR:

You won back-to-back at Rieti Italy in 1997 in 1:44.03 and in 1998 in 1:44.72. Did you like that venue?

Yes, and after those wins, I was asked if I could run faster. As a comparison, after I ran 1:43.2, there was no way. Johnny Gray tried to get me up to celebrate and it took me forty-five minutes to get it together. I was completely zapped, and it took a long time to be able to get up and wave to the fans. I was completely done. Johnny said, ‘You set a PR. Congratulations. That was awesome.’ It felt good having my hero to be there, race against me, pick me up and tell me ‘Congratulations.’ Rieti was special.

GCR:

Were there any other venues that hold a special place in your heart?

Oslo was special. Finland was special. When I ran 44.59 in the 400 meters, I became the fastest ever 400 meter and 800-meter combo runner and that was super special. There were a lot of great places to run in Europe and the fans have knowledge that is unlike the limited knowledge base of most Americans. Here we get asked, ‘What’s your forty-yard dash time?’ We don’t get that in Europe. They have pictures of us racing on their walls, they know our PRs and our times. It is very gratifying to have knowledgeable fans of our sport. Fans in American know the one hundred meters and mile. Anything else they don’t understand. In Europe, Track and field is one of their top three sports, so that’s what we get.

GCR:	What can you relate about the 1994 USA versus Africa meet held in North Carolina?
ME	Wilson Kiprotich and Willian Tanui represented Africa. Stanley Redwine was racing for the USA with me. I ended up leading that one from start to finish. It was fun and part of twelve years of an illustrious career where, thankfully, I was injury-free. I trained hard, had a lot of encouragement from family and friends and it was great fun.

GCR:

Let’s discuss racing indoors and the big meet indoors is the Millrose Games where you were twelve-time champion at 500 meters, 600 yards and 800 meters. What was it like winning at that venue and were all of those meets run on boards?

Every time I ran at the Millrose Games, it was on a 160-yard board track. I loved it. I’m originally from New York. I was born there, and my family moved to Florida. Most people would think that an athlete raised in Florida wouldn’t like racing indoors. But I loved running indoors. I loved the pushing and bumping because I’m a former basketball player. I liked physical contact. Racing indoors was like rugby or roller derby. It was fun. Those tracks can get slippery, so you have to wear the right spikes. Fortunately for me, I never slipped and never fell. I’ve led races and come from behind. The key factor at the Millrose Games is understanding the laps. When I ran the 800 meters, it was five-and-a-half laps, which is mind-boggling. Even though it is still 800 meters, you have to know where you are in the race and when to make your moves. It was awesome running the other distances. I loved running the 500 meters and 600 yards and holding the World Record in those events. The Millrose Games were special as they were held in Madison Square Garden. The crowds were on top of us. Mr. Howard Schmertz ran an exceptionally good meet. I was sad to see the meet move to another venue. It was awesome when they would build the track each year. There was the history of the Wanamaker Mile and Carl Lewis’ World Record indoor long jump on boards. There were great races by Ben Johnson and Diane Dixon. The history included Joetta Clark and Mary Decker Slaney. The history of the Millrose Games is nostalgic. Of the two Halls of Fame that have inducted me – being included in the Florida Gators Hall of Fame and Millrose Games Hall of Fame are two of the highlights of my career. I was acknowledged as a person who won twelve times at the Millrose Games, which is in the top three all-time. That was a meet that was always on my schedule.

GCR:

Let’s switch gears to two World Indoor Championships where you were a member of 4x400 meter Gold Medal squads. In 1993 Darnell Hall, Brian Irvin, Jason Rouser, and you ran 3:04.20 and topped Trinidad and Tobago who finished second in 3:07.02. What do you recall of that day and how exciting was it to have ‘USA’ on your chest and win a Gold Medal with your teammates?

It was awesome. We went into the race knowing we were going to win. All four of us knew exactly what we were going to do. We knew which legs we should each run. It was totally different back then compared to how it is now. We had relay coaches but, realistically when it was time to run relays, we decided what to do. We told the coaches the order we were going to run, and then we did that. I don’t think it works to have the coaches assign the relay order. I was one of the guys who could run any leg. I could run leadoff, second leg, third leg or anchor. I ran the World Cup and did the lead off leg. I anchored relays and ran in the middle. But everybody can’t run every leg. A coach needs to know the strength of his or her athletes to know what leg each should run. I’m thinking of Quincy Wilson, the superstar sixteen-year-old and there is no reason they should have put him on the leadoff leg of the qualifying round at the 2024 Olympic Games. That was crazy. First, I wouldn’t have run him because I think he’s too young to run. He hadn’t gone to Europe and raced. If he had gone to Europe and run 44s, then maybe I would have put him on the relay. But, if I did put him on the relay, I would have put him on third leg. There should be a veteran on the first leg, a veteran on the second leg, then you hide your slower man on the third leg and have a veteran on anchor. Look at what the women’s team did. They had Sydney McLaughlin on second leg. By the time the Netherlands handed off to Rebecca Bol for their anchor leg and she got the stick, they were too far gone. In the men’s final, we had a stud like the hurdler, Rai Benjamin, who ran 43.1 behind the guy from Botswana who ran 43.03. The African guy ran dumb because he’s a sprinter and Rai Bejamin is a strength runner. He should have taken Rai Benjamin out the first two hundred meters and then made Rai chase him. But he didn’t and he sat on Benjamin. When Rai got off the turn, I knew it was over. There was no way he was going to pass Rai coming down the home stretch. He’s just too strong.

GCR:

In my mind, Rai Benjamin was the Men’s Track and Field MVP in the 2024 Olympics. He beat the World Record Holder and defending Olympic Champion plus the defending World Champion in the 400-meter hurdles for the Gold Medal and ran that superb anchor to bring home the 4x400 meter relay Gold Medal. What is your opinion?

I agree. He is also a nice and likeable guy. He’s the quiet team captain. And I know what it’s like to be fighting those demons of ‘Can I ever beat Karston Warholm at a global championship?’ Because that guy is incredible. When Rai beat him in Europe before the Games, I knew that Rai had the seed planted that he could win. Rai ran a great race. He didn’t let Warholm get too far ahead of him. He stayed right where he needed to be. He finished strong and I could see that look on his face that said, ‘I finally did it.’

GCR:

Four years later in 1997 you were part of another World Indoor 4x400 Gold Medal team as the USA’s 3:04.93 beat Jamaica handily as they ran 3:08.11. Jason Rouser was back, though he moved from third leg to leadoff and you moved from anchor to second leg. Sean Maye and Deon Minor ran the final two legs to secure the victory. Was it equally exciting to come back and earn a second World Championships Gold Medal?

Yes, that was fun. The coach again came over and said, ‘Mar, I want you to anchor because you’re the veteran on the team.’ I said, ‘Coach, do you want to win a Gold Medal? I told him to go in the stands and let me set the order. I got with Jason Rouser and said, ‘Rouser you’ve got to get us out front. I’m going to blow it out on the second leg. Sean Maye, you just go with everything you’ve got. Hand it off to Deon and let’s try to break this World Record.’ We came close that year to breaking the record.

GCR:

Many sports fans look at the excitement of winning individual medals, but how cool was it to win with three other guys and then you can get together with them years later and have a beer while you reminisce rather than drinking a beer by yourself?

That is right one hundred percent. Also, in 1993 there was an Indoor World Championship sprint medley relay. We ran 800 meters then two 200-meter legs and finished with 400 meters. The coach said he wanted me on the relay, and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll run the 400 meters.’ ‘No, we need you to run the eight hundred.’ I hadn’t been training for the 800 meters. I came to run the 400 meters and be on the four by 400-meter relay. He said, ‘You’re the only one who can run it.’ I was thinking, ‘Oh, my God.’ So, I had to lead off that relay. I put us out front but died. I gave the stick to James Trapp who handed to Ryan Little and he gave it to Butch Reynolds. We broke the World Record. That is a race they don’t run anymore, and I wish they did. That was exciting to win two Gold Medals in the sprint medley and 4x400-meter relay. I was representing America, and it was one of those times when the coaches said, ‘We need you.’ You just have to step up, lay your personal feelings aside, put that red, white, and blue on and go out there and race. I had three other guys who were strong and excited about racing. You just look in their eyes and go. There wasn’t any selfishness. I do see some selfishness now with social media and agents and money and it has changed. But it’s all about seeing who the best four people are and what is the best team to make it happen.

GCR:

HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE RACING Let’s take a look at when you started running as a teenager. What other sports did you play as a youth and how did you get started as a runner?

I was a basketball player. I went to a school outside of Pensacola, Florida in a town called Milton. I ran track. I was playing basketball as well. I outran Emmitt Smith. And Emmitt was God back when we were in high school. I was a sophomore when he was a freshman. I beat him and the football coach asked me to play football. But I wasn’t interested in playing football. I didn’t know that, because the football coach and basketball coach were best friends, he told the basketball coach to cut me from his team. If I had been playing basketball, I wouldn’t have been running track. It was amazing how God worked it out. I got into track. That was my avenue to get a scholarship. I signed with the University of Florida. It was a great team with Coach Walker and that crew. We did something that hadn’t been done in Florida Gator history by winning the triple crown of SEC cross country, SEC indoor track and field and SEC outdoor track and field. I came in as a freshman and won the SEC 800 meters. I won as a sophomore, as a junior, and came back to win as a senior to become the first athlete to win four SEC Championships in the same event. Then Tony Parilla came after me and did the same thing. So, in eight years there were only two guys who won the SEC 800 meters which was special that Tony Parilla and I share together.

GCR:

You were the first SEC 800 champ to win at the NCAAs, when you won in 1990. Then George Kersh won in 1991, Jose ‘Tony’ Parrilla won three straight in 1992, 1993 and 1994, followed by Brandon Rock winning in 1995. What are your thoughts on starting this six-year streak where the SEC 800-meter champ also won at the NCAAs?

I am thankful that you recognize that. I am one hundred percent thankful to have started it. To win at the NCAAs you had to go through the SEC in the 800 meters. We had a big dominance, and it was exciting. Some of the young guys are coming along who are good and people ask, ‘Do you see anybody winning four straight titles?’ I say, ‘No, because the young athletes aren’t going to stay in school that long.’ There is a great young man from Georgia. I ran with his dad who was a Villanova athlete. I reached out to his dad when the son was going pro and begged him not to do it. I told him to encourage him to stay in college, get more seasoning and learn how to race. I suggested he get some more titles under his belt before he went out into the real world to try to run at a World Class level. He wasn’t even able to run at the Olympic Trials because he was injured. A lot of guys go pro and get injured because they aren’t doing what they did in college.

GCR:

While we are on this subject, you didn’t just win the SEC 800 meters all four years, which you did from 1987 to 1990 with winning times of 1:49.09, 1:46.46, 1:48.86 and 1:45.46, but you were on SEC 4x400-meter relay champions all four years as the Gators clocked 3:06.64, 3:03.71, 3:04.93 and 3:04.35. What can you say about being the only man to accomplish this feat?

It was a lot of fun. We had an incredibly good relay team with guys like Dennis Mitchell, Calvin Long and Tyrone Kemp and we hated losing. That is what we focused on – holding that orange and blue flag of the University of Florida up high. When it was showtime and the Gators showed up, it was time to run. In high school we finished second as a team at the Florida State meet with only five guys. Being on a team that could win are some of my proudest moments. Reflecting back on when we won team titles stands out more so than the individual titles.

GCR:

It’s amazing because Florida and LSU were fighting for the SEC team championships. Florida was the SEC Indoors Team champion in 1987 and 1988 ahead of LSU. Then LSU won in 1989 and 1990 ahead of Florida. The Gators were the SEC Outdoors Team champion in 1987, while LSU won in 1988, 1989 and 1990. How crazy was that battle as you and your teammates watched the scoreboard and worked to put up points to beat LSU?

LSU was the mark when we were in college. That was the team to beat. We feared them and they feared us. When it was time to run, it was showtime. We looked forward to beating the Tigers just like LSU looked forward to beating the Gators. I would say we had more victories against them in those meets and others than they had against us, but they may think differently.

GCR:

Let’s step back again to your high school days. Who was coaching you and what were his main training principles and the workouts you did?

My first two years we had a track, and it was a 337-yard track. Back then we raced in yards – 220 yards, 440 yards. After my sophomore year, they were looking to build a new track, but didn’t, so we had no track my last two years of high school. My track coach, Vince Gracey, who is since deceased, was a great guy, but didn’t know anything about training. He would have us run power lines. ‘Mark, run to the tenth power line and come back.’ I would and he’d say, ‘Go get the other guys and come back.’ So, I would do that. In high school, there was a guy named Sean Culliver who beat me about every time we lined up my freshman year, sophomore year and junior year. He was from Pensacola Escambia, Emmitt Smith’s school. After the end of my junior year, I was so upset that this guy kept beating me that I promised myself that I would never lose to him again. After the State meet, I practiced every day without fail. Morning, noon, and night, I was always running. There was a block around our school that was at least a mile, maybe two miles. I would run that every single day. Even after I went to work, I ran. Every single day I ran. My friends would be coming in from the clubs at eleven or twelve o’clock at night and drive up. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘I’m training.’ My first meet my senior year, I lined up next to Sean Culliver. He was the man. Everyone was talking about how he would win State but I beat him in our first meet. I never saw him again. After I beat him. It was over. Two years later I’m in college and Emmitt Smith comes to Florida to play football. I said, ‘Emmitt, do you remember me from high school?’ He said, ‘Yep, I know exactly who you are Mark.’ I said, ‘What happened to Sean Culliver?’ Emmitt said, ‘When you beat him his senior year, you destroyed him. He could not figure out how this guy he beat for three years finally beat him.’ And so, I tell people you have to be careful letting people beat you that shouldn’t beat you. If you give them a little bit of hope, a little bit of space, it’s going to be hard to beat them again.

GCR:

How fast did you end up racing in high school and did you end up winning the State Meet as records are difficult to find?

I came into the State meet ranked second. But we had qualified for the sprint medley and the four by 400-meter relay which we hadn’t won at State in my high school’s history. The 400 meters and sprint medley races were close together. I wanted to win so badly for my relay teammates that I false started in the 400 meters on purpose. A guy named Henry Moore became the State champion and he had signed with Florida. My coach said, ‘You gave up your opportunity for a scholarship.’ I said, ‘Coach, I would give it up every single time because it was important for us to win those two relays.’

GCR:

How did you end up at the University of Florida?

In high school I ran 400 meters in 48.4 seconds, which was decent. Florida State had talked about recruiting me, but I didn’t hear much from them. I thought my future in track was over. Then I got a phone call from this guy with a track club in Pensacola who asked me if I wanted to run in summer track meets. I asked, ‘What is summer track?’ he said, ‘There are races, and you run against kids your age.’ I went over and did some track workouts, and we went to the Golden South Classic in Orlando about which I hadn’t known. I ran the prelims in 47.9 seconds, but I thought it was the final. The coach asked me why I ran so fast, and I asked him if I won. He told me, ‘You have another race tomorrow. You’ve got to run tomorrow.’ I ran again and thought I had second place, but they awarded me third place. Antonio Pettigrew was first in 46.7. Tyrone Kemp and I leaned at the line. I ran 47.2 seconds. That was faster than Henry Moore, who signed with Florida, had done. That is when Florida reached out to me. Henry Moore couldn’t get into Florida because of his grades. The Gator coaches looked at the list and I was the second fastest kid in Florida and top ten in the U.S. So, they signed me to a scholarship.

GCR:

How did you develop your running style with your one arm out and what did Coach Walker think about that unique form?

I never knew I ran like that. Coach Walker showed me a video of my running and I was shocked. Coach Walker tried to change it for a week. Then he said, ‘Trying to change that is going to make you run slower. Don’t let anyone ever try to change that. Run to win and make it happen. What caused that style goes back to when I was a little kid and broke my arm playing football. My arm was in a sling. At P.E. class, I would sit on the step with my arm in the sling. My friends would come by, hit me, and take off running. By the third day of them hitting me and taking off running, I took the sling off my arm. Then when they hit me, I chased them down and beat them up. So, my arm would go out with that cast on it because I couldn’t pump it. That style developed and stayed whenever I accelerated and dug down. That’s when my arm would go wide. I never knew that was happening until I saw the video. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s ugly.’ Coach Walker did break down my mechanics and told me that, when my arm was going out, everything down below my waist was going fine so I shouldn’t let anybody mess with it. I never did. I stayed with that.

GCR:

What do you recall of your first race as a Gator?

My first race was against Henry Moore, who was going to a junior college. I asked him, ‘Do you know who I am?’ He said, ‘No.’ I responded, ‘You will after this race.’ I raced him and ran 46.5 while he ran a 47.8. I thought, ‘You’re gone.’ People didn’t realize that, when someone would beat me, I would write their name down on a piece of paper. I had to mark that name off before it was over. Everybody that ever beat me in my life, I beat them back.

GCR:

What do you recall of racing as a Gator when you truly stepped up to the 800 meters?

We were in Tampa and my coach told me I was running the 800 meters. About an hour before the race I said, ‘Coach Walker, I have no idea how to run the eight hundred meters. I don’t know what to do. He said, ‘You see that guy from Florida State?’ I said, ‘Yes sir.’ He said, ‘Follow him for six hundred meters and then outkick him the last two hundred meters.’ ‘Okay.’ I did that and ran 1:47. I didn’t realize that guy I outkicked was Ocky Clark who was an American Record holder and great athlete. If my coach had told me who that was before the race, I probably would not have run the way I ran. I put trust in my coach and did that. Then my coach told me, because you are running the 800 meters, your 400-meter time will drop. That year I ran 1:47, I ran 46 for 400 meters. The following year I ran 1 ran 1:44 and ran 45 seconds. The next year I ran 1:43 and ran 44 seconds. There was a direct correlation between my 800-meter and 400-meter times as both dropped. I use that same philosophy when I coach kids. I tell them that they may think they are good in a certain event, but this other distance is where they can make the most headway.

GCR:

Let’s talk about some of your NCAA Championship races, including some big relay competitions. At the 1988 NCAA Indoors in Oklahoma City, your Florida Gators lined up in the 4x400-meter relay with Illinois, Baylor, and Auburn. Dennis Mitchell, Timmy Johnson, Calvin Long, and you brought home the Gold Medal in 3:07.26 followed by Illinois in 3:09.66, Baylor in 3:10.03 and Auburn in 3:10.76. How exciting was it to earn your first NCAA Gold Medal and to anchor the win?

What was intriguing about that race was that there weren’t enough teams that had made the NCAA qualifying mark. We got up that morning thinking we were going to run prelims and went to the track and ran anyway. We ran like a 3:05 or 3:06 by ourselves. Then the next day we came back and ran and won. So, we had already run that race the day before. And so, we knew we were going to win.

GCR:

Then at the 1988 NCAA Outdoors 4x400 meter relay, UCLA was the first collegiate team to break three minutes with a Meet Record time of 2:59.91 with Florida a fast 3:00.68 for second place as Calvin Long ran 45.6, Dennis Mitchell 44.4, Timmy Johnson 45.5, and you anchored in 45.2. What are memories of that race?

That was incredible. Every time we saw John Smith, he would hold up three fingers and drop them down signaling they were going to go under three minutes. We thought that, if they were going to go under three minutes, we were going to go under three minutes as well. When you look at that team, they had Steve Lewis, Gold Medalist in the 400 meters. The second leg was Kevin Young. Gold Medalist in the 400-meter hurdles. Third leg was Danny Everett, Gold Medalist in the 4x400-meter relay and Bronze Medalist in the 400 meters. The anchor leg was the phenomenal high school runner, Henry Thomas. He was arguably the best of all of them but got into some trouble after college. We raced with those great guys and, when they ran 2:59 and we ran 3:00, we felt so good about it that we did a victory lap along with UCLA. At the time, we were the second fastest college team and held that position for a long time. To be a part of the history when a college team broke the three-minute barrier was awesome and an unbelievable accomplishment we look back on and cherish.

GCR:

At the 1989 NCAA Indoors in Indianapolis, you battled an injury and finished sixth in the 800 meters in 1:49.21 but were unable to race the 4x400m though Florida won over Baylor and Auburn without you. What was it like to have those issues and not be able to be at your best?

I had pulled my hamstring before the NCAAs. My coach asked me, ‘Can you make the finals in the 800 meters?’ I told him I could. He said, ‘Everett, all we need is that one point. Save your legs for the 4x400-meter relay.’ I was running for eighth place to get one point. But there was a guy, Lorenzo Brown, who ran at Arkansas and LSU, and he started talking when we were on the line and he says, ‘I finally get a chance to beat you.’ I said, ‘What?’ he repeated, ‘I finally get a chance to beat you.’ So, with a hundred meters left, I saw Lorenzo out there running in front of me. I dug down, ended up beating him and got sixth place. That’s when my leg gave out and I couldn’t run. We had to get a replacement for me on the relay. We got a guy, Aaron Wallace, who was a 400-meter hurdler, and I had to talk him up. He was a junior college guy who ran the race of his life on the third leg. Calvin Long and Earl Diamond ran the first two legs. We had Tyrone Kemp at anchor who ran down Raymond Pierre of Baylor. I was never prouder of my team to have those guys go out and win even though I couldn’t be a part of it.

GCR:

I’m sure your coach was scrambling for points because in those years – 1988, 1989 and 1990 – the Gators finished third, second and third at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He must have been doing everything he could with his athletes to try and bring home the team victory.

It’s interesting that 1989 was the year that we thought we had the best team. We thought we were going to win it all. We had a steeplechaser win. Dennis Mitchell did something he had never done before when he false started in the one hundred meters. Dennis was one of the top three guys in the one hundred. That’s why he ran so fast in the two hundred meters. I couldn’t run on the four by 400-meter relay. I couldn’t do anything in the 800 meters. Our four by 400-meter relay got disqualified in the heats even though we had our leadoff leg only run a fifty point something. We were dead last, but they said we ran out of the zone. Tyrone Kemp ran a forty-three to put us in the finals, but we were out. We were watching the race. Michael Johnson and I were both juniors and told ourselves we would be back the next year and be NCAA champions. Lo and behold, the next year at the NCAA indoors Michael Johnson won the 200 meters, and I won the 800 meters indoors. We went outdoors and we both won again at the NCAAs. When I was watching that race in Boise, Idaho and I couldn’t be out there to compete with the team it was so frustrating. But, when you’re injured, there is nothing you can do. It was a hard time and a tough lesson, but Michael and I got better, made sure our injuries were healed, and we were both able to win our events and to help our teams.

GCR:

Let’s explore your two individual NCAA Championships in more depth. In 1990 at NCAA Indoors in Indianapolis you won with a time of 1:47.45, followed by Mark Daily of Eastern Michigan in 1:48.08, George Kersh in 1:48.58, Mike Macinko of Colorado in 1:48.70 and Joseph Sainah of UT-Arlington in 1:48.74. How did that race shape up? Did you take the lead early or come from behind?

I knew that they were going to go out and I decided that the last two hundred meters was going to be when I would make my move. I went to the back for the first two laps. On the third lap I moved up. On the fourth lap, I pushed the hammer down and clocked twenty-five seconds for the last two hundred meters. I had so much speed and so much confidence. I knew none of those guys could handle my speed. I just had to be close. Once I struck, it was time to go.

GCR:

Then at the 1990 NCAA Outdoors you completed the double and were ‘Mister Indoors and Mister Outdoors.’ You raced 1:44.70 to top George Kersh at 1:45.69 and Terril Davis of Baylor at 1:45.98. Was this another instance where you bided your time and made your move on the last curve?

I knew that my toughest competitor was George. No matter what race, indoors or outdoors, George was going out the first four hundred meters in fifty point something seconds. He was ‘Mister Fifty Point.’ So, I knew George was going to go out strong. Going into that NCAA meet, I had in my mind that I was going to break the NCAA Record. My coach asked me if I knew what the record was. I said. ‘I don’t know.’ ‘What do you think it is?’ I guessed, ‘Maybe 1:44 or 1:43.’ He said, ‘Try 1:41.77.’ That is what Joachim Cruz ran. I changed to, ‘How about the American Record?’ I ended up running that 1:44.70 and breaking the American Record. I held that for years and it was quite an accomplishment. That was a good time. Also, in that meet I got the stick in dead last place in the four by 400-meter relay, ran a 44.5 split, and pulled us up to fourth place. That was hard and I knew it was my last time running for free because it was my last college meet.

GCR:

What was it like when you finished college and had questions about what shoe and apparel company do I run for, do I get an agent, and who will be my coach? How was that experience?

It was hard. I didn’t know what I was going to do. One of the things I did know is that I was not going to leave Gainesville. I was limited in my choice of coaches because my college coaches were there. Toward the end of my career, I had J.J. Clark coach me for four years and Mwata coached me for four years. I used what they taught me and what Coach Walker taught me and then I started to train myself. I would never recommend that because it is extremely difficult. But I was the type of person who knew what I needed. I gave myself my own workouts and tortured myself out there. I would always train at twelve o’clock noon which is the hottest part of the day in Florida. I liked that kind of torture. That helped me a lot when we got to the 1992 Olympic Trials, and it was a hundred ten or a hundred fifteen degrees on the track. I had a chance to sign with Nike. They wanted me to go to California to train with John Smith and they offered me a big contract if I moved. I wasn’t interested in going to California. I also wasn’t interested in going with John Smith because I didn’t think he knew anything about the eight hundred meters.

GCR:

TRAINING What was it like when you left high school for the University of Florida where you had Coach Walker and good teammates to train with? What were the major differences in the coaching and how nice was it having a crew of great runners to work out with?

It was mind-boggling. You leave high school where you are a big fish in a little pond. You go to college where you are a little fish in a big pond. I was in college and telling guys I was ranked number ten in the country. And another guy would say something like, ‘I was ranked number one in the country the last three years and was on the World Junior team.’ I’d say, ‘What is that?’ It was very humbling for me to realize I had to just shut up and get in shape. I got quiet and decided I wanted to contribute on this team and score points.

GCR:

Was your collegiate training more endurance speed, short speed, or a combination of the two?

It was a combination of both. Coach Walker was particularly good at giving us workouts that pushed our strength of speed and also for us to be strong. Coach Walker’s big emphasis was that we had to be able to run rounds. Going out there and running fast one time was wonderful. But, if we couldn’t run rounds, it wasn’t going to work. He also taught us to look and see what it takes to make it to the next round. If you review my races, you will see that I wasn’t interested in winning my heats. I had to make sure I was in the right position to advance. Most of the time when I was running, it was always making the top four each round. Only in 1992 did they structure the semifinals into three heats with the top two advancing along with the next two fastest times. Whenever I knew the top four advanced, I knew I always would. I knew I had enough in me. One of the things I did, that I started in high school, was after my hardest workouts, after I ran the power lines, I would run a fast 400 meters. I would mark off a four hundred on the grass and try to run fifty-five seconds. When I got to college, we had super killer workouts twice a week. They were either on Tuesday and Thursday or on Monday and Wednesday. I would run a sub-fifty 400 meters after each of them. When I became a professional athlete, my 400 meters at the end of the workouts was forty-six or forty-seven seconds. That explains my kick. No matter what I ran, I always knew I had a four hundred in me.

GCR:

That’s interesting and similar in concept, though not in distance to what Clayton Young and Connor Mantz were doing in their marathon preparation for the Paris Olympics. I interviewed Clayton a few months before the Games and, under Coach Ed Eyestone, they may do a track session of four repeat miles under 4:30. But they first go out and do a solid four or five miles at 5:30 pace to come into the mile repeats on tired legs. That reminds me of what you were doing – getting tired followed up by doing something tough.

It is mental and it is physical. You are feeling dead but have to go. And that’s racing. There is a point when you are tired, and you have to decide. It’s go time. Let’s go.

GCR:

Is that training strategy of training hard at the end of workouts so the same can be done at the end of races a method you utilized?

Yes. It goes in step with questions I am asked about why distance running race results in the U.S. has improved. Back in the day. U.S. distance runners couldn’t sprint. When they went up against the Africans, they would throw in a fast pace for a lap or so and drop the Americans off. It seems like the American distance guys have realized that speed is important. So, they have added that element to their training. When they get to the point in a race where they have to sprint, they have confidence in themselves and can sprint.

GCR:

I interviewed Zambia’s Samuel Matete a few months ago and he related how the two of you met in Europe and became training partners. He mentioned how his being a 400-meter and 400-meter hurdler and you being a 400-meter and 800-meter runner worked well when you trained together. What is your take on how you met, became friends, and then trained together?

First of all, I have to say something I have never talked about, and you are the first one to hear this. People ask me what happened in 1996 and into 1997 as far as my race performances. I was going through a divorce and trying to figure out my running contract. So, when I was in Europe, I became a straight alcoholic. I was drinking all the time. That’s all I did was drink. I was injured after the 1997 season when I met Samuel who asked me to come to Europe to train with him. I trained a little bit, but I was drinking all the time. I was trying to drown my sorrows. I wasn’t married any more. I wasn’t able to see my child. I didn’t have any money. Samuel Matete took me under his wing and helped me so much. I am very thankful for Samuel because I would probably have died going on the path I was going on and as much as I was drinking. Samuel saved my life one hundred percent. He is a brother to me that I love. I can’t even express how he saved my life.

GCR:

Were you setting up the workouts? How was it training with someone who came from a different background and whose main event wasn’t the same as your primary event?

So, when we came back from Europe, Samuel was living in Auburn, Alabama and came to Gainesville to visit me for a week. We worked out together. At the time, Samuel was also going through a divorce. So, I said, ‘Why don’t you stay here and train with me for a while?’ He ended up staying for a month. We liked it and that month ended up being two years. We did extremely hard workouts. I had never had anyone who had the ability to handle my workouts. Matete was awesome. We would fight like crazy in workouts. After about a month of training, he said, ‘Why don’t you train me for the 400-meter hurdles?’ I said, ‘Samuel, I don’t know anything about 400-meter hurdles.’ He sat down with me for a week or so, breaking down Edwin Moses and Andre Phillips and all these great 400-meter hurdlers and taught me the 400-meter hurdles. Once he did that, I started putting together his workouts. We went to Qatar and we both won. I won the 800 meters, and he won the 400-meter hurdles. We went to Rio de Janeiro, and both won. I told him we needed to go home to train but he decided to stay another day. Then he called me and said he was going to run one more race. I tried to talk him into just coming home to train so we would be ready to go. That year he had opened up his season with his fastest times ever at Qatar and Rio. When he ran that next race, he got injured. After that injury, he was never the same and we still talk about that decision. He wishes he had come back home but he was offered a bunch of money to run in that meet and was very greedy at the time. If we had more time together, there is no doubt in my mind that Samuel Matete was ready to break the World Record.

GCR:

Thank you for relating these stories. I enjoyed so much spending over an hour and a half on the phone with Samuel thanks to WhatsApp and its international calling capabilities.

Samuel is a great guy, classy guy, family guy. I’ll tell you one of the things he told me that changed my life. His native language is Bimba. He always called me ‘Mwata’ which is brother in his language. He said, ‘Mwata, you need to follow the flow of the river. You like to go against the river. If you follow the flow of the river, you will use less energy and move a lot faster.’ That is something I applied to life. Just follow the flow of the river. Don’t fight it. Go with the flow. What a great guy. We talk all the time. I am very thankful that, when I was in a position that needed help, he helped me. When he needed a little help, I assisted him a little bit with a place to stay. It was great to have a training partner and a brother and a lifelong friend.

GCR:

COACHING After retiring from competitive running and racing, how did you transition to coaching?

It’s interesting because, when someone retires from a sporting career, they often don’t know what they are going to do. People may go into banking or insurance. I majored in English in college but ended up getting a degree in sports administration. I needed a couple more classes to finish my major in English because I was planning to go to law school. Then my track career took off. Once I ran track all those years, I didn’t like law as much as I thought I did, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. The interesting thing about how I got into coaching is because of this guy who was at the University of Florida who was a big defensive end on the football team. He was from South Carolina. During his freshman year he said, ‘When I’m a senior and am getting ready for the NFL, I want you to train me.’ So, I agreed. During his sophomore and junior years, he said the same thing. Then his senior year came along, and he said, ‘Are you ready to train me?’ ‘What?’ ‘I’ve been telling you for four years I want you to train me.’ So, I said, ‘Train you for what.’ ‘Get me ready for the NFL. I’ve got to go to the NFL Combine.’ I had heard of the NFL Combine but didn’t know what it was. I had to research the Combine, put together a workout plan and get him ready.’ He didn’t get drafted, so I felt we failed. Then he signed a free agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars for $2.3 million dollars. He said, ‘How much do I pay you? My agent wants to know how much to pay you for the training. I had trained him for about six months without asking for any money and had to figure out what that was worth. Then he went on to the NFL and called me. ‘My wife wants to lose weight. Can you develop a plan for her?’ That’s how I got into coaching. It was by accident. I tell people that the secret to life is to figure out what you would do for free. If you make that your career, you will be happy, you will make money, and you will have fun.

GCR:	What are the key points as to how you started coaching at Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham. Alabama?
ME	I had been a volunteer assistant coach at Florida with Coach Dale Brown. He is a great friend and awesome guy. When I was there for a bit, it was fun and exciting, and I was still running. I moved to Birmingham. Alabama and there was a school named Mountain Brook High School in a predominant community, and they asked me to coach there. So, I coached high school for a while.

GCR:

What was it like coaching high school where there are some extraordinarily talented runners and others who need to be part of a team? How cool was it helping some runners go from good to great, others go from average to good, and to help teenagers find their way and feel good about themselves?

Any time you give back, you feel good. As coaches, we give back and that is why we are coaching. One of my biggest attributes is helping people get better. Even more importantly, I am able to show people and teach them what events they should do. A lot of these kids are doing the wrong events. There may be a kid who is running 100 meters and 200 meters and not making any headway. If he jumps in the 400 meters, he may be able to do better. When I came out of high school, I was a sprinter and jumper and thought that was what I was good at doing. Coach Walker sat me down and said, ‘Do you want to be good or great?’ I said, ‘What’s the difference.’ He answered, ‘If you stay in the sprints, you’ll be good. If you switch to the 800 meters, you’ll be great.’

GCR:

How did you end up helping start the team at Birmingham-Southern College and becoming their head track coach?

While I was at Mountain Brook High School, the cross-country coach at Birmingham-Southern reached out to me. ‘We’re thinking about starting a track and field program. Would you be interested?’ It was intriguing to me. There was no track, though one was installed later. Recruiting high school kids was exciting for me and very appealing. But I missed the private sector of coaching. I didn’t like going to meetings, the NCAA rules, and all the things we could and couldn’t do. I left that and went back to private training which I did for a while.

GCR:

How did you transition to PrimeTime Scouting, which is a recruiting service that helps high school athletes get athletic and academic scholarships?

It was natural for me to start with PrimeTime Scouting. We help kids get scholarships. We have the lowest prices out there and a money-back guarantee. Plus, we set kids up with internships. One of the top guys I recruited to work with me is Albert Ellis, who was a 400-meter hurdler out of Pittsburgh who also played in the NFL. We help kids get scholarships and are super excited about that. There have been a couple guys I ran with years ago who are now reaching out to me to help get their kids scholarships. We help with all sports except cheerleading. It is giving back. I’m working and doing what I love to do, so it is not really work.

GCR:

WRAPUP You mentioned briefly your two Hall of Fame inductions. You were inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 with athletes from football, tennis, and swimming, including Olympic Gold Medalist Martin Zubero. Your Millrose Games Hall of Fame induction in 2003 was a stellar group with Joetta Clark, Marty Liquori, Gwen Torrence, and Willie Davenport. How amazing was it to be inducted with such great athletes?

I felt like I was on the bottom of the pile with those Millrose athletes. Marty Liquori was a phenomenal runner as was Joetta Clark. I’m good friends with her, her brother, and her family. It’s unbelievable at the ceremonies. When you hear someone talk about what you did, it is almost surreal. You went through it but, to hear them talk about it, makes you think, ‘Wow! I did all that.’ I don’t think about it that much until there is a public celebration or I do an interview like this or every four years when the Olympics comes up and I do interviews talking about my Olympic experience and the Olympic Village and so on. It’s one of those things where you look back on your life and realize there was a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, a lot of sacrifices and it was well worth it for the experiences I am able to share with the upcoming youth.

GCR:

Mark, I’m about eleven years older than you and have transitioned more into healthiness and fitness versus competitiveness. As you are now in your fifties, what is your current fitness regimen and what are your future goals in terms of your health and fitness, scouting, giving back to the community or other aspects of life?

I do a lot of nonprofit work where we donate school bags for kids. We just did that recently and gathered a hundred and fifty school bags. We give out turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We give out clothes and shoes. That’s how my family brought me up - to give back and to help those who are less fortunate. For me, my biggest passion is to read a lot. I watch many movies, and I play golf. I love golf. I don’t run as much as I used to, but I do a lot of walking. Three or four times a week, I’ll walk anywhere from five to ten miles. I enjoy walking and getting my heart rate up. Every now and then I’ll do some jumps and some stadium steps. I try to keep a healthy lifestyle. I’m getting ready for an upcoming birthday. I’ll be fifty-six which is mind boggling.

GCR:

Let’s discuss one of the darker sides of our sport – people who use performance enhancing drugs and try to cheat the system. There always seems to be a ‘cat and mouse’ between the tests and the new drugs. As fans of the sport, when we see a great performance, we often wonder if it is real and clean, or drug enhanced. What are your thoughts on this subject as it is related to your competitive days and who you were racing and when watching track and field it now as a fan?

It's unfortunate that some people feel like they have to cheat. One of the things I say is that I don’t think it is necessary. My opinion is that, if an athlete is caught cheating, they should be banned for life. Their coach and anyone associated with them should also be banned for life. There is no reason to have that in our sport. I do think there are suspicions about some athletes. There are some who push the envelope. In 2000 I was talking to J.J. Clark and I said, ‘J.J., there are a lot of people at these Olympic Games who are cheating.’ He asked me how many, and I thought it was as high as fifty or sixty percent. I believe that number is even higher now, but I don’t think the people who are cheating consider themselves to be cheating because these are substances that are not testable now. I think in the next two or three years we will find out what some athletes are doing now. When we talk about drug testing, I don’t say ‘I never tested positive.’ I say, ‘I never took anything.’ There is a big difference between ‘I never tested positive’ and ‘I never took anything.’ I think that, for the young people coming up, the temptation is strong because of the money involved. Plus, some of these coaches and agents are saying, ‘Everybody is doing it,’ and that’s not true. I wish we could all not do those things and just go out, compete, and run. What I believe is that whatever happens in the dark comes to light. If you are out there cheating and doing it the wrong way, there is no reward. Later on in life as I have coached, I can tell my kids how hard I worked, and I know I didn’t take any pill or use a needle. Everybody is trying to figure out a way to win and I don’t like that side of our sport. I wish we knew that everyone was clean and was doing it the right way but, are there people cheating? One hundred percent. Do I suspect some athletes? Absolutely. Am I going to talk about those I suspect? Probably not.

GCR:

How great has it been to meet so many outstanding athletes in track and field and to be able to use their knowledge to help you in coaching and giving out advice?

When I met people like Greg Foster, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Roger Kingdom, Carl Lewis, Mike Powell and I was able to ask great questions. All these great athletes are my friends now and we talk all the time. It is a wonderful experience to have these relationships and to have these people I can call. For example, I had a kid who was training for the triple jump. I did the event in high school, but I never taught it. So, I reached out to Kenny Harrison, and he gave me all kinds of advice. Having a Gold Medalist to call and ask how to do triple jumping is an example of the great database I have to be able to reach out to people from Mike Powell in the long jump to people in the hurdles, jumps to throws to javelin. I have people I can call who are experts and don’t mind me calling on them. They also reach out to me for advice with their kids who are running the 800 meters.

GCR:

What are the major lessons you have learned during your life from the discipline that running encourages, balancing aspects of life, coaching others, and any adversity you have faced that encompasses the philosophy of Mark Everett that you would like to share which will encourage people to reach their potential as a runner and as a human being?

One thing I do when I speak to groups is I tell them there are three components to success. First, you have to have some kind of talent. This is very important. Second, you have to have a work ethic. You have to put in the work. Third, can you perform when the lights come on? I’ve added a fourth point. What do you do when no one is looking? When people are looking at you and you have a grand stage, of course you want to go out and perform. But practice is where you have to get it. You have to put that work in, and you have to do what other people are unwilling to do. If you are trying to get to a high level in your job or in your career or in life, you have to put that work in all the time. Keep focus on your goals. Keep focus on your goals and don’t let anyone push you away from those goals. I made the Olympic team in 1992 and then it took eight more years until I made another Olympic team in 2000. There are many things I went through. I went through a divorce. I had financial strain and alcoholism and came back from drinking. Sports is a perfect blend of teaching you what it’s like to go out there and put everything you’ve got into it and then it doesn’t work and to deal with adversity in life. You don’t give up. You get back up, and you fight, and you keep doing it. One thing I have learned as a coach before I train them stems from doing an evaluation with the kids first. I ask them why they are doing what they are doing. Coach Brown taught me to never want a goal more than my athletes want a goal. So, a coach has to figure out what each athlete wants to achieve. Based on what an athlete wants, I train them accordingly. If one wants to be a World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, then we have to put in some work. If someone just wants to be on the team, there is a certain amount of work for that goal. So, a coach has to identify what the athlete wants to accomplish, not what the coach wants them to accomplish. Then we try to help them meet their goals. Also, try to be a good person. Be a steward of the sport. One thing young people rarely do is they don’t do their research on the athletes who came before them. They don’t know the history. If you don’t know your history, it’s hard to know your future. Not knowing the past makes it difficult to know what the future will be. You have to know your history. Know the athletes and what they have done and accomplished. Any record I broke, I knew the athletes who broke the records before me. Anything I accomplished; I knew who those people were.

	Inside Stuff
Hobbies/Interests	Golf, reading, meeting people, and travelling. I’m a huge cigar smoker. I love cigar smoking. That’s my indulgence. I love it. Every time you see me on Facebook, you are going to see a cigar in my mouth
Nicknames	It’s funny because I made up a word while I was in high school, and it took off. The word was ‘Scooch.’ My schoolmates called me ‘Sir Scooch.’ I’d be in class and so many kids used it in so many ways that the teachers started banning the word because it was being used in bad ways. That was my nickname when I was in high school. The nickname that Samuel Matete gave me was ‘Mwata’
Favorite movies	I like comedy and history movies. I like Bourne, James Bond and spy movies. My three favorite movies include ‘Armageddon.’ There is the scene when Bruce Willis is up in space and is talking to his daughters when he isn’t going to see them again. Since I have two daughters, wow, that was extremely touching. Second is ‘Blazing Saddles,’ which is a very controversial movie which probably wouldn’t be able to play now. And third is the movie, ‘The Notebook,’ which explains love. It is unbelievable
Favorite TV shows	I love ‘All in the Family,’ ‘Good Times,’ ‘Alice,’ ‘The Brady Bunch’ and ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’ I loved wholesome shows that talked about family. Those were iconic. ‘All in the Family,’ ‘The Jeffersons’ and ‘Sanford and Son’ would one hundred percent be in my top three. I loved ‘Leave it to Beaver’ and hearing lines like ‘Golly gee, Wally.’ That show was wholesome, had the mom and dad talking with the kids, and taught lessons
Favorite music	I like all kinds of music because I have travelled so much. I love Country music. Since I grew up in Milton, Florida, I know many Country songs which is surprising to many people. I love the beat of a lot of rap songs. I don’t like what they are saying and can’t understand a lot of the words. I like classical music. I can’t understand hard rock, but I like most music genres. I’m all over the place. Music puts us in a certain place
Favorite books	My favorite author of all time is definitely John Grisham. I love his books. And his movies are awesome. Any time I get a John Grisham book, I can’t put it down. Sometimes I find myself reading one again. I’m one of the few people who can read a book, then blank out and it’s like I never read it the first time. I can do that with a movie - watch it and blank out like I hadn’t seen it and then watch it again. I love reading the Bible. That’s never changing. I love inspirational books. I love books of struggle and seeing people fight through it like when a skier is trapped and comes out of it. Many times, in those situations people don’t die because they can’t get help, they die because they’re hopeless. They just give up. Help is right around the corner, so you have to keep pushing through. I tell people, whenever you are going through hard times, rejoice because the good times are coming. Don’t quit. Never give up
Cars through the years	I had a 1977 Grand Le Mans that my parents bought me which was as big as a boat. Then I got a brand-new Nissan Sentra, and I put ‘Sir Scooch’ on the window. Next, I bought a Honda Accord. Since then, I’ve had a Corvette, a Hummer, a Mustang, an Italian car – the Alfa Romeo, a BMW, and a Mercedes
Current car	I had all those cars and now I don’t care. I have a 2004 Nissan Armada. It’s my tank. It has three hundred thousand miles on it, but the engine is in perfect condition. I used to care about cars but don’t anymore
First Job	I was the baby of the family and when I was turning sixteen, I asked my dad, ‘What kind of car can I get.’ He said, ‘You can get anything you want.’ ‘Oh my gosh,’ I thought. I told my older brother, ‘Pops said I could get any car I want.’ He said, ‘That’s true, but you have to pay half. If you want a five-thousand-dollar car, you’ve got to come up with twenty-five hundred dollars.’ I wanted to know how to do that and my brother told me I had to find a job. I applied for a job on a military base working in the cafeteria washing dishes, washing industrial pots and pans, and bussing tables. At age sixteen and seventeen I ended up being the manager over adults which was interesting
Family	I have two brothers and one sister. They are all older, very smart, and very academic. One of my brothers was an exceptionally good athlete. I watched him play basketball, football, and baseball and that’s where my athleticism came from. I kept pushing and taking it to another level. I have a younger daughter who is sixteen. I have an older daughter who is married to the high jumper, Mutaz Barshim, from Qatar. He tied for a Gold Medal in the Tokyo Olympics and won a Brone Medal in Paris. Now he is retiring to spend more time with his family. I have a grandson. It was special for me to have that tie-in to the Olympics as I watched my daughter on television supporting her husband. They had their baby there and the little kid had the chance to see his dad win the Bronze Medal. That was very impressive
Childhood memories	I had a great upbringing. There were cousins around and we fought, played, and ran. We fished, hunted, and went mudding. We did all those things kids did growing up in the country. We were catching frogs, playing with snakes and all that sort of crazy stuff. We were climbing trees. That all contributed to me being an athlete. We used to sneak over fences and grab people’s fruit and nuts like peaches, plums, and pecans. I had a good childhood that I didn’t understand at the time. We had homemade ice cream and barbeques. There were cookouts and family reunions. All those times are very memorable for me as a kid growing up. I saw how the older people took care of the younger people.
Pets	When I was growing up, we had lots of animals like horses and pigs. There were always dogs and cats around. I’m allergic to cats so I’m not a cat person. Later on in life, I had a couple dogs. Now I travel so much that to put a pet in a kennel that costs more than the hotel where I’m staying doesn’t make sense to me. So, I don’t have any dogs though I love animals and am a big animal loving person
Favorite breakfast	I’m quite simple. Give me some scrambled eggs with toast and turkey bacon. I don’t eat pork at all. Add a cup of coffee and I’m as happy as can be
Favorite meal	I love seafood, steak, spaghetti, and other pasta
Favorite beverages	Sweet tea, which I need to leave alone because that’s giving me a gut. I love sweet tea. The sweeter, the better
First running memory	Field days were big in school because we did many sports. When I reminisce with kids I grew up with, I wasn’t the fastest, but I had the most endurance. I could run forever. I never got tired. That is something everyone talks about
Athletic heroes	Johnny Gray is high on the list along with Carl Lewis and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. There is also Roger Kingdom, Samuel Matete and Edwin Moses – the king of the 400-meter hurdles. When I was growing up, my hero was Dr. J. He was my favorite basketball player. I had a chance to meet him later in life which was awesome. I shook his hand and his fingers about touched my elbow. Having a chance to meet someone I admired when I was growing up was a lot of fun and he was a great guy. I’ve had the opportunity to meet many celebrities and that has been impressive. One thing I always ask when I meet them is, ‘When did you make that decision to become World Class? When did you know you had it?’ Hearing their stories, it happened often around age ten or eleven or twelve. A great example is Gary Sheffield. I had a chance to meet him and to become great friends with him. He was an unbelievable baseball player who played in the major leagues for twenty-one years. He told me he made the decision when he was ten. His story is great. He was the only Sheffield in his family. His mom had remarried and asked him if he wanted to change his last name. he said, ‘No, I’m going to make that name famous.’ And he did. And at age ten he knew he was going to be a professional baseball player. It was unbelievable
Greatest running moments	Winning the State Championships in the sprint medley relay and the 4x400 meter relay when I was in high school. That was quite an accomplishment because my school had never done that before. Two of the guys were my cousins – Tim Boykins and Marcus Hayes. One was a good friend, Reed Hines. We are all still great friends, and we talk about that 1986 team. What a memorable moment. Winning the triple crown at Florida as a team was unbelievable. In 1987 the cross-country team won and then the track and field team won indoors and outdoors, upsetting Tennessee and LSU. Definitely, just making the Olympic team. In sports like track and field, that is the pinnacle of your sport. To reach that point is unbelievable because of the amount of work and effort that you have to put into it. You also have to be lucky and not be injured on that day and have everything go right. Making those teams was a wonderful time. Also, winning Millrose Games races were iconic. Winning U.S. Championships and a Bronze Medal at the World Championships were great but, if I didn’t do that and had done the moments I mentioned, I would be fine
Most disappointing running moment	Definitely in 1988 when I didn’t win the 800 meters at the NCAA meet. I wasn’t focused. I was partying, having fun, hanging out and not taking it seriously. That was the catalyst in me becoming Mark Everett, the athlete. I took track seriously after that. I realized what God had blessed me with and I decided to not waste it away by being foolish and hanging out. Not winning the NCAAs was a turning point in my life. I tell people that, when they watch someone on TV that has accomplished great things, in order for them to win, they have to know what it is to lose. Losing that NCAA meet in 1988 when I was favored to win was a big changing point in my career
Childhood dreams	I wanted to be a lawyer, and I wanted to be a basketball player. Those were one hundred percent my two goals. I ended up in track and nowhere near basketball
Funny memories number one	One story was with Samuel Matete. The first time I met Samuel, we were in Europe, and we were eating in a cafeteria. Samuel comes to the table, sits down and then says, ‘Oh, I need to get some bread.’ Samuel goes over to the food area and brings over a whole loaf of bread. I’m thinking, ‘What a nice guy. He is getting bread for the whole table.’ Then Samuel put butter and jelly on each piece of bread and ate the whole loaf of bread. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God.’ We found that Samuel loves bread. That is his thing. It wasn’t for everybody else. That was for him
Funny memories number two	Ocky Clark and Tony Parilla are the two funniest guys in track and field. Ocky is an absolute nut and Tony is too. We were in Stockholm, Sweden and there was daylight almost the whole day. There were maybe two hours of darkness at night. It was about five o’clock in the morning and everyone was sleeping. Then we heard a yell in the hallway. We went out in the hallway and Ocky was out there walking around. When we asked him if he was okay, he said, ‘No.’ There were about ten or fifteen of us in the hall and Ocky, who was an unbelievable storyteller, proceeded to tell us this story. He gets through about eighty percent of the story and is getting to the part of how the story ends. Then he says, ‘I’m getting sleepy.’ He closes his door and goes back to sleep. Now we were up and beating on his door while he kept sleeping. Ocky had a bunch of brothers and sisters and is the eighth child which is why his name is Ocky. He told us the next day that he is so used to noise that he can’t sleep unless there is noise. He knew that, if he told us a story and went to bed without finishing it, that we would beat on his door to keep him up or to get him to come out. But it allowed him to sleep
Funny memories number three	Ocky was the guy before we ran a race who would be laughing. He was the guy who would tell a joke or walk up to you and say something silly to get us laughing. I’d say, ‘Ocky, we have to run.’ He’d say, ‘I know homeboy. But this is going to be funny.’ I would tell him there is nothing funny about the 800 meters. He was just a jokester. He would have a different perspective on his career since he was great at 1,000 meters and he could have made some Olympic teams but didn’t make an Olympic team, though he made the Pan Am Games team. What a wonderful and great human being. I have a lot of respect for Ocky Clark
Funny memories number four	When there was some talk about Tampa bidding for a future Olympics, I was on the Olympic Committee, and I was talking to Dr. J. I said, ‘Dr. J., I’m going to tell you a story and you probably won’t remember this. I was a little kid, about seven or eight years old, and my parents took me to the Omni to watch you play against Tree Rollins and the Atlanta Hawks. They made an announcement that any kid who came down to the court would get a basketball. My parents wouldn’t let me, but after about thirty minutes my mom and dad said I could. I get down to the bottom of the court and they’re out of basketballs. I was so upset because all the other kids had a basketball. Dr. J., you tossed me a basketball. Now I’m going to do you a favor. Since you work for the Orlando Magic, you can put me on the team as the fastest basketball player in the world.’ He asked, ‘Did you play in high school?’ ‘No.’ Did you play in college?’ ‘No.’ ‘But you want me to put you on the team?’ ‘Yes, I’ll be the fastest basketball player in the world.’ He thought that was the funniest thing ever. Later on that day, people were asking me how I knew Dr. J. because every time he saw me, he started laughing. So, if you meet him again, ask him about the guy who was going to be the fastest basketball player in the world
Favorite places to travel	I love Florida. I love living in Alabama. I lived in North Carolina before. There are so many places to see in the United States. I’ve been to every state except Alaska and Hawaii, so those two are on my list to see before I die. In Europe, I lived in Italy for five years, so I understand Italian though I can’t speak it well. When I was running track, I didn’t go back and forth to the U.S. I would run meets, carry a bag, and go back to Italy. In 1999, I didn’t come back to run the U.S. Championships, and the word was that I was going to switch citizenships. Italian officials had talked to me, and I had thought about it for a little bit. I’m glad I didn’t but I almost switched and ran for Italy. Most people don’t know that story
Thoughts on the kinship of athletes	One thing I tell people is, the good thing about being a has-been is it means you were a once-was. Whatever level you were at, there were people rooting for you and cheering for you who wanted you to do well. Whatever level – high school, college, international, world, or Olympics, we all have that mind of wanting to get good and we went through hardships. We had those times where we put in all the work, got a personal record, and had a feeling of accomplishment. You can’t put a price on that. Thank you so much for this interview. It was enjoyable and one of the most in-depth interviews I have ever done