It was an historic moment when Nick Willis crossed the line to take the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 1500m title. Before Nick, only Jack Lovelock in 1934 and Peter Snell in 1962 of all New Zealand’s middle-distance runners had managed to win the mile or 1500m at a Commonwealth Games.
The race was marred by a fall at the midway point which took two of Nick’s major rivals out of contention: Australian favourite Craig Mottram and Canadian Kevin Sullivan.
Nick immediately took advantage and easily accelerated 10m clear of the pack. “I was making sure I saved a little bit, just to respond to any challenges,” says Nick. “Fortunately I was able to save a little bit and just to raise my arms for myself and my country and all the people who have supported me over the years.”
Straight after the race Nick knelt on the track and prayed, before embarking on a victory lap in front of 80,000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The 23-year-old has always found running fast to be easy. He set the national under-20 mile record at age 17, and came fourth in the world junior championship 1500m final in 2002.
The high of competing in his first Olympics in Athens was tempered somewhat by the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 1500m final. But less than 12 months later he broke New Zealand’s national record of 32 years set by John Walker. “To break John Walker’s record... was an absolutely amazing moment for me,” Nick remembers.
Even though Nick has consummately filled the big track shoes of New Zealand’s former greats, running is still not his highest passion’ that place belongs to God alone.
Nick grew up in a Christian family, but somehow he had always been in a state of denial. “For the most part, I think, I always believed in God, but decided that I had more important things to concern myself with. Why take things seriously as a kid when I’ve got my whole life to become a Christian? That’s what I thought anyway.
“I guess that I never really had any close friends who were Christians, to encourage me to attend church with them.
“The party-lifestyle at high school seemed to dictate how most people I was around, acted. Basically running, drinking, hanging with my mates and meeting girls at parties was the core of my youth.” After finishing his first year as a sophomore at the University of Michigan, USA, Nick came home for his summer break.
“Things had ended in a sour way with my girlfriend, and I was in a bit of a soul search. Having been away from home for a year, I looked at things through a much different perspective and took a lot more notice at the way people were acting.
“My brother had taken a job as a leader at Youth for Christ, and was also running a house helping out kids with alcohol and drug problems. His influence on me was fairly substantial, and I realised that it would be a slap in the face to his work if I didn’t believe in what he was doing.” Arriving back in Michigan, Nick was plugged into a group called “Athletes in Action” (AIA), Christians who gather for Bible study, by his brother’s good friend, Mark Misch.
“After having weekly meetings initially, I started meeting one on one with the Head of the Michigan AIA Division, Bruce Disnow, and also with his intern, John Moss. These two men helped me open up and I decided to let Jesus into my heart and I was ‘born again’ in October 2003.” His decision to follow Jesus impacted Nick’s life as an athlete.
“Knowing that God has the best intentions in mind, it takes all the nerves away from a race. However, at the same time, when I have great success I don’t feel as jubilant in the victory, but almost a little embarrassed with His grace in my life.
“The time I spend preparing for important races, especially on race day, is probably my most intimate time with God. I used to feel very alone getting ready for these races, but now I spend most of my time reflecting on things with God. I pray to be humble in defeat or victory, but mostly just thank Him for such great opportunities.”
Being a Christian also changed Nick’s lifestyle fairly dramatically.
“The way I view and treat others, especially girls, has been probably the biggest change in my life. I am still pretty embarrassed at how I acted before giving my life to Jesus. Now I think a lot more before making decisions, and God is chipping away the rough edges in my life. God has already taken away jealousy and negativity from my thoughts.
“I realise I am only at the beginning of my exciting journey with Jesus. I have a long way to go yet and I have much to learn. But with God all things are possible and I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. If God is for me, who can be against me?
I just pray that I can carry these spiritual times into more facets of my everyday life and bring glory to God in whatever I do.”