From desert to Gold : The inspiring story of Moroccan trail runner Elhousine Elazzaoui

The child who used to walk long distances to school did not realize that every step he took was laying the foundation for his passion. Today, he shines on the world stage at international trail racing competitions. He recently won first place in the 2024 Golden Marathon held in Locarno, Switzerland, becoming the first Arab and African to achieve this feat.

Elhousine Elazzaoui, the son of Tamegroute, a town located 18 km south of Zagora, lived far from his school, which forced him to walk long distances to reach it. Elhousine, now 32, recalls those moments from his childhood in an interview with Yabiladi, saying, «Because of my financial situation, coming from a poor family, I could not buy a bicycle like my classmates. So, I would give my bag to someone who had a bicycle and continue my way on foot». When he moved to middle school, Elhousine began participating in school competitions and achieved several victories, enabling him to win a prize that he used to buy a bicycle.

Elhousine did not give up his passion for running competitions, even after enrolling at Cadi Ayyad University to study English. His love for sports even led him to leave his studies in 2018 to work as a tour guide, in order to finance his participation in competitions, buy sports clothing, and also cover travel costs to participate in sporting events.

A passion for running

Elhousine developed his work in the field of tour guiding, where he began attracting trail running enthusiasts, a type of race that takes place on rough roads and natural trails such as mountains, forests, and hills, to train with him while visiting a variety of tourist sites.

After Elhousine became accustomed to participating in several national races, he aspired to compete internationally, saying, «I participated in many competitions at the local level, but they did not add much to me». So in 2018, he decided to participate in the «Trail des Dolomites» race, where he managed to win third place. This marked the real beginning for the Moroccan champion in this sporting world.

After that, the young Moroccan began receiving numerous offers to participate in various competitions. In 2019, he applied to participate in one of the international tournaments, Trail Running Thailand, as a refugee, which surprised the organizers.

But this didn't prevent Elhousine from participating in many international sporting events, such as the Marathon du Mont Blanc in the United States, the Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland, the Tatra Sky Marathon in Slovakia, which is one of the most famous mountain marathons, in addition to the Headlands in California, and other marathons.

A winner

The marathon that holds a special place in Elhousine's heart remains the 2024 Golden Marathon, which took place last Sunday in the Swiss city of Locarno. He managed to win the title of the Golden World Series for Trail Running, after shining in the final stage and topping the overall standings with 1,000 points. The Moroccan champion surpassed the other runners, with Swiss Rémi Bonnet finishing second, while Kenyan Patrick Kipngetich came in third.

Elhousine's dream was accompanied by great pressure as the media was promoting this race. «I felt that winning and representing Morocco was on my shoulders. Some runners, especially the Kenyans, were watching me and planning to keep me away, but I managed to persevere. Thus, I became the first Arab and African to win this competition».

After achieving this success, the Moroccan champion dreams of participating in the Olympics scheduled for 2028. He says, «It's true that I don't represent the federation, but I always represent Morocco, and I aspire to be called up by the federation».

Elhousine regrets that this sport still suffers from marginalization in Morocco, where some view it as just a tourist sport, without realizing the difficulties and challenges faced in the mountains where they train. «It's a sport that requires a great challenge and patience».