By Jenny L Rivera, Staff Writer
Running is not a thing most people prefer to do. However, running 86 to 90 miles per week is the norm for the Fall Fest 2024 5K winner, Hasnae Goulamzi. She is not only a winner for herself, but for her team, her school, and her country. She is a sophomore and a newly transferred student from Texas Wesleyan University, by way of her hometown Taliouine, Morocco.
Goulamzi was born on Sept. 8, 2000. She’s one of five siblings. Her town of Taliouine is a small town but her love for it cannot be outgrown by any other place. Goulazmi’s life as a cross-country runner did not begin until her senior year in high school back in Morocco. For many people, this was a shock considering all that she has accomplished in her young career
“Honestly, I love to talk about how I started running because it impresses,” Goulamzi said.
In Morocco, many of her friends and neighbors were professional athletes. She would often go with them on runs.
“I started loving running so much that I thought about becoming a professional athlete,” said Goulamzi.
She began training with them and found herself amazed by what her friends could do. Before running, Goulamzi played soccer with friends but not competitively. In fact, she never joined in anything competitive prior to running.
Just a few years after she started running, she won the National Championship with her local team, breaking a 10k record in just under 36 minutes.
“It took me three and a half years to be able to compete at a national level,” Goulamzi said.
The next stop was the National World Championship in Denmark, for runners under the age of twenty.
“My coach in Morocco has always told me, ‘Look, this is your chance; so, if the chance comes to us, we need to get it. This is going to be in history, it’s going to help in your future.”
As an individual she placed within the top 65 out of 200 athletes. It was her first time away from Morocco and she certainly felt the pressure of wanting to represent her country well.
While being an athlete was great, Goulamzi decided that she was ready for more.
“I have many friends from Morocco in the U.S. I started to think, let’s go get an education and run at the same time. I started this experience in Texas where I was recruited as a student athlete. I started a new dream, and a new experience,” she said.
Goulamzi had spent much time in New York, and although Texas was her first stop, she made her way back.
“I like that people are understanding of students who come here that are international. They understand people from different cultures and people who are not English speakers. Also, when you try to ask people for help; especially here at LIU, they always try to help you and give advice,” she said.
At Long Island University, Goulamzi’s goals are to complete her degree program in nursing and to be an NCAA national champion in either 5k or cross country.
Until then, she spends her free time watching movies, listening to her favorite music from home, talking with her family, and creating memories with a team that she has found familiarity with.
During her journey, she most certainly felt some pressure along the way. However, she has persevered through competing alongside many great athletes back home and in the U.S. with her recent first-place finish at the Fall Fest being one of her many great accomplishments. If history repeats itself, many more are on the horizon for the track star.
The quoted material contained in this article was courtesy of the Friday LIU Athletics edition of 88.1 FM WCWP’s “Sports Shark Tank,” with the original episode airing on Sept. 13, 2023. “Sports Shark Tank” airs Monday through Friday from 5:00-6:00 p.m. on 88.1 FM, WCWP.org, and streaming on the WCWP mobile app.
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