Nasser Bourita reçoit le président du Parlement andin qui a exprimé son appui à l'intégrité territoriale du Maroc    AP-UpM: Rachid Talbi El Alami plaide pour un partenariat équilibré entre le Maroc et l'Europe    Donald Trump dévoile les détails de son offensive tarifaire    Dialogue social : l'OIT salue l'adoption du texte de loi sur la grève au Maroc    Le FMI accorde une nouvelle ligne de crédit flexible de 4,5 milliards de dollars au Maroc    Aid Al-Adha : Coût de la subvention à l'importation d'ovins en 2023-2024 atteint 437 millions de dirhams    Benali préside une réunion de haut niveau de suivi du projet d'interconnexion électrique entre le Maroc et la France    Transformation numérique du secteur des assurances : l'ACAPS lance le programme « Emergence »    Conjoncture : la croissance de moins en moins sensible aux activités agricoles    La récolte de blé du Maroc en 2025 en dessous de la moyenne malgré les fortes pluies de mars    Tarifs douaniers de Trump: Quel impact pour les exportations marocaines?    Descifrando el pasado genético del norte de África    Oujda abrite le congrès de l'autisme Afrique 2025    Températures prévues pour le vendredi 04 avril 2025    Lancement d'une nouvelle version du portail national Maroc.ma dotée d'une interface remaniée    Nouveaux droits de douane américains : 10 % pour le Maroc, le Golfe et l'Egypte... et 30 % pour l'Algérie    Pétrole. L'Ouganda sur le point de lancer sa 1ère raffinerie    Togo. Barry Moussa Barqué élu président du Sénat    Guinée. Le référendum constitutionnel fixé au 21 septembre    Classement FIFA: le Maroc fait un bond de deux places    Le Botswana, premier pays africain à accueillir les relais mondiaux d'athlétisme    Les Lionnes de l'Atlas s'entraînent avant les matchs contre la Tunisie et le Cameroun    La RFEF fait appel aux clubs pour freiner l'exode des talents vers le Maroc    Fraude fiscale : quatre ans et neuf mois de prison requis contre Carlo Ancelotti    À Rabat, un sommet international les 9-10 avril pour affermir la position du football africain sur l'échiquier mondial    Coupe du monde féminine 2035 : le Royaume-Uni seul en lice, le projet défendu par l'Espagne et qui inclut le Maroc écarté    Sahara : Staffan de Mistura poursuit sa tournée régionale avec une escale en Mauritanie    TV Abraham. Comment façonner le paysage géopolitique et économique de demain.    Une subvention de 437 millions de dirhams pour l'importation d'ovins partie en fumée, sans effet notable sur les prix    Un accord de coopération entre l'Académie du Royaume du Maroc et l'Académie française de médecine    L'Espagne aurait réduit la présence de son renseignement au Maroc dans un contexte de rapprochement diplomatique    Le Statut de l'artiste : Désormais une réalité pour le Burkina Faso    La Côte d'Ivoire fait son cinéma au Maroc    France. Le célèbre animateur Arthur champion de la lutte contre l'antisémitisme    Understanding the United States' new tariff rate policies    Les prévisions du jeudi 3 avril    Comment sont fixés les nouveaux tarifs douaniers par les Etats-Unis ?    Libye : Un ADN ancien de 7000 ans révèle une lignée de l'Afrique du Nord    CAN U17/ Aujourd'hui, Maroc-Zambie : Horaire? Chaînes?    Lutte antiacridienne : Faut-il craindre une invasion de criquets au Maroc ? [INTEGRAL]    Trump annonce de nouveaux tarifs douaniers : Maroc (10%), Algérie (30%), Tunisie (28%)    Cema Bois de l'Atlas : 150 MDH pour renforcer la compétitivité    Presidente del Parlamento Andino respalda soberanía marroquí en Rabat    L'Algérie, parrain d'un Sahel instable, entre soutien au terrorisme et quête de puissance régionale    Ghita Triki : "Résonance chromatique s'inscrit dans les programmes de visibilisation des cultures du Maroc et d'Afrique"    Akdital: Feu vert du Conseil de la concurrence pour l'acquisition de deux établissements de santé à Laâyoune    Festival Mawazine: Will Smith et Kid Cudi en têtes d'affiche    La Dolce Vita à Mogador : Le Cinéma Italien à l'honneur à Essaouira du 23 au 26 Avril 2025    







Merci d'avoir signalé!
Cette image sera automatiquement bloquée après qu'elle soit signalée par plusieurs personnes.



Diaspo #186 : Karim El Hayani... from irregular migrant to world-record setter with his barefooted half-marathon in snow
Publié dans Yabiladi le 27 - 03 - 2021

After immigrating irregularly to Spain at the age of eleven, Karim El Hayani, who is currently residing in Canada, succeeded in making himself a name among Spanish runners. He is known for running marathons in sandals or barefooted. In March, he broke a world record, running barefooted in the snow.
During a minus-ten degree-day, barefooted 27-year-old Moroccan runner Karim El Hayani broke a world record when he ran a half-marathon (21.1 kilometers) near the frozen lake of Beauport in Quebec, Canada on March 3.
In an hour, 37 minutes and 54 seconds he managed to beat the previous record set by the Dutch Wim Hof, also known as «Snowman», who broke the record in 2007 after running for two hours and six minutes.
The Moroccan-Spanish runner submitted a request to the Guinness World Records Book. But it took several weeks for his name to be officially included among the list of world record-breakers.
From an irregular migrant to record breaker
Karim El Hayani's road to titles and record-breaking was not easy. The runner had a rough childhood during which he irregularly migrated at the age of 11 with a group of other minors to Spain.
«I grew up seeing many young men who immigrated to Europe while they were returning with new cars and showing off their money, so the idea of immigration occupied my mind, until the right time came and I hid inside a truck, accompanied by a number of people from my neighborhood», the Tangier-native said.
On his arrival to the other bank, he called his family, «who did not know of[his] plans». «They were difficult times, traumatizing ones, especially for my mother», he said.
Karim El Hayani traveled from Algeciras to Madrid, where he sought refuge with the police, who took him to a shelter for unaccompanied minor migrants.
«There I was faced with two options, either behaving to be able to live in good conditions or resort to rioting in the streets. But I passed the test and was transferred to a center owned by a Spanish family that housed abandoned Spanish children or those in a difficult situation. There, life felt better, we were receiving a lot of attention and we lived a normal life».
Karim El Hayani
Karim found the family warmth he had left in Morocco in his new home, which helped him return to school.
His career in running started by chance and without any prior planning, as he had dreamed from an early age of becoming a well-known football player. In fact, those in charge of the preparatory school in which he was studying, asked him to represent the school in one of the running competitions. He accepted the challenge and came second.
His coaches were surprised by his victory, especially as he managed to defeat a professional runner without even training.
«My coach believed in my talent and invited me to join one of the best clubs in Spain. I was fourteen when I started running professionally. I won several medals, which motivated me and I was crowned champion of Madrid several times», El Hayani said.
The young runner was distinguished from the rest of the contestants in his sportswear, as he wore sandals and sometimes ran barefooted.
From plains to mountains
In 2013, he decided to move from running in flat lands to jogging in the mountains, and he started winning competitions until his name rose to fame in Spain. He then received an offer to participate in the Spanish national competition for running in the mountains and was able to win the title.
After that, the doors were opened for him to participate in international competitions. Indeed, in 2015, he joined the ultra-trail Javelina Jundred competition for 100 km in the United States, in which he run sandals.
«I participate in competitions with sandals, because I have grown accustomed to it since my childhood in Morocco, and it makes me feel more comfortable than sports shoes».
Karim El Hayani
After his return to Spain, he injured his leg, which forced him to leave the racing world temporarily, and in 2016 he decided to return to the United States in order to search for a new life and focus on his health. «It was a very difficult period», he regretted.
In 2017 he returned to the world of competitions through the Coldwater Rumble Championship in Arizona. He was crowned champion, and in March he traveled to Canada, and decided to settle there, where he began working as a chef in a restaurant.
«I moved away again from the atmosphere of official competitions for about 3 years, but without breaking up with sports», said the athlete who decided recently «to participate in the half-marathon on snow around Beauport Lake», in which he set a new world record.
«It was a challenge for me, I had never run in snow. Before participating in the half marathon, I practiced on my own in the snow, and I went from jogging 5 minutes to 10 minutes, then more until my bare feet got used to it».
Karim El Hayani
Karim El Hayani wants to change the atmosphere and move from snow and cold weather to sand and high heat, as he plans to participate to the Sand Marathon, which will be organized either in Morocco or in Peru. There, he is to run more than 250 km, competing with other world champions.


Cliquez ici pour lire l'article depuis sa source.