The 2024 Golden Trail World Series is far from Elhousine Elazzaoui‘s first rodeo.
Always in the mix, Elhousine has consistently been one of the most consistently consistent podium-place finishers.
Whether it’s been Rémi, Bart or Stian leading the series over the years, Elhousine has always been right there.
Despite that consistency, he’s often gone unnoticed. In many moments of Chasing Dreams, he’s often presented like the gnat that won’t go away, constantly hovering behind the leader and waiting for his moment to strike.
Adjacent to a fox, this is Elhousine’s strategy. He lurks in the shadows, blends in with his surroundings, and goes undetected until his moment to shine. It’s been a strategy that’s often worked in securing a place on the podium. But it’s only been within the last year that he’s started to use the power of surprise, and win races outright.
Now, in the most competitive season ever, this year has to be Elhousine’s.
After his win at Mont Blanc, I said to friends that Elhousine was “just better” this year. Historically the best at the shorter races, the Moroccan is just fitter, faster, and fuelling better this year.
But his greatest strength lies within racing smart.
If and when Elhousine wins the series this year, it won’t be from being the fittest, fastest runner in the field. It won’t be from the being the best climber. It won’t be for having the longest name in the series (👋 Bartłomiej Przedwojewski).
It will be from consistently being the smartest runner.
In a recent post, I claimed that it’s usually the smartest fast runner in a field that wins trail races, rather than the fastest fast runner in the field.
Elhousine has proven that even in shorter distance, sub-ultra trail races, the smartest person will often prevail.
To be fair, Elhousine is probably the most well-rounded athlete in the circuit this year. He’s one of the best descenders, one of the best on technical, one of the best climbers, and consistently fast regardless of terrain (currently seeing how many times I can fit the word ‘consistently’ into this article).
But above all else, Elhousine plays his cards to win better than any other.
At Mont Blanc, I wrote an entire article all about how both he and Judith won their races by playing to their specific strengths, remaining patient all day and claiming victory in the final downhill.
Normally, or ‘Nnormally‘, the Moroccan hasn’t been able to gain entry into the American races within the Golden Trail World Series, meaning he’s always playing catch-up when it comes to the final. Winning both the Prologue and the World Series Final wasn’t enough last year, in large part because Rémi won both of the races in the States (races Elhousine couldn’t take part in).
This year, Elhousine made it work, and showed everyone exactly what’s been missing at these American races in the past few years. Someone who can challenge Rémi.
At the first race in the States, the speedy-fast Headlands 27K, Elhousine remained calm and patient within the pack of four – himself, Rémi, Philemon Kiriago, and Patrick Kipngeno. He again played his cards to take the lead at exactly the right moment, blazing through the final downhill and outkicking Philemon to the finish.
Mammoth was a completely different test. Philemon took it out to intentionally try to create room for Patrick to stay back and win the race. But Elhousine had different plans. After the dust settled, he, as per usual, stayed off the back of Patrick in second place, observing the best lines to take based on the information in front of him. But as we’ve seen from Elhousine in many moments since his first win last year at Dolomyths, the Moroccan made moves to take the lead when it served him best. He then remained relaxed every time Patrick would catch up and regain the lead.
So, just like Mont Blanc, it was a back-and-forth affair all day. Elhousine would kick it into high-gear on a technical section or a steep downhill, and then Patrick would regain control when it became flowy and fun again. The two locked heads all day, only for Elhousine to make the smartest move imaginable in the final kick to the finish.
Racing decisions come down to milliseconds and there is so little time to process information. But Elhousine, a master of reading lines, took the best path available to him as it curved toward the finish. Patrick on the other hand tried to pass at the most inopportune moment given the environment around him, on exactly the wrong side to pass given the curvature of the trail. For Elhousine to keep his mind engaged at such a high stakes moment like this, shows an unmatched level of poise and composure to his competitors.
The final will likely still decide the series winner from here between the top four. But if the final last year is anything to go by, this will be Elhousine’s year. And if that is the case, then it’s been won not by being the fittest, fastest runner. But by being the smartest runner – someone who deeply understands how to make moves to serve their own body against the demands of the course.
It’s a masterclass in remaining patient in racing, and remembering that the finish to these races is often what matters most, rather than the start.
This is something that I’ve tried to embody in my own racing this year, with my two best races coming from my two smartest runs.
UTHC 42K Classique Recap – Controlled Crushing
Sulphur Springs 20K Recap: Cruise Control
But Elhousine deserves all the plaudits for his stunning year, making a claim as possibly the smartest runner around.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
Rhys Desmond 