Elhousine Elazzaoui of Morocco presently sits near the top of the elite echelon of shorter-distance trail runners. As such, many of us fans know Elazzaoui for his win of the 2024 Golden Trail World Series after several years of finishing high in the rankings, his win of the prestigious mountain race, the 2025 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon, and his many other top finishes at sub-ultramarathon-distance trail races.
We might also recognize the fierce competitor inside Elazzaoui, having watched him redline across finish lines, flailing, foaming, and feverish in his commitment to giving each race his everything.
And finally, we might also be familiar with Elazzaoui’s unending warmth, his desire for connection and friendship, and his hope for his competitors to have their own best days.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
In the new film “The Nomad,” beautifully composed by the NNormal team, we realize that Elazzaoui is much more than a fierce but warm competitor. We learn of his Berber heritage, how he comes from a traditionally nomadic family living at the edge of the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco. We learn that Elazzaoui found running somewhat accidentally as a boy, and maybe wasn’t that good at it, at first. We experience his own nomadic spirit, which manifests as living for part of the year with his family in Morocco and part of the year in the mountains of Switzerland to cultivate his mountain running prowess. We meet some of his family and see exactly where Elazzaoui developed his care for everyone around him.
The Nomad explores the many facets of Elhousine Elazzaoui. All photo are screenshots from The Nomad.
The film is aesthetically beautiful, playing with light, angles, motion, and the duality of the Sahara Desert’s expanse and Elazzaoui’s inner landscape. The film is mostly in French, with some Berber interludes, but a number of universal ideas translate to any viewer. Elazzaoui proudly wears traditional Berber clothing and talks openly about his heritage, even when he’s in the Swiss mountains and away from Morocco, which is so presently refreshing.
All this to say that you should just watch the film. Settle in with Elazzaoui’s warm eyes and heart. Understand that Elazzaoui’s aspirations lie in not only being the best athlete that he can, but also in providing for his family, keeping the nomadicity of Berber culture alive, and bringing out the best in everyone around him. In the end, the film might even enliven your own wanderer’s spirit. After all, almost none of us are actually from wherever we are, and all of us are heading somewhere else — literally and figuratively.
Elazzaoui splits his year between the mountains of Switzerland and his home in Morocco.
Thanks to Elazzaoui for his candor and openness, and to NNormal for investing in Elazzaoui and his story. Both made this film a truly lovely viewing experience. I’d love to see more of this kind of work in trail running films.
Call for Comments
- Did you watch this film? Did you love it as much as we did?
- How has running exposed you to different types of people and cultures?
