Women's Race Casablanca (© IAAF)
Morocco’s Zhor El Kamch sealed her 6th consecutive victory in the 10 kilometre Casablanca ‘Course Feminine’ – Women’s Race - in 31 minutes and 51 seconds this morning, but the real winners here were Moroccan women and sport.
In an event she has won since its creation. El Kamch held off Tegla Loroupe of Kenya, who took second place in 32:10, with the Algerian athlete Ait Salem Souade third in 32:39.
For the elite runners – fourteen of them lined up at the start - this was very much a case of business as usual, even if they were not competing here for the sort of money that they would normally attract, but rather for the symbolism of this event that was created by Nawal El Moutawakel, the Muslim Arab world’s first woman Olympic gold medallist, in 1993.
With the number of participants limited for reasons of security, the roads of the centre of Casablanca were the stage for a massive demonstration of female solidarity, with 14,500 taking part. The ‘Course Feminine’ is open to women from the ages of 15 to 75 and all of the age groups were represented here today, with a majority it is true of youngsters in their teens and early twenties, but there was no shortage of grandmothers either.
Some ran fast, some slowly and some walked, but all those participating did so in a spirit of enthusiasm, unity and good humour.
Among the runners were students, secretaries, labourers and housewives, and running and walking beside them company directors, entrepreneurs, Morocco’s first woman mayor Asmaa Chaâbi (of Essaouira) and the Ambassador of Pakistan in Morocco and members of Parliament.
Among the notable VIP guests were the President of the African Athletics Confederation, Colonel Ahmad Malboum Kalkaba from Cameroon (whose wife also participated in the race) and Leonard Chuene (RSA) the IAAF Council Member and Area Representative for Africa.
Some may have come for the tee shirt that all participants received, some for higher values, but the net result was a massive demonstration of the effectiveness of the campaign that Nawal l Moutawakel has waged in favour of sport in general and the participation of women in sport in particular, in Morocco since the early years after winning her gold medal in the 400 m hurdles in Los Angeles in 1984.
It is doubtful whether any other woman in the Muslim world would be capable of creating such a successful event in such a short period of time. For Morocco is a Muslim country – albeit the most liberal and enlightened of all of the nations of Islam. But then El Moutawakel has a special place in the heart of all Moroccans, men and women. She cannot walk 100 metres without someone rushing over for a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a photograph – and Nawal has time for them all, from the youngest child to the oldest pensioner.
“The race is about bringing sport to all women,” says Nawal. “Of course it is a women’s only race, but that is because I have wanted to bring to all the women in Morocco the understanding that they can participate, that it is good for their health and more than just their physical health.
“Many of these women, especially the older ones have never done sport at all and this is giving them the awareness that they are part of something; that they can be active beyond the travail that they have in their daily lives of shopping and cleaning and, in many instances, supporting their families. Today it is 20 years since I won my Olympic medal and I could not want for a better anniversary gift than to see all of my countrywomen participating here – it is something that would have been unthinkable when I was competing.
“The great thing for such women is that this is not a competitive race - that is for the top runners; for the others this is the chance to run or walk the course in groups, where everyone is encouraging everyone else, where they have a chance to run for pleasure on the most beautiful streets of Casablanca in security, with the added bonus of the support of thousands of spectators, the majority men, who line the streets and encourage all of the participants.”
Of course putting on this race is not an easy business. Nawal does not get a lot of sleep in the days leading up to the race: “I think that I slept maybe three hours last night,” she confides. For she is everywhere to encourage the hundreds of volunteers that assist in the preparation and organisation of the event, and all this on top of the continual meetings with the authorities who are also an essential part of the smooth organisation of the run. The night before, the square where the start and finish of the race are situated had to be prepared and then at 11.00 the roads had to be closed, then this morning on duty again at 6.00 to be at the square at 6.30 and rally the volunteers and ensure that the entertainment for the women participating, who started arriving at 6.45, was in place.
This year they were treated to an hour or so of aerobics: to warm them up and calm them down at the same time, because excitement is in the air and all those participating are eagerly – and impatiently - awaiting the moment when they can go to the start line.
Already at 7.30 the first television interviews start and they continue non-stop until just before the start of the race at 9.00, interspersed with photos with the volunteers and passers-by, they all want a picture with Nawal El Moutawakel, and last-minute discussions with the police and municipal authorities and the VIPs who are starting to arrive.
Greatly assisted by her husband Mounir Bennis, who acts as the director of the Course Feminine and a handful of staff and volunteers, Nawal has built the event from its initial thousand or so participants to the stage where she must turn away latecomers. “We could easily have had 20,000 women running and walking on Sunday,” says Mounir Bennis, “but we have decided that we really need to restrict the numbers to 12,000 like last year to be able to ensure the highest standards of security and comfort for all.”
If you had witnessed the enthusiasm of the women here today, you would understand that need. When the starting gun sounds it is like the unleashing of a river of pent-up energy –some in shorts some with robes and veils, but all determined to get around the course as quickly as they can and all elated at being a part of Nawal El Moutawakel’s ‘Course Feminine – Courir pour le Plaisir.”
