It was his greatest moment of glory, a minute of ultimate happiness, that memorable entry into Amsterdam’s Olympic Stadium. Waving at the audience, high five here, finger pointing there. Khalid Choukoud flew over the tartan a year ago en route to his first national marathon title.

Unforgettable pictures, Choukoud (36) still calls them. At the same time, it was a turning point in his career. After a total of 42 kilometers in the last half lap on the athletics track, whoever still has energy to entertain the spectators, he soon argued, obviously didn’t fight completely empty handed.

Why?

He also received dozens of messages to the same effect on social media. Biggest Common Denominator: Why doesn’t Choukoud dare to take more risks?

Perhaps, says the athlete born in Fes, Morocco, it’s the fear that the marathon instills in every athlete. It’s not so much that he has a love-hate relationship with classic distance. Love, says Choukoud, is unconditional. “But it is not always answered.”

Listing the setbacks requires no reflection for Choukoud. At the 2017 Rotterdam Marathon, he had to drop out after a blister in the middle. A year later, a top time quickly faded from view when he was involved in a crash early in the race. And at the Olympic Games in Tokyo a year ago, he had to drop out after 25 kilometers with stomach problems.

In Sapporo, where the much-admired Abdi Nageeye raced to Olympic silver, he received a serious blow. Mood, weather, top form; Choukoud really lacked everything in Japan to achieve a top performance.

“I could only think: is this the Olympics I’ve always dreamed of? And then I had to get off somewhere halfway. That was maybe the worst part.”

Gladly, he says, he would have returned the favor this year in the marathon at the World Championships in Eugene in the USA or the European title fight in Munich. “I love representing the Netherlands. I’ve proudly worn this beautiful orange jersey for twenty years. Still, it was an easy decision to choose Amsterdam.”

bread runner

Choukoud is just a bread runner living on entry fees and bonuses. “It’s a shame that the Athletics Union doesn’t support long-distance runners financially. If I start at a World Cup or European Championship, I have to prepare for it for six months. Six months of training alone and not competing, so I have to pay for everything myself.”

“A run like that costs me more than 10,000 euros and I can’t afford that, especially after these two years in which I couldn’t run because of Corona. I have a family to support.”

It’s all the more important to deliver a great performance in Amsterdam. There he wants to extend his national title. It would be his grand prize. Because it is not possible to finish as the overall winner, Choukoud also knows. The statistics speak volumes on this.

Since the first edition in 1975, only Dutchmen Gerard Nijboer (1980, ’84, ’88 and ’89) and Cor Vriend (’82, ’83) have won the competition. The last fourteen times the victory went to a runner from Kenya, from whom Tamirat Tola secured the course record in 2021 with 2.03.39. In addition, the 46th edition of “Amsterdam” will feature no fewer than 22 athletes who have a faster time to their name than Choukoud.

By adjusting his tactics, Choukoud hopes to at least catch up with the global sub-top. He is looking to attack his personal best, a time of 2:09.55 he ran in Siena, Italy in April 2021.

If he shows courage, he can dive under it, it sounds like that. “In Siena I got halfway through at 1:05:30 and ran a minute and a half faster in the second part. Now I ask myself: why didn’t I give the first part then?”

Walk with courage

The latter is the starting shot on Sunday. Running with courage is the motto.

“Normally I always do that for the ten kilometers. Now I have to dare to do the same in the marathon. The setbacks I experienced made me cautious. Maybe too careful.”

Choukoud has no choice but to compete in the marathon, where his name has been on the bill every year since 2015. “It will be all or nothing.”

He fondly thinks back to Abdi Nageeye, whom he adores, the attacker pur sang, who with 2:04:56 has held the Dutch record since Rotterdam 2022 and is tenth in the world rankings this year. Choukoud’s aim for the Amsterdam Marathon cannot be separated from Nageeye’s best time.

“I want to deduct two minutes from my personal best time. So that I can at least reach Abdi’s record. Now there are five minutes between us. That is much.”

If Choukoud succeeds in his mission, his future as a modest bread runner seems secured for the time being. “A good time puts you in the spotlight with the organizers of big city marathons and increases your market value.”

Get the Dutch title and move up a few spots in the global sub-top hierarchy. That’s the highest a runner of his caliber can achieve on Sunday, he says.

Choukoud knows his limits. “2.04, that’s a time I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk.” Or no: “I’m sure…”