SKY RUNNER

How pure resilience helped this young man from Morocco scramble his way to victory-in both sport and in life

- Sorrel Downer

The eyes of the crowd are on Zaid Ait Malek as he takes his place at the starting line. Wild-haired and wiry, he clowns around with fellow competitors, but then, as the race countdown begins, Zaid falls silent, staring straight ahead. "Ten, nine ..."

The 38-year-old mountain runner visualizes how he'll handle the course's challenges, when he will push, when he'll hold back. Zaid touches his fingers together in prayer. God protect us all and return us safely.

The way Zaid approaches this runthe Calamorro Skyrace in March 2022-is the way he approaches life.

Faith, resilience and joy have helped him navigate the journey from stowaway from Morocco, to sports hero in Spain, to being a husband and father.

But his focus right now is the start of this 27-kilometer run through mountains high above the southern Spanish coast. "Two, one." When the signal sounds, the 'sky runners' pound away and quickly disappear. Some 120 elite runners from across Spain are competing for a trophy and a prize (₹1,05,780 for the winner).

Moving past brush, loose stones underfoot, Zaid is transported back to his childhood, to the Atlas Mountains where he grew up.

WHILE CITY CHILDREN have parks to play in, Zaid and his nine siblings-he is third youngest-had steep, sheer mountains. They played with goat kids near the family jaima, the tent that nomadic Berbers live in; his mother had woven it from wool. The goats were part of a herd his family cared for and moved with as they sought new grazing areas. Zaid loved watching the sure-footed animals jump from rock to rock, and mimicked their technique until it became instinct. Another favourite game was throwing stones down the mountainside and chasing them as fast as he could.