Returning to the grass circuits, he formed part of the Moroccan team for the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and placed 28th overall, leading a national team including Jamel Chatbi and Anis Selmouni to fifth place in the rankings. In 2008 he made his debut over the marathon distance, running in the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands. He managed to finish in seventh place and set a first time mark of 2:13:37. Among his other road races, he was seventh in the 20 van Alphen race, taking seventh place and setting a 20 km personal best of 57:57 minutes. He ran a 10,000 m best of 27:40.58 in Casablanca in June before going on to compete in the 2008 Olympic final in the event.