Initially running for the prestigious Olympique de Safi club, Goumri's first international appearance for Morocco came as a junior at the 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he came 25th and shared in the bronze junior team medal. Early on in his career, he was based in Norway. He ran at the Tromsø Midnight Sun Marathon 1997 and won in a time of 2:30:54 hours. In 1999, he won the Norwegian championships in both 1500 metres and 5000 metres. Like his fellow countryman Khalid Skah, who won the Norwegian 5000 m championships in 1997, 1998 and 2000, Goumri represented the athletics club IL i BUL. He took consecutive wins at the Eurocross meeting in Luxembourg, having taken the title in 2000 and 2001.