Running The Show (Literally)

Here at Samo, security guards run the show. Whether it’s checking IDs, opening locker rooms or responding to a break-out fight, the guards seem to be gatekeepers of all things Samo. These invaluable staff members come from all walks of life and have a wide range of stories about how they wound up at Samo. One security guard, Fatimoh Muhammed, had a particularly fascinating life before Samo, as she was one of the best 800 meter runners in the world and went to the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.  Muhammed’s running career began in her home city of Abeokuta, the state capital of Ogun in the country of Nigeria. She didn’t start running until her first year of high school, but loved and played soccer since she was a little kid. Her high school track coach saw her sprinting back and forth the field, and told her she should run for the team.  “The coach kept seeing me, and he said, ‘I think you have to come try running’ and I said ‘Okay, maybe I’ll try it.’ From there I started training, but was never very serious about it and took it pretty lightly,” Muhammed said.  Although she had a later start than most runners, it didn’t take long for Muhammed to realize she had real potential. In her junior year of high school, she competed in a 5,000 meter (3.12 mile) race where she first won to represent her city, and subsequently advanced to represent her home state of Ogun.  After her initial high school achievements, Muhammed moved the the United States to attend the University of Texas at El Paso to pursue both her athletics and academics. It was there that she dedicated herself to her running career. In her freshman year in 2003 she had a strong season, but didn’t make it to the NCAA championships. Despite this event, it propelled her motivation for the following seasons. “After that first year I said that every NCAA, indoor and outdoor, I want to go. So I started to train more. Then in my junior year my coach, who was a 1988 Olympian from Kenya, said, ‘You got this. You can do this. You just have to believe in yourself,’” Muhammed said. With these inspirational words from her coach, she became fixated on breaking the school record in the 800 meter (two laps around a track) -- which was 2:03 -- before she left. In the NCAA indoor championships senior year, she got 4th place which boosted her confidence for the upcoming outdoor season. There, in just the first few meets, she was already running 2:03, but had just barely missed the record. However, in the NCAA outdoor championships in Sacramento, her last collegiate meet, she clocked a 2:01, destroying her school’s 10-year standing record. Now that she had proven herself as one of the best collegiate 800 meter runners in America, she was ready to take her talents to the next level. As part of her decision to become a professional runner, she changed her nationality from Nigerian to Liberian, and as a result represented Liberia throughout her career. She made this decision because her mother figure in the United States (whom she lived with through college) was Liberian.  “Her son came to the same school as me, and I [found out] from him that she was a three-time Olympian and liked people who dedicated their time to running. Her son introduced me to her and we began talking, and she became kind of like my mentor. So then I changed my nationality in 2007 to Liberian,” Muhammed said. Fresh out of college and running professionally for Liberia, Muhammed began training for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She moved to San Diego and worked with Joaquim Cruz, the Brazilian 800 meter runner who won gold in the 1984 Olympics. She worked around the clock and raced all over the world to try to run an automatic qualifying time for the 2008 Olympics, which was 2:01.3. She missed the mark by the skin of her teeth, as she ran 2:01.8. “I think I put too much pressure on myself. You know, when you want it so bad that you just shrink,” Muhammed said. However, Muhammed was still the fastest 800 meter runner in Liberia, so she was able to go to Beijing and participate in the Olympic festivities with her country, excluding the actual race. She was also named the Assistant Manager of the team and stayed in the Olympic Village. She trained consistently for the next four years in preparation for the 2012 Olympics in London, but missed the standard again. Nevertheless, as the best Liberian 800 runner and one of the best in the world, she went to London, this time as the Head Manager of the team. After another Olympic experience in 2012 and over a decade of competitive running, Muhammed decided she would begin a new chapter in her life. “When I came back from London I said, ‘Well, I don’t think I want to continue running but at the same time my mind is not off running.’ So I wanted to start working with kids so I worked for the City of Los Angeles with parks and recreation,” Muhammad said.  From this job, she saw an opportunity at SMMUSD to help special-needs students one-on-one, which she started in 2015. After two years of working for the district, she began her job as a security guard for Samo in 2017. Although Muhammed isn’t about running anymore and is balancing her security job with raising her young son, she still finds time to keep up her passion. She runs for the Elite Masters Track Club and can still pull off a five minute mile, despite focusing now on other things. “I’m picking up my practice gradually to get stronger, but I’m not going to compete for anyone anymore. I’m just going to keep competing for myself.”