Morceli Has Proved He Can Really Move : Track and field: Algerian relocated to Riverside CC and became one of the world’s top middle-distance runners.

Noureddine Morceli is not a young man possessed of great patience. This can be seen in the style in which he lives and, more noticeably, in the style in which he runs. For both endeavors, such a quality is at once a help and a hindrance.

Morceli, a 20-year-old Algerian who was the world’s best 1,500-meter runner last season, is learning to temper his urge to move on and move up. He is learning the value of waiting and watching and timing his moves. Beginning now, he says, good things will come to him because he is willing to wait.

“When I was a young runner, I always wanted to run in the front (of the pack),” Morceli said. “However, in running, it is not always wise to run in the front. It is not always the smartest strategy. I have learned now to do what I have to do to win. Now, I can run in the back and wait.”

Morceli, who competed for two years at Riverside Community College, signed this week to run the mile in the Sunkist Invitational indoor track meet Jan. 18 at the Sports Arena. His time of 3 minutes 32.60 seconds for 1,500 meters capped a 1990 outdoor season in which he beat every top runner in the world. He lost only two races.

Morceli’s path--from an 8-year-old tagging along at track practice behind his brother to international sensation at 19--has been rocky, his progress fitful. Seeking to improve his training opportunities, and on the recommendation of a friend, Morceli decided in 1988 to attend Riverside, sight unseen. He called track and field Coach Ted Banks and read his athletic resume over the phone, in halting English. Morceli’s first language is Arabic, his second French. English was a very distant third at the time.

Banks had heard of Morceli.

“I didn’t think of it as a gamble,” Banks said. “He had placed second in the World Junior Championships. He was going to be good even if he didn’t improve.”

Morceli flew from Tunis, Tunisia, to Paris and New York, then, 33 hours later, landed at Ontario Airport. It was January 1989, and it was hot.

“It was difficult for me at first, it was very different here,” Morceli said in understatement.

The first adjustment was the time change. Morceli said it took him three months to change his body’s clock.

Other changes were more pronounced. The African nation of Algeria is bordered by Morocco to the west and Tunisia and Libya to the east. It is largely Muslim. Morceli naturally brought to Riverside his beliefs and practices, some of which concerned his coaches.

Banks was taken aback when in late March of ’89 Morceli began to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which he fasted from sunrise to sunset.

“That was a big surprise,” Banks said. “It was right in the middle of our season. It concerned me. He couldn’t drink water or anything.”

Morceli laughed when remembering Banks’ reaction. “It is nothing, we are used to it,” he said.

Other cultural changes have been easier. Morceli said he’s a great fan of daytime television. His diet--heavy on rice and chicken, with pork forbidden--has been easy to duplicate here.

But Morceli’s impatience began to show in his first season at Riverside. Banks’ workouts were far more demanding than those prescribed by Morceli’s brother, his coach. There was little recovery time within the practices, and the ensuing muscle fatigue led to an injury, Morceli’s first.

Owing partly to all the adjustments in his life and training, Morceli’s times did not improve. He gave serious thought to returning home.

“We had some knock-down drag-outs,” Banks said. “It was a tough period of adjustment. I’d pound my hand on the desk and say, ‘You have to do it my way or I can’t be held responsible.’

“He’s a headstrong, tough-minded guy. That’s why he’s a good athlete. He’s tough. We eventually straightened everything out.”

Morceli stayed and, after his first year, blossomed. He set a junior college record of 13:25.20 at 5,000 meters last season. Buoyed by his times and gaining confidence with his victories, Morceli even talks of breaking the outdoor world record of 3:29.46 in the 1,500, held by Said Aouita of Morocco, one of Morceli’s heroes.

Morceli said he believes he can run 3:30 in the outdoor season. To help bring his times down, he has taken a year off from school and will train exclusively for the World Indoor Championships at Barcelona in March and the World Outdoor Championships at Tokyo in September.

“I know it can happen,” Morceli said. “I have the patience to wait for it.”