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he journey is complex, but the goal is simple for VCU junior Khalid Khamis. A ached to the inside of his wooden locker in the VCU Track and Field locker room is a single sheet of pa- per, which reads simply, 1:42. It's the me he believes he needs to run in his signature event, the 800 meters, to vault himself toward a profes- sional track career. He knows he'll have to pay his dues in sweat equity, but Khamis' lo y goal shouldn't be discounted. Hard work and persever- ance runs in his blood. Khamis, a junior, has had several op- portuni es to throw in the towel. He could've succumbed to the adversity he faced growing up in two different countries. He first stepped foot on U.S. soil at the age of 14, roughly seven years ago. Born and raised in Sudan's southern capital of Khartoum, Kha- mis was able to avoid the horrors of the humanitarian disaster in Darfur, brought on by years of figh ng be- tween insurgents and the Sudanese government, to the west. "We moved [to Khartoum] because of greater opportunity, not neces- sarily the war," said Khamis. "The conflict was real, but we were far enough away I would only hear about it when my parents were talk- ing about it." The second of four children, Khamis grew up in Sudan with his mother and siblings, while his father worked with the royal family of Saudi Arabia. When an opportunity arose to move the family to the United States, Khamis' father took advantage. In 2007, Khamis began a new chapter of his life in Virginia. Times were ini ally tough for the family. While the educa on and job prospects were superior to Sudan, Khamis was forced to learn a new language and integrate into a dras cally different culture. For the first three months, Khamis stayed home with his mother and sisters, reading book a er book. In Sudan, an Arabic-speaking country, he had been taught the English alphabet and a few other common expressions, though he was not close to being fluent. By reading books with his mother, Khamis found he could pick up and comprehend the language rather quickly. He says his interest in English sparked more challenging reading and a desire to learn. Khamis was the equivalent of a high school freshman in Sudan, but began his schooling in the United States as an eighth grader. He enjoyed the middle school experience, and felt star ng at a lower grade level aided his learning curve. "Being in middle school was great for learning the language," Khamis noted. "I also got to take part in an ESL (English as a Sec- ond Language) program over the summer that rapidly improved my English abili es. It was worthwhile." Khamis grew up playing pickup soccer games in Khartoum and joined the Henrico High School team as a freshman. With a dream of playing college soccer, he prac ced his ball skills o en, but also ran frequently to enhance his endurance on the field. He was becoming fluent in English, though soccer is o en played between people who speak different languages. He fit in. During his soccer prepara ons, Khamis was approached by the school's track coach, who pitched him on the idea of running as a way to stay in shape. Khamis agreed and eventually ran track meets on the weekends when he didn't have soccer commit- ments. Disaster struck halfway through Khamis' junior season when he was hit by a soccer ball in the right eye and suffered a scratched re na. The incident le him with a vision impairment and forced him to focus his efforts away from soccer and toward the track. Khamis could have stopped running. There was no longer a need to stay in shape for soccer season. Instead, he set out to become one of the most dominant track athletes in school history. He eventually broke two minutes and set the Henrico High School re- cord in the 800. He also worked hard in the classroom, where he says he maintained a 3.5 grade point average his final two years. Khamis ini ally explored a number of colleges outside of Rich- mond, but says he received only lukewarm interest from track coaches. Later, he was introduced to VCU Track and Field Coach Jon Riley, and says he felt a connec on with Riley and his staff. That connec on helped cement Khamis' decision to a end VCU. "VCU is a good school with a lot of diversity. I ini ally wanted to go somewhere farther away, maybe a li le bit warmer, but I dig it here," Khamis said with a smile on his face. Khamis' personal records (PR) have steadily improved during his VCU career. He's run 4:01 in the 1500 and has also split 48.11 in the 400 and 1:50 in the 800. In the open 800, Khamis believes he'll need to run 1:51 or be er to qualify for the NCAA Regional meet. In addi on to his on-track performance, Khamis has been ac ve in the community. Khamis regularly visits elementary schools to talk about his experiences as a student-athlete and to speak out against bullying. Khamis says he experienced bullying growing up in both Sudan and the United States and views the talks as a method of early preven on. He says while bullying happens everywhere, and it's also very preventable. On the track, he's focused on that sheet of paper in his locker. He knows his goal of running 1:42 in the 800 is ambi ous. But that's the point. Only elite runners can say they've run that fast. Khamis has a ways to go before he can consider himself elite – he's eight seconds away from reaching his goal and s ll a nearly three seconds shy of Jesus Ortega's 16-year-old school mark of 1:47.94 – but he's determined to dream big. "I want to destroy the record, and leave an imprint here at VCU," Khamis says. "I want to run as fast as possible. I have basically lived in the Siegel Center over the past year trying to improve and get be er. My schedule is very busy." While the goal is aggressive, Khamis has already weathered a storm. Seven years ago he moved halfway across the world and se led into a strange culture and a foreign language with aplomb. He's worked hard in the classroom and in his volunteer efforts, and says he's eager to eventually make a difference in both the United States and in Sudan. A biology major, Khamis says he's considering medical school. Despite the setbacks, despite uproo ng his life, the language bar- rier, the eye injury, the bullying, Khamis has emerged from each situa on be er, stronger. Now he's chasing history, 102 seconds at a me. Don't count him out. By Zach Reynolds