Career
He became a naturalized citizen of Bahrain (switching from his birth country Kenya) ahead of the 2006 season. He made his Olympic debut in the longer event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he placed 18th in the final. He turned to cross country at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and managed to finish in sixth place in the highly competitive men"s race.
Mahboob again had a top ten finish at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, but his main focus was on the track that year.
He claimed his second 10,000 m title at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships and was runner-up to Josphat Menjo in that event two weeks later at the 2011 Military World Games. He elected to run over the longer distance at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, but did not manage to finish the race.
He ended the year in regional competition, taking the 10,000 m title and 5000 m bronze at the 2011 Pan Arab Games. At the 2012 Asian Cross Country Championships he came fourth in a Bahraini sweep of the top four places and shared in the team title.