Running with a Purpose with Jaime Lopez - Athlete, Friend, and Advocate

#75 - In this episode - we talk to Jaime Lopez - an accomplished athlete, and one of our most ardent supporters.

Jaime's journey is profound.  He has a willingness to dive into events head first - and he sets the bar high.  It sets the stage for one of my favorite stories of all time - how Jaime met Coach B.  Let's just say it involves a local race, some outlandish shorts, and time in the pain cave.

This conversation includes some sensitive subjects - you

This conversation also includes a sensitive subject.  One that is extremely personal - but incredibly important.  You see - Jaime was sexually abused as a child - something that's difficult for him to share.  But he does so to help empower those that remain silent, to let other victims know that they're not alone, and to offer help and support.

In fact, Jaime serves on the board at Breaking the Silence - a non-profit dedicated to helping prevent child abuse and was part of the launch for their Walk for the Children Event.

I think that it's really incredible how endurance sports can be something different to different people and it can be something so incredibly meaningful.  For Jaime - endurance sports was a way to connect with his sister, it was a way to escape the day today, it's been a motivational tool for the youth he works with, and a way to build lifelong friendships.

Transcript

Jaime Lopez: 0:00

Cause I know, that life can kick you when you're down. And you know, if you don't basically pick yourself up, like you're going to stay in, in that, in that, in that spot. So, yeah. And then definitely having those people also to lift you up, like Coach "B" here, bro. Right here, Kevin. And like all my family, my friends loved ones that have been there and have seen this progression from like

Kevin Chang: 0:34

Hello and welcome to the RaceMob podcast. This is episode number 75. I'm Kevin entrepreneur technology and fitness nerd, and I'm joined by the head coach of RaceMob and master motivator, the incomparable Bertrand Newson. On this episode, we talked to Jaime Lopez and accomplished athlete and one of our most ardent supporters. Jaime's journey is profound. He has a willingness to dive into events, headfirst, and he sets the bar high. It sets the stage for one of my favorite stories of all time, how Jaime met Coach "B" and let's just say it involves a local race, some outlandish shorts and some time in the pain cave. This conversation also includes a sensitive subject when that's extremely personal, but incredibly important. You see, Jaime was sexually abused as a child, something that's difficult for him to share. But he does so to help empower those that remain silent, to help other victims know that they're not alone and to offer his help and support. In fact, Heimaey serves on the board at breaking the silence, a nonprofit dedicated to helping prevent child abuse and was part of the launch of their walk for the children events. I think that it's really incredible how endurance sports can mean something different to so many people. And it can be something so incredibly meaningful. For high may endurance sports was a way to connect with his sister. It was a way to escape the day to day. It's been a motivational tool for the youth he's worked with. And a way to build lifelong friendships. All the show notes can be found online at RaceMob dot com slash podcasts. and without further ado here's our conversation.

Bertrand Newson: 2:12

Hello, RaceMob family. We are in for a real treat, as we have high may Lopez, a endurance athlete, a friend of RaceMob family of our podcasts, YouTube channel. One of our very first client athletes as well, going back to the latter part of 2020 we've followed him from afar. We followed him near again. Triathlete, marathoner. Welcome, jaime.

Jaime Lopez: 2:37

Yeah, thanks Coach. That's me right there.

Bertrand Newson: 2:40

It is. It is. So let's go ahead and kick things off. How have you been, how are things and you're from, for people who don't know how many resides in the central valley in the Fresno area? New, newer homeowner, correct?

Jaime Lopez: 2:55

Yeah. Yeah. I mean it was February, February 2021. Yeah, kinda just the. It happened. It all happened really, really fast. I remember talking with my lady on new year's Eve and we were just talking about, you know, moving into a new apartment and how much it would cost and whatnot. And then we were just like, oh man, it's just like, why not just look for a house? And then before, you know, we hit five, six phone calls. Realtors and loan officers and all of these people and yeah, we, we, we found like we, yeah, we found a really, really nice house. Really. Yeah.

Bertrand Newson: 3:29

We're very, very happy for you. And let's kind of let's, let's roll the hands of time backwards and get a better idea on Jaime, the overall individual, the athlete as well. Growing up in the central coast. You know, what what sparked your interest in sports and how did you get to this point where you're, you know multiple time, triathlon finisher, marathon finisher, et cetera, et cetera.

Jaime Lopez: 3:53

I guess like my very, very first introduction to sports was like watching Michael Jordan playing against those Utah jazz teams and. Yeah. I, I just, I was just amazed by everything that he would do try to recreate it, you know, right away, go outside, try to do the up and under, you know, lay up and lower the rim down and try to fly as far as I could and try to try to dunk it from, you know, a certain free throw line or whatever, but yeah, that hooked me in right there. And ever since then, like I just I've always loved any and all sports. Yeah. And, and my, my, my love for basketball, like it just, yeah, it carried me to, you know, I played a little high school ball, but I was never like really, really talented, never very, very gifted athletically. I was just out hustle. This was basically what I would do. I've just work my butt off to the point where the coach was like, okay, I gotta get this guy some minutes. You know, he can't just sit on the bench. But yeah, that, that was, that was that was my first love was basketball. And how I got into running I was living with my sister in LA and I was like, I was like 18 at the time, 18, 19 20, something like that. And. You know, we just came up with this great idea of let's sign up for the LA Marathon.

Bertrand Newson: 5:15

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, not go out for a run. Yeah, no, no. Let's sign up.

Jaime Lopez: 5:21

Go big or go home. I mean that's like my first event was the LA marathon first ever live events. First time I ever put on a bib yeah. First running event ever. Ah, Or

Kevin Chang: 5:33

are you doing like long distance runs up to that point? Where did, did you know, did you think like, yeah, I can definitely, I can definitely do a marathon one of these days before. Was it kind of

Jaime Lopez: 5:42

oh, no. No, I was just basically. Oh, I was didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what I was thinking. I had told myself I'm young, you know, I got this 26.2 miles. It's no big deal. I could do that.

Bertrand Newson: 5:55

Was your sister? A runner at the time?

Jaime Lopez: 5:58

Not really. I saw her actually putting in the work. Like she would go out and be like, Hey, you know, I just got done with a six mile run. I feel great. You know, you should come out this weekend for, you know, a 10 miler. And then, you know, she kept on increasing the mileage and she's like, Hey, have you been training? Because I had just got done with like a 15 miler and it kicked my. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got this, I got this. Don't worry about me. So I probably trained for about a month and like half ass at that. I, I think my longest run for that training you know, the lead-up for that marathon was, was like eight miles and on a train. So it wasn't, it was, it was not good. It's just not good.

Kevin Chang: 6:45

Oh, how was the race?

Jaime Lopez: 6:46

I think it was, it was memorable, memorable. I remember. You know, this, this amazing feeling at the start. Cause you just you're pumped up. Everyone's like excited. This is great. You know, we're going to do this. And even like after about an hour, I still felt I still felt good. I was like, yeah. Okay. We're making good time. I'm thinking to myself, ah, we can, we can knock this out in four hours at this pace. And then, you know, things got a little bit tougher red around the halfway marker mentally, cause I was just like, oh man, I'm going to have to do this again. But Yeah, eventually I was, I was slowing down to the point where my sister was just like, Hey, yo, like you're slowing me down a little bro, but I'll catch you at the finish line. Okay. You take care. She's like peace out right around like mile 15 or 16 or so. Very, very, I mean. I was very young foolish. My sister will probably never let me live this down because. You know, I, I kind of, I got you. I'm, I'm a beat. This was the first year of the stadium to the sea route. So I believe that was 2010. Yeah. I mean, I was messed up really, really bad. My, my calves were, were like, they were spasming, everything hurt even like my teeth. I remember, like my teeth were hurting. I was like, why, how is that? Even that doesn't make sense. I, I remember I got sprayed by they were, they had like this magical spray right around like mile 18, 19 or something, somewhere around century city. And they sprayed my calves, my legs, and I felt better for about, you know, a mile or so. But yeah, those labs five to six miles were brutal really, really bad. I could, I could hardly walk the next day after that marathon. Well,

Bertrand Newson: 8:43

congratulations on the finish,

Jaime Lopez: 8:44

which you did, right? Yeah, for sure.

Bertrand Newson: 8:48

And what was that finishing time? We all the audience wants to know what was that first marathon finishing time, ballpark

Jaime Lopez: 8:54

five hours and 45 minutes. And I just remember. My sister was like, Hey, where were you? I've been waiting here for like 35 minutes. Like, you know, I feel great. Oh, But, yeah, that was the very first, first marathon first event. And after

Bertrand Newson: 9:12

that first marathon finished, were you thinking, okay, I can't wait to do this again and get some dipshit or hell no one. I am not coming back. Peace out LA.

Jaime Lopez: 9:23

That was, that was the thinking. I was like, nah, I'm never doing this again. Like, I don't know how people will do this for fun. Like, Nope. No, thank you. Oh man. So yeah, th there's a, there's a long break in between that first marathon marathon, I guess. I'll just dive into that. It was LA once again, but 2018, I believe. And this time I did it right this time, I actually had a plan and I did the work basically is what I did. I just put in the mile mileage, you know,

Bertrand Newson: 9:55

fine plan or how did you, how did you find the plan?

Jaime Lopez: 9:59

Yeah, I just Googled that. Marathon training for, for, you know, a beginner and yeah, something popped up for me. It said like dad bought training. That's the one, that one right there. It seems like it's doable.

Kevin Chang: 10:12

It's straight into marathon, huh? Or is it like 5k? Had you been running at this point in time? Was it, oh, was it just like, I just gotta, I just gotta do that marathon again. Marathon or nothing, huh?

Jaime Lopez: 10:23

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I actually had a reason behind doing it the first time I was just kind of doing it just to kind of prove it to myself. The second go around I was working with, with kids in the afterschool program and I'm sitting in my chair at home and I'm thinking to myself, like, how can I inspire these.' cause I got, you know, half of my kids are engaged in our physical activities, the other half, not so much. I'm just like, how do I inspire these kids to, to get active, you know? And I'm staring straight ahead and I'm looking at my 2010 LA marathon medal, and I'm just thinking, how do I inspire these kids? How do I inspire them? I'm like, it's staring right at me in the face. I'm like the marathon. I'm like, that's, that's what I gotta do. I gotta go back to that. So yeah, I just, like I said, I had a purpose, this, this, this, this go round. And there were days where I didn't want to get up. It was cold. I had eaten too much the night before was just not in a good mood, but I would get up and I'd knock out whatever mileage I had to do for the day, whatever 6, 7, 8 miles. Yeah. And then I would go to work and I'd tell the kids. I was like, oh yeah, I did, you know, six miles today. I did, you know, 10 miles this weekend. And they were just like, wow, that's crazy. Like, don't you, you don't get tired. Like, do you take water? Do you like go to sleep right after wah, wah, wah, and all these different questions. And little by little, I saw tiny little changes in. There were a few kids that just would not participate in whatever activity I had for the day. And there was one kid in particular who he, he came to me and he was like, Mr. Hyman, Mr. We're going to race today. I'm like, we, we are, I'm like, are you sure you, it I'm like, I'm down. Let's go. He's like, yeah, man. And the winner is going to get a Gatorade okay. Match. But it was just, it was, it was amazing to be able to share that experience with them because yeah, I went, you know, I went to do the LA marathon and then when I came back you know, I show them the metal and they're piped. They're excited. They're like, oh my God, he won. He's the best. Oh my God. They look at the metal and it says the 33rd annual LA marathon. And they're like, oh no, no guys, he didn't win. You got 33rd place.

Kevin Chang: 12:56

It's lonely. I wish

Jaime Lopez: 12:58

right after that, that marathon, you know, they, they asked, they were like, so when's your next race? And then clicked in that moment. I was like, oh, I can't stop this time. You know, like I did last time around, I gotta keep going. And again, it's it's cause I had, you know, a purpose and yeah, to this day, like I still run with, you know, the names of those kids in my heart and the youth that uh, that I work with to, to today, like I run to, to try and, you know, give them a bit of hope, a bit of inspiration. Cause I know, that life can kick you when you're down. And you know, if you don't basically pick yourself up, like you're going to stay in, in that, in that, in that spot. So, yeah. And then definitely having those people also to lift you up, like Coach "B" here, bro. Right here, Kevin. And like all my family, my friends loved ones that have been there and have seen this progression from like it, it was like, oh, this is this cute little project thing that you're doing, you know? And now it's become like a lifestyle where it's like, oh yeah, Jaime. That's the guy that runs marathons and is training for, you know, the iron man, the, oh yeah. We, we know that. So it's a little bit of that.

Kevin Chang: 14:21

Well, and we'd know that you work with youth and you, you yourself have a very powerful story. You know, we've, we've gotten to know you extremely well over this last year that we've started this podcast and been doing all these other things. And you've turned us on into a couple of charities, a couple of organizations that you like to work closely with. Do you want to give us some insight, our audience, some insight into, into that?

Jaime Lopez: 14:43

Yeah. I mean, it's never an easy topic of discussion to talk about. But I always, always noticed that when I do talk about it, when I share with people. I see it, it makes, it makes a difference. It makes an impact in their lives. And it's also kind of like therapeutic for, for myself. But let me see here. There was it, if it was like fate, I kid you not, it was just something that it happened and I don't even know how it happened. It just, you just did. But. Uh, I had attended an event that was called a walk for the children. And at this event there was an open mic and it was for, you know, survivors of sexual abuse to go up there and share, you know, a bit of your story. And so I don't know what it was, but something inside of me, You got to go, you've got to go share your story. Like this is your moment. Like, go, go do this now. And I didn't want to, I really didn't want to. I was like, oh no, but I went up there. The lady, she was like, are you good? Are you okay? Do you, you want me to introduce you? I'm like, nah, I'm cool. I'm cool. I got this. And so you dove right into it and. The response that I got afterwards was it was, it was amazing. And like shortly I got approached by my now boss. She came up to me and she's like, Hey would you like a job with, I was like, what, what ha what, what do you guys do? I work in a community, a community services slash like mental health behavioral. And yeah, I have to say, I don't know how I got here, but I just, I know I'm at the right place. I know I'm supposed to be here. Yeah. But basically Kevin and B, and everybody out there just a little bit, you know, of my story. So. From my sixth grade, seventh grade and eighth grade years I was I was sexually abused by a teacher who, you know, groomed me from the time I was in kindergarten and my sisters had been in his classroom and he was known as, you know, just this wonderful individual that, you know yeah, just that everybody, everybody liked. But. Yeah, it was probably the worst three years of my entire life. I remember there was many days where I was having thoughts of taking my life and what it would be like. It just, I was telling myself, like, I'll never have to deal with this. I'll never have to worry about this ever again if I just, you know, in my life today, so. Yeah, that those three years, like it kind of sent me down a kind of a dark road. And. You know that first year that I was no longer being abused, where I was finally off to a new school. It was the best year of my life. I was so happy. I was just happy, relieved. I didn't have to see this individual, you know, ever again. And in my mind I thought to myself, well, I can just put this behind me and no one will ever have to know I'm taking this to the grave with me. And, you know, slowly that, you know, bit of happiness started to kind of fade away. And I started to look for, you know, sort of something to cope with. And so that, that led me to, you know, using alcohol at a, at a young age. And yeah, it was just, it was really bad. As I got older and older, you know, the, the alcohol consumption, you know, got greater and greater. And I started to mix sleeping pills with the, you know, whatever it was, the vodka, the whiskey that and I, I recall this, this moment really vividly was I had just consumed, I don't know how many pills it was. It was a lot of pills and I had done. A bunch of alcohol. And I remember my eyelids were closing. They were, they were closing and I was, I was kicking. I was scared. I was terrified. And in my mind I told them, I was like, ah, I messed up. Like, I messed up really bad. Like, I don't know if I'm going to come out of this one. And as my eyes were closing, I was just like, praying. I was just like, praying to God. I was like, please, like, I'm sorry. I missed. And I woke up something like 16 hours later. Like it was dark when, you know, I went to sleep and then it was dark when, when I woke up. And I just walked over to the mirror and I looked at myself and I was pale skinny. I'm skinny to begin with, but you know, skinny you're like acne, like all over my face and. I just remember having this conversation with myself of like, man, like you were supposed to be a rock star, like you were supposed to be, you know, this amazing person, like what happened to you? You know, what would the five-year-old version of you say right now? And that right there it kind of coincided with that first marathon. And that first marathon really. Gave me a jolt to come forward with my story, because I had not shared it with anybody. My, my girlfriend at the time and now, you know, fiance, she knew something was up and she, she was like, listen, hi, ma I can't be with you. If, if you're going to continue to do this, she's like, I know something's up with you. And you're just not telling me. And. She sat me down to watch an episode of Oprah in which everybody in the audience, in that episode was a, was a male that had been sexually abused when they were a kid. And uh, yeah, I remember I still, you know, I was still fighting it. I didn't want to say anything, but yeah, that, that I remember that show it really kinda, it got the ball rolling. She, she was the first person that I ever told. Eventually, like I told her and like, we got, you know, I told my folks, we got law enforcement involved and it was really difficult because I was working with a detective and they needed me to have a conversation with that individual and they needed specific words. And for him to confess like three specific times that he had, he had molested me. And that, how was, that was one of the hardest things I had ever done. Yeah, still to this day, one of the hardest things I ever, ever had to do was basically confront my abuser and. I just remember the detective though, after we got the confession, she was like flipping off the phone and she was like, wording. She's like, It was like, if you, and I was just like, you know what, and you can go yourself and I just hung up on and that was amazing. It felt so great. And yeah. Yeah, maybe about a month after that phone call, he had been arrested and it came out that he had been getting away with it for like 20 plus years. And there was many, many other young boys that he had been abused. So, yeah. That's it's a little bit of that.

Kevin Chang: 22:09

And I mean, we set have to say like, thank you both for sharing it because you know, you're not alone. Right. There have been many, many people many people, even in the fitness industry. I mean, I think I heard on a podcast a couple of years ago about Sean T who's very famous in beach body. You know, the experiences that he went through as a, as a kid. And so sharing it. Helps others know that they're not alone as well. And and you can help so many people. And then the courage to go ahead and face. You know, I mean, I, I can't, I can't even imagine the difficulty that, that must've been, how difficult a situation that must've been, but to do that in order to protect others from ever being put into that situation again, I mean, Thank you to you and thank you to you for sharing the story. I mean, I think it's just, just incredible.

Jaime Lopez: 23:01

Incredible. Thank you, Kevin. Yeah. I, I know that, you know, I know that now I know that now, and that's why I do what I do is because yeah, the, the, the, that my story is is there, there's so many other people out there. I want them to just break their silence basically. And that kind of ties into the organization that, that I you know, I volunteer with is called breaking the silence. And there's so much power in, in, in us being able to share our stories and to be able to empower others, to share their stories. And that's yeah.

Kevin Chang: 23:38

Talk to us about the organization because. Even as we, you know, got started chatting last year and talking, there are even a couple of races that was raising money for a couple of organizations that you're that you're a part of, or that you believe strongly in. So talk to us a little bit about these organizations.

Jaime Lopez: 23:55

Yeah. Yeah. So breaking the silence, they were hosting that walk the children event in which you know, I spoke and after I had. At that event, like they, you know, contacted me and they wanted me to basically, you know, be a part of their like board and, and help facilitate, you know, events. The, the speak for the children event is, is really that's, that's like the main event that they, they really host unfortunately, you know, due to the COVID restrictions and all. Kind of put all those plans on hold, but yeah, we had a virtual run for the children events as well. And yeah, I mean, it's, it's an organization, the founder herself she, she's a wonderful, wonderful individual. Her name is Dakota Dracony and. Her story is wow. It, it really, it moves, moves, moves the heart, for sure. So yeah, I, I just believe in, in, in that. You know, the Sur survivors of of sexual abuse to come forward, share their stories know that there's many, many of us out there that are willing to help and be supportive and yeah. But yeah,

Kevin Chang: 25:07

and yeah, I mean, we thank you again for. The incredible story. I know kosha, I know we had a little bit of technical difficulty on your behalf, but I know that you've heard the story before. And and yeah, I mean, w we just can't say enough how appreciative we are. Coming forward. And, you know, I think the story does help so many people and talk to us. I mean, let's see, let's get back to running a little bit. Let's get back into, you know, LA marathon. Let's get back into, you know, I guess where we first met and RaceMob, I know that you were training for triathlon. You were, and you were kicking some serious, but I remember. Hearing the stories about you going a long runs coming back to the track and lapping coach be here a little bit, a time or two. So, I mean, talk to us a little bit about training goals, how you got into the sport of triathlon. First of all, cause not every runner gets into triathlons. And, and yeah.

Jaime Lopez: 26:00

Right on, right on. Well, you know, one of my like lifelong goals is to be an iron man, triathlon, a triathlete. I remember being like eight years old and watching, you know, the Ironman triathlon world championships in Kona, Hawaii, and just seeing. Athletes and thinking to myself, like, yeah, that right there, I'm going to do that one day. And so it's always been like in my mind of, of, of doing it. Yeah. I think it just naturally progressed as I got more and more into running and more and more into live events and the feeling that you get and the people that you meet, it's a, it's incredible.

Kevin Chang: 26:44

If you like our podcast and sign up for our newsletter, where we give you weekly tips on how to run your best race and have fun in the process, just go to RaceMob dot com and sign up today. You just go marathon, army. Yeah. I mean, it's like, there's no

Bertrand Newson: 27:00

easing into anything right off the diving board, right into the deep, deep into the pool. Yeah.

Kevin Chang: 27:06

See, this is going to be bad. Water is going to be like, oh man. Yeah,

Bertrand Newson: 27:10

I'm running across America. Everybody

Kevin Chang: 27:12

swimming across the ocean here. So.

Jaime Lopez: 27:14

Oh man. Ooh. But let me see, I'll share a little bit of how I met Coach "B" and I was doing my local marathon is the two cities marathon here in Fresno and Clovis. And. Again, I didn't quite trained for this properly. You would think that after doing without one set, I wouldn't do it again, but yeah, I didn't quite train for it properly. And I just told myself like, Hey, I'd done this before. Do it again. And I saw on the day of the race, I saw, you know, this big dude wearing this Taji 100 t-shirt I was like a hundred. I was like, man, a hundred miles. I don't know if I can do that. And then I saw Jackie who she was also wearing a Taji 100 t-shirt and then Becky who she had the pacer t-shirt for the two cities marathon, and they were kind of hanging out together. And I was like, ah, they, they must be like a team or something like that. And so throughout the race I saw each and every single one of them I was trying to keep up with Jackie, but she, she was in a whole, she, the whole new league, I was nowhere near. It was no where near that. So, and then I, I saw Coach "B" like all throughout the race. Cause. Sometimes we would like the course loops, so we would kinda crisscross each other and he is always so positive, so energetic and like giving high fives and giving words of encouragement to other runners. And I'm sure somewhere along the way, you know, he, he pointed at me and he was like, good job. Doing great work over there. I was like, okay. Yeah. Even though I don't feel like it, but okay. And then let me see somewhere around like mile 20, 21 or something. I ran with Becky for like, maybe about a half a mile or something like that. And. She just, you know, I told her I was, I can't, I can't keep up. And she's like, just, you'll conserve your energy, you know, on that uphill. And you know, you'll, you'll be all right. And then I'm, I'm chugging along that uphill. And I see be, you know, running on the downhill section of it and, and yeah, that, that was the point where you're like, Hey, you know, you're doing a great job over there. I'm like, okay. And then. This big dude, you know, from comes up from behind me at one point and he's like, come on, man, let's go. And he gives me a high five and it felt like a jolt of lightning just went through my body and I had just sprout wings or something. And it did not feel as if though I was running it didn't it was not me. It was something else that was just carrying me to the finish line. And there's not a lot of talking going on between Coach "B" and I, in that, in that moment, it's just mostly me trying to try to keep up and, and be like, coaching me along the way. You know, I looked over at him and I was like water and he's like, yes, you know, get some water rehydrate, take some deep breaths.

Bertrand Newson: 30:17

Timeout, timeout. Let me chime in here a little bit. All right. Color in between the

Jaime Lopez: 30:21

lines. So yeah. I saw you on the race course as did Jackie

Bertrand Newson: 30:26

as did Rebecca. And we noticed you for a couple of reasons.

Jaime Lopez: 30:30

Okay.

Bertrand Newson: 30:30

First for the obvious Hey, you look like you're probably your local and then the gear. I mean, you had on the Bermuda shorts, they look like running shoes, maybe not marathons. I thought it was missing this kid's first race because outside of the gear, we know you had. But you are definitely leaking oil. Okay. You were in, looked like you were in the pancake. And on the, on the ascent, on the hill, I thought maybe can anyone run reverse? Cause like, you know, someone's, I've done, you're going to slip back slip backwards. And they're like, okay, I've been in his shoes before because the weak part two, I was running in Washington, DC in the Marine Corps marathon. So we had a lot in common. I was hurting too. So I was looking to. Give a little bit of love and DAP and positive energy to you and you gave it right back to me. And you're right there. Weren't a whole lot of words exchanged because I didn't know if you knew English, because all I heard from you was until the finish. I said, wow, he probably didn't know English. I didn't have no idea until like weeks later when we reconnect. But it was one of the most profound like four and a half mile stretches of the marathon, but had ever done because there were, you know, no words spoken. There was just an understanding, a fellowship, a bomb. Kinship. It happened from the first point our, our fist met and it was really stride for stride step for step rep for rep. And when we crossed that finish line, we're both completely spent. And I think probably one of the best finishing photos you and I ever had. I mean, the photographer captured the exact moment in there. If a picture was worth a thousand words, it was those pitches and we'll have to share it with the, with our, our family when we publish this. Profound. And it caused both of us. Cause we, we didn't exchange numbers or, you know, Instagram, nothing like that. Shook hands and I thought it was a really cool experience, but I knew that it was kind of an unfinished loop. So we eventually did reconnect via Facebook, I believe because that. Taken by a local newspaper was published. And I think either you got my name or vice versa, we searched each other up via social media, then sent a private message. And here we are four years, almost four years to the day. So good stuff. But I didn't even know if you knew English because all I heard was. Uh,

Jaime Lopez: 32:56

Oh man. But yeah, co coach definitely. He, he coached me to that finish line and those were really some, some fantastic photos. And I think that that really meeting you Coach it, it really kind of changed things for me.' cause I was, I'm still kind of like a lone Wolf. Most of my training has just, you know, by myself, but now after, you know, connecting with you and then meeting the two legit crew, I felt like, whoa, there's wait. There's more of us out here that. They're out here running and, you know, busting our butts and doing you know, doing these ridiculous miles. And yeah, you invited me over to, I believe it was the San Juan Baltista it was the double road race and you invited me it might, it might have been maybe like the following. To to that event. And that's where I met, you know was Eric, I don't think Eric was there. It was, it was Ben that's right. It was band. It was Jackie. It was who else was there? I think it was Luke was Luke. Yeah. Luke was there. And then just the whole, a whole bunch of the crew from, from to budget and yeah, you, you guys welcomed me from. From the get-go and you were like, oh yeah, we remember those shorts.

Bertrand Newson: 34:13

I guess that was a tip that you were a triathlete. Cause you're wearing a look like denim, swim trunks. If there's anything that exists. There were your signature card though. I mean, that's, you know, you ran, I think the your first Quiksilver, 50 ultra marathon, 50 K in those shorts.

Jaime Lopez: 34:27

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That was that's that's another, that's another good experience right there where Coach kinda calls me up with like maybe about a week, a week's notice or something like that. And you're like, Hey, you know, the crews are getting together for this, you know, 50 K on a come through and I'm like, oh, okay. I've never done a 50 K, but let's let's, let's get it well, but, but yeah, that, that. And just this whole, this whole ride, his whole journey that I've been on has been, it's been amazing. I've, I've met so many people and yeah, I w I wouldn't have been able to do that. Had I not. Taking that first step and yeah, Coach cannabis. That's what it's all about.

Kevin Chang: 35:10

And I mean, I think the incredible thing is we don't even have to live in the same zip code, you know, I mean, Fresno is fairly far from San Jose and the way virtual events are happening and virtual communication, I mean, we feel like you're a part of the family, just as much as anybody who's nearby and that's incredible. And we can go. These events now that live events are all up and open and, and be able to say hi to people that we've only seen virtually or only online, or, you know, haven't seen in months and months and months. So it's incredible. It's, it's absolutely incredible. So what are you training for? Hi, may I know that you're training for Ironman. I think that the, the house and, you know, the thrills of homeownership, trust me, I'm going through the thrills of homeownership right now or the, the yeah, the fallbacks that is home ownership a bit. But I know that that derailed your training for a little bit. Are you looking to train for something? Do you have something on the calendar? Are you looking to do something in 2021 or 2022?

Jaime Lopez: 36:07

You know not right now, not, not, not anytime soon. This is kinda like my off season. Recently did the. Oh, is this the shaver lake triathlon, which was really grueling. It was really, really tough. Or the elevation kind of mess me up. I wasn't really prepared for that. And then I paced with the two legit crew at the San Jose rock and roll. And that was, that was a lot of fun. Definitely a lot of fun, but yeah, I guess my next big event would be iron man, California, but that would be next year. I know a few of our fitness crew, they were scheduled to, to compete in that event. But you know, the weather just was not cooperating. So yeah, looking forward to, to that one and you know, a few, I bowling a few races, like the what is that one? The mountains to the beach is that in Ventura kind of eyeballing that one and then. Yeah, I think that would be, that would be a good you know, lead up to, to the iron man. And let me see here. Anything, I have this local race that's in January, it's a 10 miler called windshield Cole, and I'm probably going to start kicking out my training for that. And then slowly, slowly progress throughout 2022 and, and build up to that iron man. Cause that's really. That's been like the main goal for, for a long time now, is that, is that iron man?

Kevin Chang: 37:32

Well, when is that iron man and where is it?

Jaime Lopez: 37:35

It should be October 20, 22. It was supposed to be October 20, 21, but again, yeah, the weather was just not, not cooperating. Well, yeah. Yeah. Coach had definitely. Man. I, I cannot, I cannot thank him enough for the past year of being able to coach me and giving me, you know, plans to, you know, knock out these workouts and checking in on me on a bi-weekly basis. And yeah, just being able to connect with coach, like I can totally see Kevin. Like you started the RaceMob podcast. Cause I remember those very first, early episodes, like you were like, yeah. I just wanted it to connect with you. Be like, yeah. He's special guys, especially dude, for sure. I remember it was right around, I think it was the first time they did the California coast 500. That was right around when the RaceMob podcast first kind of started and. Those 500 miles. Like I had you Kevin and you coach in my ears pretty much the entire way. So you guys definitely helped me help me get through that one.

Bertrand Newson: 38:44

And you did, I mean, you, you log a lot of miles in a short amount of time. I believe. The, the, the guidelines for that event were upwards of three months to complete the 500 miles. And you did it. And what a month?

Jaime Lopez: 38:57

It was like six weeks. Yeah. It's like yeah, I think I was averaging something like 12 point something, 12 point something miles per day. It was, it was something. It was pretty brutal. I mean, my legs were really tight after those 500 miles, but, well.

Bertrand Newson: 39:12

I'm sure our audience is going to look forward to you getting back to your training for the California Ironman in 2022, I believe October of next year. You'll be ready. It was good. Seeing your journey for the first year, half Ironman. And he did a virtual triathlon, which he got surprised doing. I think that the run segment of that, but yeah, good stuff, man. Very, very proud of you. And we certainly appreciate all the support you've given Kevin and I, especially as we started out the podcast and it's great to go full circle and have you on as our guests. And we really appreciate you for sharing your story and being a voice for others and running with. And we look forward to you crossing the finish line and sharing your journey with others as well.

Kevin Chang: 39:53

This is great catching up and we will have you back again. And I know that this is just the beginning of, of our long and amazing friendships. So thank you again so much for all the support and everything.

Jaime Lopez: 40:03

Well, thank you guys. Appreciate it.

Kevin Chang: 40:06

Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the RaceMob podcast. Check out all of the show notes or find a running buddy online at RaceMob dot com. Please subscribe to us on apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcasts and leave us a review until next time. Keep on