2011 champ Oswaldo López has unfinished Badwater business

When Oswaldo López entered last year’s Badwater 135 Ultramarathon he believed he was ready for the redesigned course.

He was wrong.

The 43-year-old dropped out after 80 miles.

Since his first race at Badwater in 2009, López had finished in the top three every year (winning in 2011 and finshing the endurance race’s runner-up in 2009, ’10 and ’12).

The feeling of defeat hurt, but López didn’t blame the new course. He blamed himself.

“135 miles isn’t easy. They changed the course for everybody, but I didn’t pay attention to detail. I was left without energy and couldn’t give it 100%,” López said in Spanish. “I didn’t do well, but I’ve learned from it.”

Before last year’s edition, Death Valley National Park got a new superintendent who suspended all athletic events inside the park to conduct safety assessments. Badwater race officials re-routed the 135-mile course entirely outside of park boundaries. That change, however, also made the “world’s toughest race” even tougher, with front-heavy climbs and steep descents. The course went from its traditional route of cumulative vertical ascent of 13,000 feet and 4,700 feet of cumulative descent to over 17,000 and 12,700.

The suspension is over and this year’s Nutrimatix Badwater 135 will return to its namesake starting inside Death Valley, with one compromise: Runners will now start at 8 p.m. Tuesday, instead of 8 a.m., in the first of three waves every 90 minutes. The wave for elite runners (including López) is at 11 p.m.

López has trained year-round in hopes of a strong return to Badwater, especially after last year’s failed attempt.

“That has motivated me the most of anything,” he said. “There are a lot of people who help me every day to become a better runner: my family, my friends, sponsors. I’ve become more determined and I know I have the courage to finish this year. I’m going to finish that race. I have to go and fight for a good performance.”

He’s on the right track, winning each of his previous four long-distance races leading up to Badwater.

In November he won the first-ever San Joaquin River Trail 50-50 Ultra, finishing the 50-mile course in 7 hours, 36 minutes and 45 seconds. He then tackled two 100-mile races: Florida’s Iron Horse Ultra (15:58:56) in February and the Born To Run Ultra in Los Olivos (17:10) two and a half months ago. In June, he won the Shadow of the Giants 50K (3:54:14) in Fish Camp for the second year in a row.

During the week, he’ll run anywhere between 40 minutes to upwards of two hours in Madera. That’s after working 10- to 11-hour workdays as a chemical worker and stopping at home to eat dinner with wife Rosalba and daughters Nicole, 17, and Leilani, 6.

The weekends are devoted to longer runs and elevation training. He’ll drive into the moutains before sunrise, often with friends, and run 40, 50 or 60 miles, sometimes inside Yosemite National Park or Sequoia and Kings Canyon.

Born a runner

The second oldest of four children to Jesús Nava Gutierrez and Juliana López Flores, López was born Dec. 22, 1971, in the small town of Chiquilistlán, nestled in the mountains about 50 miles southwest of Guadalajara, Mexico.

It was there he grew up a natural runner before relocating to the San Joaquin Valley.

“We didn’t have many sports when I was a kid,” López said. “We lived in the mountains and we walked everywhere. Running is something we did for fun.”

López kept running but it wasn’t until 2005 when he ran his first marathon.

Two years later, he crewed for Jorge Pacheco at Badwater and enjoyed the experience of helping his friend through the searing heat of Death Valley. Pacheco, who was named one of two North American Ultrarunners of the Year in 2008 by UItraRunning Magazine, noticed López’s talent during those two years and encouraged him to give Badwater a go.

He’s hasn’t really stopped since, but more than anything it’s his attitude that makes him memorable.

“He’s a true sportsman,” Badwater race director Chris Kostman said. “Yes, he’s a super-competitive runner and always adds a competitive spirit to the race. But, honestly, it’s his character and enthusiasm which impress me and the race field most.”

Recognizable by his bright, wide smile framed by a thin black mustache and goatee, López is often giving a thumbs-up and exchanging words of motivation to other runners.

From spending time with his family in their Madera home, to working in environmental construction or his weekend gig as a musician with Mariachi De La Tierra, to crossing paths with him halfway into a training run to the top of Shuteye Peak, López has nailed the glass half-full approach.

“I’ve chosen everything in my life,” he said. “That itself motivates me to keep going.”

The race

A lot of organizing also takes place to ensure he stays healthy while running 135 miles in California’s most grueling conditions (temperatures in Furnace Creek are forecast above 113).

López will receive the help of four friends on his official race crew — Carlos Vasquez, Winston Fletcher, Conrado Ramirez and Ariel Rodriguez.

They will pace López, keep him cool with cold towels and by spraying him with water while he runs. They’ll monitor his fluids and electrolytes to make sure they’re at balanced levels throughout the race. But also, they’ll keep an eye on one another.

“The biggest thing is not just keeping him healthy, but ourselves healthy because we’re in the elements as well,” said Fletcher, who paced López at the Iron Horse 100 in his home state of Florida. “There’s going to be points in the race where everyone struggles. Once, twice, maybe more. But we’ll go for our biggest goal, which is to get Oswaldo across the finish line.”

López also has sponsors, like Sole 2 Soul of Fresno, which provides him with multiple pairs of running shoes each year, and gets endless support from friends, family and other runners all over the Internet.

But none of it goes without appreciation from López, who is almost constantly saying, “Thank you.”

For the past several years, López has also raised money and awareness for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. All of these things will be on his mind as he pumps his legs across the California desert in his seventh quest at Badwater.

“They all push me and help me focus on the main goal of finishing,” López said. “This race has brought me a lot of beautiful memories. I’ve made friends from all over the world and we stay in touch and always motivate each other. It’s full of positive energy.”

“As long as I have the support, I’ll keep coming back.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2015 at 4:47 PM with the headline "2011 champ Oswaldo López has unfinished Badwater business."