Name: William Lopez

Born: December 23, 1958

Hometown: Weaver

Marital Status: Married

Twenty questions

Where were you born?

I was born in New York City and grew up in Manhattan.

Where do you live now?

I live in Weaver.

What is your wife's name and how did you two meet?
Marina Lopez, We met at Fort McClellan  we were both in the military.

Can you tell us about your family members (wife, kids, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, etc...?

 My brother and sister currently live in New York City, My parents currently are living in Ashville. I have 3 children Angelo 26 was in the military and is currently working at the depot, Ricky 19 and is going to school at the university of south Alabama, Stephanie 17 is attending Weaver H.S.

From New York to Alabama...Can you explain?

As a child I enjoyed living in New York.  We played stick ball and handball on the streets.  As a teenager I worked on Time Square delivering food to some of the offices located in that area.  I worked on Wall Street doing the same thing. I use to go to the world trade center every day.  I attended St. Francis Xavier Elementary before graduating from Manhattan Technical School in 1976.  After graduating high school I joined the Army.  I was stationed in Germany for about 3 1/2 years where I worked as a construction engineer.  In April of 1979, I transferred to Ft. McClellan.

How long did you stay in the service?
I was in active duty in the Army for 7 years.  I joined the National Guard after that and retired from duty a few years back.  I was a construction inspector when I retired.

How long have you been a runner?
 I've been a runner for most of my life.

How/when did you learn of the Anniston Runners?

What was your first race?
One of my first races was the Dragons Run on Fort McClellan.

What is/was your favorite race?
One of my favorite races is the Depot run. (Making Tracks 5K)

Are there any races/records/accomplishments that you are particularly proud of?
I was very proud of running the New York Marathon in 2001.  Daley and I put a lot of training time into that race and we had a wonderful time running it. The Mount Mist trail run has to be a race that I will always remember.  It took every ounce of energy that I could muster to complete it.  Making a wrong turn and adding extra distance to a 50k was almost to much to bear.

The 1,000,000 dollar question: Do you love to win, or hate lose?
I do enjoy winning.

What are your PR times?
I am not sure.  I think it was 19:56 or something.  I know it was somewhere under 20:00 minutes in several races.

What is the longest distance you have ever run at one time?
The longest run I've done is Mount Mist 50k plus (missed turn)

How many marathons have you run?
 I have run two Marathons.  The New York City marathon in 2001 and the Rocket City marathon.

Do you have a favorite running song?
My favorite running song is the one from Rocky.

What do you eat before a race and what do you eat after running?
I usually eat a peanut butter sandwich before a race, and whatever is available after ( Fast food, pizza,)

Do you like to travel?  (if so, where have been your favorite places to visit?)
Yes, I enjoyed traveling in the military. When I was stationed in Europe I would take as many trips as I could.  I have been anywhere from Spain to Austria, Holland to France. I have also traveled to central America on a couple of occasions.  My favorite place to visit would be Spain.

What are your other hobbies besides running?
I like riding my bike and enjoy triathlons.  I have also competed in several Adventure races.

What are some of your favorite running memories?
I will always remember the New York Marathon and some of the races we did in Florida and Gulf Shores.  I have enjoyed a lot of the trips we took as a group not only running but mountain bike races, Triathlon, etc..

If you won a 10 million dollar lottery, what would you buy first?
I would really be in shock if I won the lottery, since I never play. I really don't know what I would do.  I really enjoy helping people so I would probably do a lot more of that.  By the way, we are doing a mission trip to Biloxi in April to help repair some homes.  If anyone is interested I will be doing the electrical repairs, and they need all types of skills.

What tomorrow brings

We bid farewell to our April spotlight runner with two final questions:

What are your future athletic goals?

Do you have any advice for beginning runners?

If I was beginning runner I would set my goals short range and long range. I would set my goals early and enjoy every moment reaching them.