WATER QUEST
Los Alamos lifeguard uses Sharkfest Swim to bring attention to northern NM health threats
About two-thirds of the way through his 1.5-mile swim from Alcatraz to a beach near San Francisco, Los Alamos lifeguard Nathan Romero had to stop while other Sharkfest Swim contestants swam on.
He had swallowed a lot of salt water and the waves were making him ill during the June event. The brief rest gave Española native Romero, 37, a chance to see the big picture.
There was the glittering city, the beautiful bay and his young family waiting for him on the shore.
“I thought, ‘this is so beautiful,’ and I’ve got the best view in the house,” he said.
He swam to the shore. His time was 49 minutes and 32 seconds.
Romero is swimming with purpose. Back in northern New Mexico, there are worse predators than sharks at work, including cancer, diabetes and the fatality of drug addiction, he said.
Both his mom and his sister have survived bouts with cancer. He wore a pink cap signed by well-wishers in their honor. A sister of his fiancé died of longterm drug addiction within a few weeks of Romero’s return to Española from the San Francisco Bay swim.
“I’m swimming to bring awareness to the cancer, and addiction. And I have diabetes,” Romero said.
Open water swimming conditions are tough to come by in land-locked New Mexico, but Romero pulled it off. He took his first open water swim to earn a merit badge as a 14-year-old Boy Scout at Conchas Lake. To train for the Sharkfest event, friends took him out on a boat to Abiquiu Lake in May — with a water temperature of 62 degrees — and he swam for about an hour. Without a wet suit.
“When I jumped in, it hit me right here. I felt like I got punched in the chest,” he said.
Training since December also included workouts at the Olympic-sized pool in Los Alamos where Romero works. The pool at the Aquatic Center is reported to be the highest altitude pool in North America, at 7,240 feet above sea level, according to the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corp.
The 10,000 yards a week Romero put in at the pool, along with his work as a swimming instructor and lifeguard duties, helped his sea level swim, he said.
And, one other “little” motivation: his 24-month-old son, Kaiden Maxx Romero.
“He’s a few months older than Michael Phelps’ little boy. I want him to be inspired, to be fit and to know he can do anything,” said his dad.
In the rush during final registration, Romero, who was listed under his first name Gilbert, was listed among the 40to 44-year-olds. He swam in a wet suit.
Another swimmer from northern New Mexico also swam in the event, Daniel Preston of Los Alamos. Preston and Romero met on the boat that brought swimmers to the water near Alcatraz, Romero said. Because of birds’ nesting on the island, no one was allowed on it. The island is also the site of a former prison.
Swimmers and organizers congregated in the water near the island before the start of the race. The water temperature was 57 degrees and swimmers received directions on avoiding a rip tide. Romero said he and Preston talked about staying on the boat until the last possible minute, to keep out of the cold water as long as possible, but that strategy included other challenges.
“When we got out and got to the starting point, I was behind a bunch of people — I got kicked in the face quite a bit,” Romero said.
He didn’t see any sharks — just sea lions the size of cars.
Romero’s fiancé and mother to Kaiden Maxx, Raylyne Lujan, said she thought Romero’s “wild idea” of an open water swim in San Francisco was one that would pass.
“I thought he was crazy,” she said. Then, she saw his passion. He put his mind to it, focused on diet and workouts, and plotted a training schedule.
“I saw a whole different side of him. He’s passionate about swimming and I knew that, but he went bigger,” she said.
Lujan is also the mom of 11-year-old David.
Romero’s drive to bring awareness to the deadly drug epidemic is close to home. Lujan said her sister started using opioids after a car wreck she described as a “fender bender,” and then turned to heroin, methadone and finally alcohol.
“Being from Española, this epidemic has taken a toll on our valley. Our children are dying. This has touched every family,” she said.
Like so many families, they struggled to find help. The addiction was unrelenting.
“In the last year of her life, she drank herself to death,” Lujan said.
To keep shining a light on the threats to health and behavioral health surrounding him, Romero plans more open water swims.
Next year, if he can raise the funds, he wants to swim in the Liberty Sharkfest swim between Manhattan and the island where the Statue of Liberty stands.
And, in a few more years, “I want to swim the English Channel,” he said.