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Featured Guest:
Frankie Ruiz Chief Running Officer, Life Time Co-Founder, Life Time Miami Marathon Founder, Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike Coach, Belen Jesuit Prep School Published Date: April 9, 2026 In this episode of Wisdom for Wannabes, host Jackie Morreale sits down with Frankie Ruiz, Chief Running Officer of Life Time, co-founder of the Life Time Miami Marathon, and founder of the world's largest run club, the Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike. A lifelong Miamian and leader in endurance sports, Frankie shares the story behind building one of the city’s most beloved athletic traditions and the community that surrounds it. Frankie reflects on leadership, resilience through challenges like COVID, what makes Miami’s running culture unique, the power of showing up consistently for others, and the lessons endurance sports can teach us about life and purpose. |
Listen to/watch the full podcast recording, or read the transcript below:
Full Interview with Frankie Ruiz:
"The moment isn't the finish line or the race itself. The lesson and experience are everything that led to it."
- Frankie Ruiz (Wisdom for Wannabes episode 46, 10:32)
Great quotes from the interview:
(More great quotes throughout the transcript in blue below.)
- "No two events are ever the same.”
- “The moment isn’t the race or the finish line—it’s everything that led to it.”
- “You can’t ask someone to do a job you haven’t done yourself.”
- “Running should be something you celebrate, not something you’re punished with.”
- “The most emotional moment in the Life Time Miami Marathon is the next one.”
(More great quotes throughout the transcript in blue below.)
Frankie Ruiz
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Key Takeaways:
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Frankie Ruiz at Shakeout Run727 in Miami Beach, FL
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Frankie Ruiz speaking at an event in Miami, FL
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Interview Transcript:
Jackie Morreale (00:00)
Hello and welcome to Wisdom for Wannabes, the podcast that seeks wise words in business, beauty, and betterment. I'm the host, Jackie Morreale. Today's guest is someone who has quite literally been at the starting line of millions of dreams.
Frankie Ruiz is the Chief Running Officer of Life Time, the co-founder of Life Time Miami Marathon, the founder of the world's largest running club, the Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike, as well as a coach to many young athletes at Belen Jesuit Prep School.
But beyond the titles, beyond the races, beyond the finish lines, Frankie is a builder of community, a culture creator, a believer in movement as a force for connection. I personally looked up to Frankie since the first time I ran one of his races, which was the Life Time Miami Marathon back in 2005, and I can't believe that was already 20 something years ago.
Frankie Ruiz (00:51)
You have that shirt?
Jackie Morreale (00:52)
I wish I could find it, man. I would have been wearing it.
Frankie Ruiz (00:56)
I think it was cotton. Maybe it was.
Jackie Morreale (01:02)
Maybe, but it was amazing, even back then.
I've seen you at starting lines and weekly roundups, consistently showing up for runners at every level, even the slow-and-steady ones like me. He's been a steady presence in the running world now for over two decades and shaping the endurance culture in Miami and very far beyond.
Frankie Ruiz, welcome to Wisdom for Wannabes. It's such a pleasure to have you today.
Frankie Ruiz (01:20)
Thank you, Jackie. Thanks for the intro and probably introduced me much better than most people would.
Jackie Morreale (01:25)
That's very sweet. Well, I'm just going to add some hardware to that intro. Thank you so much for this. This was a major thing that happened to me very recently was completing your race, the Life Time Miami Marathon.
Frankie Ruiz (01:38)
Congrats! That metal looks good on you.
Jackie Morreale (01:39)
Thank you so much. Thank you for everything you do. Let's go right into the questions?
Frankie Ruiz (01:43)
Let's do it.
Jackie Morreale (01:44)
For those of us who may be meeting you for the first time: Can you please share your full name, where you're from, and in your own words, what you do?
Frankie Ruiz (01:49)
Sure. I was born and raised in Miami, a lifelong Miamian, and have never left for more than a couple of weeks at a time. My full name is Frankie Ruiz. I'm better known as the co-founder of the Life Time Miami Marathon.
What I do now on a regular basis is a little bit of that, and a lot of other things that have attached themselves throughout the 26 years of organizing that particular race. Most of it includes race production and event marketing. Then coaching is probably my favorite part of my day. I also coach at a high school, and every so often, I help adults here and there. Help my wife from time to time.
It's a full ecosystem that I'm part of, and that's pretty much what I do on a daily basis. Another small part of my life, which has now become a big part, is other events besides running... everything from producing a New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Miami for 50,000 people to a HYROX event to what is now going to be an ATHX event in March. Plus Halloween events.
The live event world has become part of my ecosystem beyond running events.
Jackie Morreale (02:52)
My gosh. When exactly did you get your feet wet in the events world? Was it 25 years ago, you said?
Frankie Ruiz (02:59)
No. So I'm 47 years old. I put that out there.
Jackie Morreale (03:01)
I didn't mean to do that math, by the way.
Frankie Ruiz (03:05)
No, that's fine. I feel like I'm 20, so it's okay.
I actually had my first taste of what an event was right after Hurricane Andrew. It was roughly 1993. I must've been a freshman in high school, if I remember correctly. I produced a Halloween haunted house in front of my parents' house. I realized that I wanted to do that ‘chaos’ in creating live events for people. I never looked back after that.
Jackie Morreale (03:31)
Man, to be there to see your Halloween back then.
Frankie Ruiz (03:34)
A thousand people. It went on for years.
We actually had a thousand people lined up in front of my parents' house just before nightfall because it became so popular in the neighborhood. This was before Halloween Horror Nights and everything else that happens at Universal Studios.
We would block the road for several weeks, build out this haunted house in front of a few garages, in front of single-family homes out in Lakes of the Meadows, if anybody's listening who's from there.
Jackie Morreale (03:56)
My gosh. You guys still do this on Halloween every year?
Frankie Ruiz (04:00)
No, I retired from that. People still knock at my parents' house. I don't live there now, but they still knock at my parents' house during Halloween, asking about the haunted house. It went on for maybe eight to 10 years. It free event and we were on the cover of The Herald.
It was quite the event production for a bunch of kids in high school. I would do it with all the neighborhood kids.
Jackie Morreale (04:24)
I've been to your events before, so I know you can't even compare any events to Frankie Ruiz events. Your operational excellence is amazing. From the second you get your registration email to all the metal unveiling events, to the VIP stuff, to the second you get to the starting line.
I could only imagine what your high school Halloween bash looked like for those 10 years.
Frankie Ruiz (04:50)
We've come a long way. Come on, we probably still make some of the same mistakes. We're not perfect. They're live events, so you're depending on a lot of different things, from the weather to a number of things that happen out there. To anybody who's been to my events and may think otherwise, because I appreciate all the nice things you said, Jackie, I'd say we're still working on all our events. They're never perfect.
Jackie Morreale (04:54)
Every day's a new day, right?
What is your favorite part of your role, if you have one, and what is your passion?
Frankie Ruiz (05:17)
It's that it's never the couple of weeks leading up to whatever race, even the Life Time Miami Marathon.
People are like, 'What's new this year?'
I'm like, 'Everything'.
They're like, 'What do you mean? Isn’t it the same course? It's more or less the same metal, isn't it?'
I'm like, 'No, everything is new.'
Then they said, 'Well, why?'
I said, 'Because we're talking about the Life Time Miami Marathon, 18,500 runners.’
I'd say 70 % of those have never run the Life Time Miami Marathon. So, it's new. It's new just because those people are doing it.
Not to mention, the city doesn't stop changing. Although it might be the same route, you're dealing with a new building, a new driveway, an expanded roadway, a roadway under a new name… it changes. Personalities change, cops change, and fire & rescue changes.
I guess what I like the most is that no two events, despite them being annual events, are the same. Every day is different.
Jackie Morreale (06:02)
What about running for you? Do you ever get a chance to run, putting all these events together? I know that you are an elite athlete yourself.
Frankie Ruiz (06:08)
Elite. I appreciate you calling me an elite athlete. You could have stopped at an ‘athlete’.
Jackie Morreale (06:11)
No, an elite athlete. You always lead the charge. So, do you find time for running nowadays? Why was running at the core of this?
Frankie Ruiz (06:16)
I don't run as much as I'd like to run. Most of my running I do together with the high school team that I coach. I'll run with them, or I try to stay with a few of them, usually towards the back these days. That's where I get most of my running done.
Every couple of years, I'll pick a marathon or two to do and just grab ideas from. The last one I did was New York. But I'd be lying to you if I said I'd raced on a regular basis.
I am producing races about 22 weekends a year. If you do the math, that leaves you less than half the year. If I'm not producing the race, I'm coaching kids through a race. That leaves very few weekends.
Those who follow Miami's running season know that our season is only about eight and a half months long because it gets so hot out there. There aren't many races in the summer when I'm trained and better suited to race. So, I don't run a lot unless I'm traveling.
Jackie Morreale (07:11)
You probably really enjoy those non-event, 30-something weekends out of the year? Well deserved.
In terms of the events, the community building, was there something that you learned later in the game that you wish that you had known back then when you started?
Frankie Ruiz (07:25)
I wish I had known that running would be this popular. That's probably one of the things I learned the most. Besides all the life lessons along the way, and working with people.
I wish I had seen the bend in the road. I wish I had known that after COVID, things were really going to blow up the way they have blown up.
I've learned that for an event to be successful, much like any company, it needs people who actually care beyond the nuts and bolts of the event.
I appreciate now, looking back, all the people who touched the Life Time Miami Marathon and cared for it in the early days. I wish I had realized how much that mattered back then. I had a hunch, but I think now looking back, I should have appreciated that even more.
(Continued below)
Hello and welcome to Wisdom for Wannabes, the podcast that seeks wise words in business, beauty, and betterment. I'm the host, Jackie Morreale. Today's guest is someone who has quite literally been at the starting line of millions of dreams.
Frankie Ruiz is the Chief Running Officer of Life Time, the co-founder of Life Time Miami Marathon, the founder of the world's largest running club, the Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike, as well as a coach to many young athletes at Belen Jesuit Prep School.
But beyond the titles, beyond the races, beyond the finish lines, Frankie is a builder of community, a culture creator, a believer in movement as a force for connection. I personally looked up to Frankie since the first time I ran one of his races, which was the Life Time Miami Marathon back in 2005, and I can't believe that was already 20 something years ago.
Frankie Ruiz (00:51)
You have that shirt?
Jackie Morreale (00:52)
I wish I could find it, man. I would have been wearing it.
Frankie Ruiz (00:56)
I think it was cotton. Maybe it was.
Jackie Morreale (01:02)
Maybe, but it was amazing, even back then.
I've seen you at starting lines and weekly roundups, consistently showing up for runners at every level, even the slow-and-steady ones like me. He's been a steady presence in the running world now for over two decades and shaping the endurance culture in Miami and very far beyond.
Frankie Ruiz, welcome to Wisdom for Wannabes. It's such a pleasure to have you today.
Frankie Ruiz (01:20)
Thank you, Jackie. Thanks for the intro and probably introduced me much better than most people would.
Jackie Morreale (01:25)
That's very sweet. Well, I'm just going to add some hardware to that intro. Thank you so much for this. This was a major thing that happened to me very recently was completing your race, the Life Time Miami Marathon.
Frankie Ruiz (01:38)
Congrats! That metal looks good on you.
Jackie Morreale (01:39)
Thank you so much. Thank you for everything you do. Let's go right into the questions?
Frankie Ruiz (01:43)
Let's do it.
Jackie Morreale (01:44)
For those of us who may be meeting you for the first time: Can you please share your full name, where you're from, and in your own words, what you do?
Frankie Ruiz (01:49)
Sure. I was born and raised in Miami, a lifelong Miamian, and have never left for more than a couple of weeks at a time. My full name is Frankie Ruiz. I'm better known as the co-founder of the Life Time Miami Marathon.
What I do now on a regular basis is a little bit of that, and a lot of other things that have attached themselves throughout the 26 years of organizing that particular race. Most of it includes race production and event marketing. Then coaching is probably my favorite part of my day. I also coach at a high school, and every so often, I help adults here and there. Help my wife from time to time.
It's a full ecosystem that I'm part of, and that's pretty much what I do on a daily basis. Another small part of my life, which has now become a big part, is other events besides running... everything from producing a New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Miami for 50,000 people to a HYROX event to what is now going to be an ATHX event in March. Plus Halloween events.
The live event world has become part of my ecosystem beyond running events.
Jackie Morreale (02:52)
My gosh. When exactly did you get your feet wet in the events world? Was it 25 years ago, you said?
Frankie Ruiz (02:59)
No. So I'm 47 years old. I put that out there.
Jackie Morreale (03:01)
I didn't mean to do that math, by the way.
Frankie Ruiz (03:05)
No, that's fine. I feel like I'm 20, so it's okay.
I actually had my first taste of what an event was right after Hurricane Andrew. It was roughly 1993. I must've been a freshman in high school, if I remember correctly. I produced a Halloween haunted house in front of my parents' house. I realized that I wanted to do that ‘chaos’ in creating live events for people. I never looked back after that.
Jackie Morreale (03:31)
Man, to be there to see your Halloween back then.
Frankie Ruiz (03:34)
A thousand people. It went on for years.
We actually had a thousand people lined up in front of my parents' house just before nightfall because it became so popular in the neighborhood. This was before Halloween Horror Nights and everything else that happens at Universal Studios.
We would block the road for several weeks, build out this haunted house in front of a few garages, in front of single-family homes out in Lakes of the Meadows, if anybody's listening who's from there.
Jackie Morreale (03:56)
My gosh. You guys still do this on Halloween every year?
Frankie Ruiz (04:00)
No, I retired from that. People still knock at my parents' house. I don't live there now, but they still knock at my parents' house during Halloween, asking about the haunted house. It went on for maybe eight to 10 years. It free event and we were on the cover of The Herald.
It was quite the event production for a bunch of kids in high school. I would do it with all the neighborhood kids.
Jackie Morreale (04:24)
I've been to your events before, so I know you can't even compare any events to Frankie Ruiz events. Your operational excellence is amazing. From the second you get your registration email to all the metal unveiling events, to the VIP stuff, to the second you get to the starting line.
I could only imagine what your high school Halloween bash looked like for those 10 years.
Frankie Ruiz (04:50)
We've come a long way. Come on, we probably still make some of the same mistakes. We're not perfect. They're live events, so you're depending on a lot of different things, from the weather to a number of things that happen out there. To anybody who's been to my events and may think otherwise, because I appreciate all the nice things you said, Jackie, I'd say we're still working on all our events. They're never perfect.
Jackie Morreale (04:54)
Every day's a new day, right?
What is your favorite part of your role, if you have one, and what is your passion?
Frankie Ruiz (05:17)
It's that it's never the couple of weeks leading up to whatever race, even the Life Time Miami Marathon.
People are like, 'What's new this year?'
I'm like, 'Everything'.
They're like, 'What do you mean? Isn’t it the same course? It's more or less the same metal, isn't it?'
I'm like, 'No, everything is new.'
Then they said, 'Well, why?'
I said, 'Because we're talking about the Life Time Miami Marathon, 18,500 runners.’
I'd say 70 % of those have never run the Life Time Miami Marathon. So, it's new. It's new just because those people are doing it.
Not to mention, the city doesn't stop changing. Although it might be the same route, you're dealing with a new building, a new driveway, an expanded roadway, a roadway under a new name… it changes. Personalities change, cops change, and fire & rescue changes.
I guess what I like the most is that no two events, despite them being annual events, are the same. Every day is different.
Jackie Morreale (06:02)
What about running for you? Do you ever get a chance to run, putting all these events together? I know that you are an elite athlete yourself.
Frankie Ruiz (06:08)
Elite. I appreciate you calling me an elite athlete. You could have stopped at an ‘athlete’.
Jackie Morreale (06:11)
No, an elite athlete. You always lead the charge. So, do you find time for running nowadays? Why was running at the core of this?
Frankie Ruiz (06:16)
I don't run as much as I'd like to run. Most of my running I do together with the high school team that I coach. I'll run with them, or I try to stay with a few of them, usually towards the back these days. That's where I get most of my running done.
Every couple of years, I'll pick a marathon or two to do and just grab ideas from. The last one I did was New York. But I'd be lying to you if I said I'd raced on a regular basis.
I am producing races about 22 weekends a year. If you do the math, that leaves you less than half the year. If I'm not producing the race, I'm coaching kids through a race. That leaves very few weekends.
Those who follow Miami's running season know that our season is only about eight and a half months long because it gets so hot out there. There aren't many races in the summer when I'm trained and better suited to race. So, I don't run a lot unless I'm traveling.
Jackie Morreale (07:11)
You probably really enjoy those non-event, 30-something weekends out of the year? Well deserved.
In terms of the events, the community building, was there something that you learned later in the game that you wish that you had known back then when you started?
Frankie Ruiz (07:25)
I wish I had known that running would be this popular. That's probably one of the things I learned the most. Besides all the life lessons along the way, and working with people.
I wish I had seen the bend in the road. I wish I had known that after COVID, things were really going to blow up the way they have blown up.
I've learned that for an event to be successful, much like any company, it needs people who actually care beyond the nuts and bolts of the event.
I appreciate now, looking back, all the people who touched the Life Time Miami Marathon and cared for it in the early days. I wish I had realized how much that mattered back then. I had a hunch, but I think now looking back, I should have appreciated that even more.
(Continued below)
Frankie Ruiz for Nike Vomero shoe event at Nike Store in Miami Beach, FL
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Frankie Ruiz with 2024 Life Time Miami Marathon race medals
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(Continued)
Jackie Morreale (08:04)
At what point did you realize that the Life Time Miami Marathon is actually way more than just a race? Was there a certain breakthrough moment?
Frankie Ruiz (08:11)
I did start to feel that, probably about four or five years into the event itself, when I started to realize that people were moving because of it all year long.
Whether that was bumping into somebody who said, 'It changed my life.' I had a few of those, but more so when I would see people out running, and they're wearing the shirt.
I started thinking to myself, this is more than just a single-day event. This event has become part of people's lifestyle.
It became part of the DNA of the city.
I had a call with a homeowner's association, not too happy with the fact that there's noise during the start of the Life Time Miami Marathon.
I can get a sense from all those who were on the call, including the police officers and the politicians, that the race is an institution now. It's part of the DNA of the city.
Not 15-20 years ago, when I would have hated such a call happening, because it would jeopardize the event, and the continuity of the event.
Now I'm just like, alright, we'll work with you. We're not going to make it hell for the residents because we know there's an inconvenience there.
I've also kind of turned over and said, 'This race is part of the city now'.
This is as if you came into Miami and you said, 'You know what? We don't like sand. Let's get rid of the sand now.'
No, the sand makes the city what the city is, you're not going to change that, right?
Jackie Morreale (09:23)
I completely agree. You guys have that last weekend in January covered, right? Last weekend in January is always the Life Time Miami Marathon weekend. That is Frankie Ruiz weekend. We're going to be happy. We're going to make noise. Make sure you're prepared, take an alternative route home, and enjoy it instead of fighting it. That's just me.
Frankie Ruiz (09:33)
Or be part of it. Come out, watch, and be inspired by it.
Jackie Morreale (09:36)
Be part of it. Exactly!
Frankie Ruiz (09:37)
You don't have to be a runner to appreciate it. You don't have to do what somebody else likes to do to appreciate what they do.
Jackie Morreale (09:47)
You don't have to be a runner. Exactly.
There was a time when I stopped running… to have my two little kids. Took a little hiatus, a little pause. I remember just watching people long-distance running, and it is one of the most beautiful things ever. Because every single person has a story. Every single person is motivated and has invested time in the moment they're currently living.
Frankie Ruiz (10:13)
Luckily, you were someone that had already experienced it before you took the break. But the untrained eye that sees a bunch of runners doesn't realize that the moment isn't the moment.
The moment is not the finish line or the race itself.
The lesson and the experience are everything that led to it.
It could be a full year, or 18 weeks. It could be several years, or a whole lifetime.
I think that when you're out there spectating and cheering on runners, if you can just pause and imagine what's going through that person's mind at that moment, it would probably tell you a pretty interesting story.
Jackie Morreale (10:49)
I completely agree. Let's talk about leadership and endurance. What has been your mile 20 moment professionally? I put this in there because for me, that mile 20 moment is where the grit comes out, and you learn about yourself.
Was there a moment like that for you professionally?
Frankie Ruiz (11:05)
It was probably during that COVID period. I think that was a mile 20 moment for every race organizer, every event organizer, where not only your livelihood, but maybe the reason why some of us exist, which was to bring events to others.
Question your purpose.
That's usually what happens around mile 20. You're like, 'Why am I doing this? Why is this happening to me? Why are my legs giving out?'
I think that happened to me around that time.
I can't say it was an exact day, but it certainly was during that period of time. You had to decide whether you were going to stick through this or turn the corner and do something else.
I stuck it out. I believed in it more. In fact, I think that was the answer.
More of what we were doing before COVID is all that we needed to get us through COVID.
Jackie Morreale (11:49)
I can't imagine any other more positive outlet during that time than running and going outside. I'm so happy that you stuck with it, and this is just the 'sand' of Miami, that will always be there for those of us who look forward to it every year.
Do you think that you lead differently now, in a race like the 2026 Life Time Miami Marathon or the 305 Half Marathon, than when you co-founded the Miami Marathon 20 years ago?
Frankie Ruiz (12:13)
I don't; I still believe in leading by example.
Early on, I was like, 'Can't push people to do something I haven't done myself'.
That goes either for the race itself or jobs within the race. I can't turn around and tell anybody on the staff, 'Make sure you're picking up gel packets from the ground,' if I, myself, don't do it.
That's the way I've functioned since the beginning of my career and the beginning of my involvement in events. I can't encourage someone to do something I don't fully understand what it takes to actually do.
I haven't changed in that regard. You can ask the staff; you can ask runners. What I was is probably what I still am. I’m pretty consistent.
Jackie Morreale (12:57)
Love that. I've seen people on your team doing their thing. Everybody has that same vibe. They're willing to pick up gel packets off the floor to do anything that is necessary to have every person participating in your event have a wonderful experience.
Frankie Ruiz (13:11)
Nothing's beneath me or shouldn't be beneath anybody.
Jackie Morreale (13:14)
Let's talk about success. What, in your opinion, defines a successful race or event?
Frankie Ruiz (13:19)
You're never going to produce a perfect event. Everybody's experience, especially in a marathon, is going to be a little different, right? If you finish the race fast and it doesn't get hot, your race will be different from the person who ran six hours.
There's also volunteer fatigue out there. Maybe your water station experience wasn't the same. The energy at the finish line maybe isn't the same. There are a number of things.
It's really difficult to say an event is successful if I measure it by everybody's experience in that event. That being said, I think when an event is done, and you know everything that happened behind the scenes, and there weren't too many fires, and so forth, you can have a good sense of like, 'Alright, that was a good show.'
There are times when you guys know. Jackie, you'll finish the race, and you're like, 'That was amazing.' And we're on the backside saying, 'No, it wasn't... You don't realize how crazy it was to pull this one off for you guys.’
It's going to vary, what we define as a successful race. I think we have a good general sense of it when it's over, a few conversations with a spectrum of people, from the fast to the mid-packers to the back of the pack to the volunteers.
Jackie Morreale (14:17)
I just want to give a shout-out to the volunteers. I love every single one of you. Thank you for the water, the Gatorade, the gel, and the spray on the knees. People who are donating their time, energy, and effort to just smile. Each and every one of them was so excited to be there. I didn't see, as you said, ‘volunteer fatigue’. I didn't see a speck of it. And that was after hours and hours.
Frankie Ruiz (14:35)
That's good.
In Miami, they start earlier than in most cities. Our race starts at 6 a.m. so there's a need for these volunteers to be out there way before the runners get out there. They start their day, for most of them, at about three o'clock in the morning, and they don't get back until you guys are done. It could be one o'clock in the afternoon. They have almost a full 12 hours of being up and working.
Jackie Morreale (14:58)
They do a great job.
What makes Miami so special to you?
Frankie Ruiz (15:02)
Personally, it's special because I was born and raised here. My dad would probably say the same about Miami, even though he wasn't born and raised here, and I'm sure there are a lot of people who can say the same.
As a city, we've got a lot that makes us unique. I haven't experienced the entire world, so I can't really say that there isn't another Miami out there. I'd probably win most bets if someone were to try to prove otherwise.
Miami's pretty unique in a lot of ways beyond just our weather. I'm not specifically talking about the Life Time Miami Marathon itself, but in general, I think our place is ever-changing. It's a place that... I don't want to say trends come out of, but trends are sorted here. I think that's something special about Miami.
I'm going to throw a plug because if not, I wouldn't be consistent. The Everglades make Miami that much more special, to me at least. Our proximity to such an amazing national park is pretty special.
Miami is special. That's it!
(Continued below)
Jackie Morreale (08:04)
At what point did you realize that the Life Time Miami Marathon is actually way more than just a race? Was there a certain breakthrough moment?
Frankie Ruiz (08:11)
I did start to feel that, probably about four or five years into the event itself, when I started to realize that people were moving because of it all year long.
Whether that was bumping into somebody who said, 'It changed my life.' I had a few of those, but more so when I would see people out running, and they're wearing the shirt.
I started thinking to myself, this is more than just a single-day event. This event has become part of people's lifestyle.
It became part of the DNA of the city.
I had a call with a homeowner's association, not too happy with the fact that there's noise during the start of the Life Time Miami Marathon.
I can get a sense from all those who were on the call, including the police officers and the politicians, that the race is an institution now. It's part of the DNA of the city.
Not 15-20 years ago, when I would have hated such a call happening, because it would jeopardize the event, and the continuity of the event.
Now I'm just like, alright, we'll work with you. We're not going to make it hell for the residents because we know there's an inconvenience there.
I've also kind of turned over and said, 'This race is part of the city now'.
This is as if you came into Miami and you said, 'You know what? We don't like sand. Let's get rid of the sand now.'
No, the sand makes the city what the city is, you're not going to change that, right?
Jackie Morreale (09:23)
I completely agree. You guys have that last weekend in January covered, right? Last weekend in January is always the Life Time Miami Marathon weekend. That is Frankie Ruiz weekend. We're going to be happy. We're going to make noise. Make sure you're prepared, take an alternative route home, and enjoy it instead of fighting it. That's just me.
Frankie Ruiz (09:33)
Or be part of it. Come out, watch, and be inspired by it.
Jackie Morreale (09:36)
Be part of it. Exactly!
Frankie Ruiz (09:37)
You don't have to be a runner to appreciate it. You don't have to do what somebody else likes to do to appreciate what they do.
Jackie Morreale (09:47)
You don't have to be a runner. Exactly.
There was a time when I stopped running… to have my two little kids. Took a little hiatus, a little pause. I remember just watching people long-distance running, and it is one of the most beautiful things ever. Because every single person has a story. Every single person is motivated and has invested time in the moment they're currently living.
Frankie Ruiz (10:13)
Luckily, you were someone that had already experienced it before you took the break. But the untrained eye that sees a bunch of runners doesn't realize that the moment isn't the moment.
The moment is not the finish line or the race itself.
The lesson and the experience are everything that led to it.
It could be a full year, or 18 weeks. It could be several years, or a whole lifetime.
I think that when you're out there spectating and cheering on runners, if you can just pause and imagine what's going through that person's mind at that moment, it would probably tell you a pretty interesting story.
Jackie Morreale (10:49)
I completely agree. Let's talk about leadership and endurance. What has been your mile 20 moment professionally? I put this in there because for me, that mile 20 moment is where the grit comes out, and you learn about yourself.
Was there a moment like that for you professionally?
Frankie Ruiz (11:05)
It was probably during that COVID period. I think that was a mile 20 moment for every race organizer, every event organizer, where not only your livelihood, but maybe the reason why some of us exist, which was to bring events to others.
Question your purpose.
That's usually what happens around mile 20. You're like, 'Why am I doing this? Why is this happening to me? Why are my legs giving out?'
I think that happened to me around that time.
I can't say it was an exact day, but it certainly was during that period of time. You had to decide whether you were going to stick through this or turn the corner and do something else.
I stuck it out. I believed in it more. In fact, I think that was the answer.
More of what we were doing before COVID is all that we needed to get us through COVID.
Jackie Morreale (11:49)
I can't imagine any other more positive outlet during that time than running and going outside. I'm so happy that you stuck with it, and this is just the 'sand' of Miami, that will always be there for those of us who look forward to it every year.
Do you think that you lead differently now, in a race like the 2026 Life Time Miami Marathon or the 305 Half Marathon, than when you co-founded the Miami Marathon 20 years ago?
Frankie Ruiz (12:13)
I don't; I still believe in leading by example.
Early on, I was like, 'Can't push people to do something I haven't done myself'.
That goes either for the race itself or jobs within the race. I can't turn around and tell anybody on the staff, 'Make sure you're picking up gel packets from the ground,' if I, myself, don't do it.
That's the way I've functioned since the beginning of my career and the beginning of my involvement in events. I can't encourage someone to do something I don't fully understand what it takes to actually do.
I haven't changed in that regard. You can ask the staff; you can ask runners. What I was is probably what I still am. I’m pretty consistent.
Jackie Morreale (12:57)
Love that. I've seen people on your team doing their thing. Everybody has that same vibe. They're willing to pick up gel packets off the floor to do anything that is necessary to have every person participating in your event have a wonderful experience.
Frankie Ruiz (13:11)
Nothing's beneath me or shouldn't be beneath anybody.
Jackie Morreale (13:14)
Let's talk about success. What, in your opinion, defines a successful race or event?
Frankie Ruiz (13:19)
You're never going to produce a perfect event. Everybody's experience, especially in a marathon, is going to be a little different, right? If you finish the race fast and it doesn't get hot, your race will be different from the person who ran six hours.
There's also volunteer fatigue out there. Maybe your water station experience wasn't the same. The energy at the finish line maybe isn't the same. There are a number of things.
It's really difficult to say an event is successful if I measure it by everybody's experience in that event. That being said, I think when an event is done, and you know everything that happened behind the scenes, and there weren't too many fires, and so forth, you can have a good sense of like, 'Alright, that was a good show.'
There are times when you guys know. Jackie, you'll finish the race, and you're like, 'That was amazing.' And we're on the backside saying, 'No, it wasn't... You don't realize how crazy it was to pull this one off for you guys.’
It's going to vary, what we define as a successful race. I think we have a good general sense of it when it's over, a few conversations with a spectrum of people, from the fast to the mid-packers to the back of the pack to the volunteers.
Jackie Morreale (14:17)
I just want to give a shout-out to the volunteers. I love every single one of you. Thank you for the water, the Gatorade, the gel, and the spray on the knees. People who are donating their time, energy, and effort to just smile. Each and every one of them was so excited to be there. I didn't see, as you said, ‘volunteer fatigue’. I didn't see a speck of it. And that was after hours and hours.
Frankie Ruiz (14:35)
That's good.
In Miami, they start earlier than in most cities. Our race starts at 6 a.m. so there's a need for these volunteers to be out there way before the runners get out there. They start their day, for most of them, at about three o'clock in the morning, and they don't get back until you guys are done. It could be one o'clock in the afternoon. They have almost a full 12 hours of being up and working.
Jackie Morreale (14:58)
They do a great job.
What makes Miami so special to you?
Frankie Ruiz (15:02)
Personally, it's special because I was born and raised here. My dad would probably say the same about Miami, even though he wasn't born and raised here, and I'm sure there are a lot of people who can say the same.
As a city, we've got a lot that makes us unique. I haven't experienced the entire world, so I can't really say that there isn't another Miami out there. I'd probably win most bets if someone were to try to prove otherwise.
Miami's pretty unique in a lot of ways beyond just our weather. I'm not specifically talking about the Life Time Miami Marathon itself, but in general, I think our place is ever-changing. It's a place that... I don't want to say trends come out of, but trends are sorted here. I think that's something special about Miami.
I'm going to throw a plug because if not, I wouldn't be consistent. The Everglades make Miami that much more special, to me at least. Our proximity to such an amazing national park is pretty special.
Miami is special. That's it!
(Continued below)
Coach Frankie Ruiz running with cross country team members at Belen Jesuit Prep School
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Frankie Ruiz running with Miami Beach Run Club, first running club in the werunmiami.com organization
|
(Continued)
Jackie Morreale (15:59)
Something for everybody. What makes Miami runners different?
Frankie Ruiz (16:02)
I think we're fairly resilient. Humidity can make a man out of a boy for sure. It isn't a place where you can run and not respect the weather. I think that makes Miami runners a little tougher.
I'll be careful there because I'm sure some really cold weather places are the opposite of it, tough in their own way. But I think that makes Miami runners a little different.
The other thing I'll say about Miami runners is, we're pretty colorful. I think the race itself shows the same; we encourage people to wear their flags and wear their cultural colors, and race shoes are bright and loud. I think that makes a Miami runner a little different.
I feel like a Miami runner will probably yell louder than most runners, telling the world that they're running through this humidity and heat and flatland. That makes us different. We're competitive, but we'll probably skew more on the social side than we do on the Personal Record (PR) driven side.
Jackie Morreale (16:59)
Are you guys still using #Miamifamous as a hashtag?
Frankie Ruiz (17:02)
We use it a little less these days. Not by choice. It's just one of those things that ebbs and flows through the marketing team. But I take personal pride in that mantra or that motto, if you want to call it. It didn't make a lot of sense when I first brought it to the team. I think now it continues to be the most relevant hashtag associated with the race.
My idea behind it, and you probably know this since you were around when we first started with it, is that before there were influencers, a marathon was a place where you almost felt like the star of the show. It really made for an experience where others would cheer you on as you were doing it. Even though maybe you weren't the most talented runner or the most talented actress or the most talented, but that day you were.
That day, you were the superstar.
People were cheering for you along the finish line, along the way, and at the start line. Your friends and family at home, your neighbors all celebrated you when you came back with a medal.
So, you felt famous.
Couple that with the fact that in Miami, there are famous people. My idea was, hey, wait a minute, it's not that important that, I don't know, Gloria Estefan is running next to you, or in this case, this year, John Summit or Diplo or the many Spanish and telenovela actresses and actors that have run our race.
Those are big deals. But what's really a big deal is that you're also a big deal that day for doing this.
In the day that we're living now, with influencers and whatnot, those influencers wouldn't be anything without you at that race that day.
They would be out there alone with their camera and saying, Look what I did. Nobody would care because there weren't 18,000 people behind them.
I think that motto is still relevant. It's a tagline that is still a fun one to use.
I had someone that challenged me against that. Like, 'It doesn't even make sense. Miami famous'.
Jackie Morreale (18:43)
Has that person run the race? I'm just wondering.
Frankie Ruiz (18:45)
I guess from a grammatical standpoint, they were trying to explain to me, 'It just doesn't make sense'.
I said, 'Eventually it will, because when you use the word Miami, yes, it's a place, but it also describes a type of person. You are a #Miamifamous person, right?'
We have a different type of fame.
Jackie Morreale (19:02)
I totally get it. I'm so happy that you came up with it. Everybody who runs your races, does any of your events, or is on any of your teams feels it. Everybody feels like a celebrity.
I also love that you said Miami runners are different because they're social. I've been part of these groups where everybody's social and supporting each other. I've also been running next to people who have fallen. I have fallen at mile 10. Two people scooped me up; it was an amazing thing! There's just a feeling of community that runs really deep.
Let's talk about the next generation, because I know that you're actively coaching adults, young people. Is there any wisdom that you can share with younger runners to inspire them before a race?
Frankie Ruiz (19:43)
First off, our sport has started to skew younger. Whether that's a COVID thing, a TikTok thing, but our participant base at participatory events, whether they're 5Ks or even all the way up to the half and full marathon, has brought younger people to the starting line.
I want other younger people to know that because they may have grown up around this misconception that it was just something that guys with high socks used to do. Now, it's everywhere, all corners of the earth. It's in Latin America, the U.S., Canada, it's all over the place.
Young people should be encouraged, as they tend to want to go where young people go.
Even though you might be lined up alongside an 85-year-old, who might beat you! The truth is that there are a lot of young people running these days.
My message to young people who aren't running yet is: Give it a shot.
Sometimes I hear this when I'm out on the promotional trail, whether it's giving a talk to a corporation or at a run club. Someone says to me, 'I wish I had found running earlier'.
I want people to discover this form not only as exercise, but as a sport, as early as possible. I'm not saying that a five-year-old has to go and run a marathon, but I am saying that the parents of that five-year-old should be guiding them toward something they can do for the rest of their lives that's inexpensive, accessible, inclusive, and not a punishment.
It's something you can celebrate.
Whether you run on your cross-country team or your track team at school, it's something you can do at a run club. You can start your own race, or your own run club.
Don't wait until you're 40 to find it. But if you're 40 and you find it, that's good too.
Jackie Morreale (21:17)
Exactly. What do you look for in emerging athletes? I agree, running is the foundation for every other sport, really. It is celebratory. What mindset might set an emerging runner apart?
Frankie Ruiz (21:31)
I think it's the same thing that would set them apart at work or at school, which is a mindset that 'I'm all in at trying to be the best at what I'm doing'.
You know you're in that mindset when you're not necessarily doing it at that moment, but you're thinking about how to get better at it.
That's the way I think about coaching. That's the way I coach my athletes. It's not just the race. It's the other 23 and a half hours that matter.
It's not just that 5K, those 16 minutes. It's the rest of your week.
When you get that mindset that you're paying attention to everything else, in addition to the race, you're going to be successful.
You're going to emerge as a better person and a better runner.
When I see a runner or a young athlete taking care of their body when they're not running, that tells me that this kid is on the right path.
Jackie Morreale (22:22)
Love it. Quick-fire questions. You ready for this?
Frankie Ruiz (22:23)
Go for it. Yes.
Jackie Morreale (22:25)
Okay. Favorite Miami sunrise running route?
Frankie Ruiz (22:27)
For me, it's the Everglades. If I can get out to the Everglades and watch the sunrise, obviously the beach, too, but if I can be out there in the Pinelands, Long Pine Key, or down in Flamingo before sunrise, that's magic. You've got to jump in your car and head down there, but there's no substitute for that experience for me.
Jackie Morreale (22:47)
Amazing. Let's take it back to the city. Brickell, Miami Beach, or Coconut Grove?
Frankie Ruiz (22:52)
I do think that the pulse of Miami is currently Brickell. That's where the Baptist Health Brickell Run Club is at. That's the center of it all.
I do have to give a shout out to South Beach because that was the original location of our first, I call it 'modern day' running club. It still has magic.
Jackie Morreale (23:08)
I loved Wynwood, by the way, for the expo. Wynwood was amazing too, shout out.
Best spot for a cafecito in Miami?
Frankie Ruiz (23:12)
Wynwood is good too.
I'm a Cuban that doesn't drink coffee, but I think you have to have it where it's most authentic. I would go out to Westchester, go out to La Carreta and hang out by the Ventanita there. Even if you don't drink coffee, get some toast and orange juice, and hang out and listen to some older Cuban guys talk about solving the world's problems. That's a lot of fun.
Jackie Morreale (23:39)
Love it. Humidity or hills?
Frankie Ruiz (23:41)
For me, it's humidity. The hills are hard to come by. You've got to go to Vista View or one of the bridges, even a parking garage. But the humidity, the hotter the better for me. I do prefer to run in the afternoons when the humidity is not as high. I don't love the morning humidity where it just gets more humid as you get more tired.
I'd much rather get it the other way, which is as the run progresses. I hope there's a little relief. That usually happens at six or seven o'clock at night.
Give me humidity before you give me cold. If you would have said humidity or cold, I would have said humidity.
(Continued below)
Jackie Morreale (15:59)
Something for everybody. What makes Miami runners different?
Frankie Ruiz (16:02)
I think we're fairly resilient. Humidity can make a man out of a boy for sure. It isn't a place where you can run and not respect the weather. I think that makes Miami runners a little tougher.
I'll be careful there because I'm sure some really cold weather places are the opposite of it, tough in their own way. But I think that makes Miami runners a little different.
The other thing I'll say about Miami runners is, we're pretty colorful. I think the race itself shows the same; we encourage people to wear their flags and wear their cultural colors, and race shoes are bright and loud. I think that makes a Miami runner a little different.
I feel like a Miami runner will probably yell louder than most runners, telling the world that they're running through this humidity and heat and flatland. That makes us different. We're competitive, but we'll probably skew more on the social side than we do on the Personal Record (PR) driven side.
Jackie Morreale (16:59)
Are you guys still using #Miamifamous as a hashtag?
Frankie Ruiz (17:02)
We use it a little less these days. Not by choice. It's just one of those things that ebbs and flows through the marketing team. But I take personal pride in that mantra or that motto, if you want to call it. It didn't make a lot of sense when I first brought it to the team. I think now it continues to be the most relevant hashtag associated with the race.
My idea behind it, and you probably know this since you were around when we first started with it, is that before there were influencers, a marathon was a place where you almost felt like the star of the show. It really made for an experience where others would cheer you on as you were doing it. Even though maybe you weren't the most talented runner or the most talented actress or the most talented, but that day you were.
That day, you were the superstar.
People were cheering for you along the finish line, along the way, and at the start line. Your friends and family at home, your neighbors all celebrated you when you came back with a medal.
So, you felt famous.
Couple that with the fact that in Miami, there are famous people. My idea was, hey, wait a minute, it's not that important that, I don't know, Gloria Estefan is running next to you, or in this case, this year, John Summit or Diplo or the many Spanish and telenovela actresses and actors that have run our race.
Those are big deals. But what's really a big deal is that you're also a big deal that day for doing this.
In the day that we're living now, with influencers and whatnot, those influencers wouldn't be anything without you at that race that day.
They would be out there alone with their camera and saying, Look what I did. Nobody would care because there weren't 18,000 people behind them.
I think that motto is still relevant. It's a tagline that is still a fun one to use.
I had someone that challenged me against that. Like, 'It doesn't even make sense. Miami famous'.
Jackie Morreale (18:43)
Has that person run the race? I'm just wondering.
Frankie Ruiz (18:45)
I guess from a grammatical standpoint, they were trying to explain to me, 'It just doesn't make sense'.
I said, 'Eventually it will, because when you use the word Miami, yes, it's a place, but it also describes a type of person. You are a #Miamifamous person, right?'
We have a different type of fame.
Jackie Morreale (19:02)
I totally get it. I'm so happy that you came up with it. Everybody who runs your races, does any of your events, or is on any of your teams feels it. Everybody feels like a celebrity.
I also love that you said Miami runners are different because they're social. I've been part of these groups where everybody's social and supporting each other. I've also been running next to people who have fallen. I have fallen at mile 10. Two people scooped me up; it was an amazing thing! There's just a feeling of community that runs really deep.
Let's talk about the next generation, because I know that you're actively coaching adults, young people. Is there any wisdom that you can share with younger runners to inspire them before a race?
Frankie Ruiz (19:43)
First off, our sport has started to skew younger. Whether that's a COVID thing, a TikTok thing, but our participant base at participatory events, whether they're 5Ks or even all the way up to the half and full marathon, has brought younger people to the starting line.
I want other younger people to know that because they may have grown up around this misconception that it was just something that guys with high socks used to do. Now, it's everywhere, all corners of the earth. It's in Latin America, the U.S., Canada, it's all over the place.
Young people should be encouraged, as they tend to want to go where young people go.
Even though you might be lined up alongside an 85-year-old, who might beat you! The truth is that there are a lot of young people running these days.
My message to young people who aren't running yet is: Give it a shot.
Sometimes I hear this when I'm out on the promotional trail, whether it's giving a talk to a corporation or at a run club. Someone says to me, 'I wish I had found running earlier'.
I want people to discover this form not only as exercise, but as a sport, as early as possible. I'm not saying that a five-year-old has to go and run a marathon, but I am saying that the parents of that five-year-old should be guiding them toward something they can do for the rest of their lives that's inexpensive, accessible, inclusive, and not a punishment.
It's something you can celebrate.
Whether you run on your cross-country team or your track team at school, it's something you can do at a run club. You can start your own race, or your own run club.
Don't wait until you're 40 to find it. But if you're 40 and you find it, that's good too.
Jackie Morreale (21:17)
Exactly. What do you look for in emerging athletes? I agree, running is the foundation for every other sport, really. It is celebratory. What mindset might set an emerging runner apart?
Frankie Ruiz (21:31)
I think it's the same thing that would set them apart at work or at school, which is a mindset that 'I'm all in at trying to be the best at what I'm doing'.
You know you're in that mindset when you're not necessarily doing it at that moment, but you're thinking about how to get better at it.
That's the way I think about coaching. That's the way I coach my athletes. It's not just the race. It's the other 23 and a half hours that matter.
It's not just that 5K, those 16 minutes. It's the rest of your week.
When you get that mindset that you're paying attention to everything else, in addition to the race, you're going to be successful.
You're going to emerge as a better person and a better runner.
When I see a runner or a young athlete taking care of their body when they're not running, that tells me that this kid is on the right path.
Jackie Morreale (22:22)
Love it. Quick-fire questions. You ready for this?
Frankie Ruiz (22:23)
Go for it. Yes.
Jackie Morreale (22:25)
Okay. Favorite Miami sunrise running route?
Frankie Ruiz (22:27)
For me, it's the Everglades. If I can get out to the Everglades and watch the sunrise, obviously the beach, too, but if I can be out there in the Pinelands, Long Pine Key, or down in Flamingo before sunrise, that's magic. You've got to jump in your car and head down there, but there's no substitute for that experience for me.
Jackie Morreale (22:47)
Amazing. Let's take it back to the city. Brickell, Miami Beach, or Coconut Grove?
Frankie Ruiz (22:52)
I do think that the pulse of Miami is currently Brickell. That's where the Baptist Health Brickell Run Club is at. That's the center of it all.
I do have to give a shout out to South Beach because that was the original location of our first, I call it 'modern day' running club. It still has magic.
Jackie Morreale (23:08)
I loved Wynwood, by the way, for the expo. Wynwood was amazing too, shout out.
Best spot for a cafecito in Miami?
Frankie Ruiz (23:12)
Wynwood is good too.
I'm a Cuban that doesn't drink coffee, but I think you have to have it where it's most authentic. I would go out to Westchester, go out to La Carreta and hang out by the Ventanita there. Even if you don't drink coffee, get some toast and orange juice, and hang out and listen to some older Cuban guys talk about solving the world's problems. That's a lot of fun.
Jackie Morreale (23:39)
Love it. Humidity or hills?
Frankie Ruiz (23:41)
For me, it's humidity. The hills are hard to come by. You've got to go to Vista View or one of the bridges, even a parking garage. But the humidity, the hotter the better for me. I do prefer to run in the afternoons when the humidity is not as high. I don't love the morning humidity where it just gets more humid as you get more tired.
I'd much rather get it the other way, which is as the run progresses. I hope there's a little relief. That usually happens at six or seven o'clock at night.
Give me humidity before you give me cold. If you would have said humidity or cold, I would have said humidity.
(Continued below)
Frankie Ruiz for Nike "Run" event in Miami Beach, FL
|
Frankie Ruiz with Brickell Run Club
|
(Continued)
Jackie Morreale (24:13)
Okay. 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon?
Frankie Ruiz (24:18)
I like the Half Marathon.
Jackie Morreale (24:20)
It's a good distance. Favorite food or best meal in Miami? People are going to get mad. Be careful.
Frankie Ruiz (24:18)
Favorite meal. Yeah, listen, I'm a creature of habit. I'm a runner. I guess by nature, we do things in routine, but I can have more or less the same thing over and over. I'm a Chipotle guy.
Now, if it were a specific meal, I like my basic whole wheat pasta with chicken, and I'm happy.
Jackie Morreale (24:43)
That's good. Most played song on your playlist?
Frankie Ruiz (24:45)
I don't really have a dedicated playlist. I just let EDM play on the Pandora station. These days, I do enjoy the stuff that John Summitt's putting out. It's good running music. I would have to say John Summit right now.
Jackie Morreale (24:58)
Toughest Miami weather you've ever trained or raced in?
Frankie Ruiz (25:01)
Any time you're running in June, July, or August, it will probably check off that box. So almost every day, I have to say.
Jackie Morreale (25:05)
Yes, almost every day in the summer. Go-to running shoe right now?
Frankie Ruiz (25:09)
I'm a big Nike Pegasus fan, but as of late, the Volmero has made its way into my bag. They've crushed it with the designs of that shoe and how comfortable it is. I still fall back always on my Pegasus.
Jackie Morreale (25:23)
Love it. Most emotional Life Time Miami Marathon moment that you've witnessed?
Frankie Ruiz (25:27)
The next one.
Jackie Morreale (25:28)
The next one! Can't beat it.
Frankie Ruiz (25:30)
I'll always remember our first one. There have been so many along the way.
I usually wait till the last finisher crosses. Whether it's the last finisher, or even the fastest finisher.
I've seen a lot to inspire, so I couldn't say I'd be able to point at just one.
Jackie Morreale (25:48)
Favorite mile in the race?
Frankie Ruiz (25:49)
I like mile 17. That's a good one.
To me, anything on the Venetian Causeway is awesome. You get that backside view of the skyline. So what is that... mile 10, right? 10 to 11? I haven't run it, so it's hard for me to...
Jackie Morreale (26:04)
Wait! You haven't run your own race!
Frankie Ruiz (26:06)
Well, I've run the course, I've run the course, but the course is nothing without the people spectating.
Jackie Morreale (26:12)
I mean, you've got a million things going on. But okay, you've run the thing.
Frankie Ruiz (26:15)
That morning, it's different when you have thousands of people lined up along North Miami Avenue or on Ocean Drive or on Biscayne Boulevard.
But if I was running it, I'd guess it's going to be that 10-to-11-mile mark.
Jackie Morreale (26:29)
I'm sure your team would forgive you if you wanted to do a half marathon one day, just to get the feeling of it.
Frankie Ruiz (26:34)
One day! Everyone's talking to me about doing the 25th anniversary, which is next year... but I don't know, I get too nervous. I might pull off on the side of the road and start moving cones, talking to police officers, and helping out at a water station.
Jackie Morreale (26:47)
You deserve it at this point. If you feel like running it, I think you would totally deserve to take off first and get your glory run.
Favorite quote to live by?
Frankie Ruiz (26:55)
Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop.
If you stop, you start thinking too much, and fall over. It's like riding a bike. If you put your feet down to get momentum again, takes you a while.
I tell people... I'm going through tough times. Don't stop.
If you're going through easy times, don't stop. You're going to get run over.
In all facets for me, it's how I live. I only sleep because I have to.
Jackie Morreale (27:18)
Shout outs to anybody on your team?
Frankie Ruiz (27:20)
All of them, whether it's Alex De Gracia, Sam, JC, Steph, Grisel, Oscar, all. We're a small, but mighty team that organizes the Life Time Miami Marathon.
Then I have another facet of my life that puts on other races, and there's Anna, there's Zoltan.
There are a lot of people who put these things together. They give me too much credit. I know I'm the face of a lot of these events.
It's definitely nothing I do alone. These days, I probably do more kissing babies and shaking hands than some of the heavy lifting that the folks on my team and race teams do. Shout out to all of them.
Jackie Morreale (27:54)
Takes a village. Shout out to everybody. You guys make it look easy.
Frankie Ruiz (27:56)
Shout out to you, Jackie. Thank you for the invite and for chasing me down.
Thank you for being there that night with the medal reveal. Courtney Einhorn put on a good show there.
We'll see you at the next starting line.
Jackie Morreale (28:08)
Can't wait. What's next for you, Frankie Ruiz?
The 305 half marathon, a ton of other stuff coming up this year, and anything else that we can give runners an opportunity to look forward to.
Frankie Ruiz (28:19)
Events that I'm associated with in the next couple of months, besides the run clubs, which there are 10 of them now under Baptist Health, you can look those up on werunmiami.com.
Besides that, I'm organizing a big event with Breakwater for the ATHX Games on Miami Beach.
I am hosting a couple races at the different airports here in Miami, Tamiami and Opelaka are next.
A couple events coming up. We have a superintendent's 5K that I'm associated with as well with the Miami-Dade County Schools.
I've got the Bounce Back from Cancer event, which is also in March, with Baptist Health. That's the dribbling basketballs for 14- or 15-year-olds.
Jackie Morreale (28:57)
Wait, we're just up to March with this list so far?
My gosh, you really can't stop won't stop.
Frankie Ruiz (29:08)
Yeah, this is all March.
Not to mention that Miami's running season is so compressed, such that you have no choice but to make sure you get it all in now.
We've got Wings for Life World Run, which is also coming up with Red Bull.
CLEO, which is a climate environment organization doing a race with them at the underline.
I've got just a few.
Jackie Morreale (29:27)
My gosh, that's just a few. So, werunmiami.com is the hub for everything? Can you find different groups and races?
Frankie Ruiz (29:30)
Yes. Easy to find it there.
Jackie Morreale (29:34)
Thank you so much for your time today, Frankie. Can't stop, won't stop.
You are like a machine: Leader, community builder, and coach to so many!
Frankie Ruiz (29:45)
Awesome. Thank you. You rock. Don't stop.
Jackie Morreale (29:46)
I'm just so grateful for your time and insights.
Thank you for joining. Have a great day!
Frankie Ruiz (29:49)
Thank you, Jackie. See you soon.
To learn more about Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike organized by Frankie Ruiz, visit: www.werunmiami.com
To sign up for next year's Life Time Miami Marathon race events, visit: www.themiamimarathon.com
Jackie Morreale (24:13)
Okay. 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon?
Frankie Ruiz (24:18)
I like the Half Marathon.
Jackie Morreale (24:20)
It's a good distance. Favorite food or best meal in Miami? People are going to get mad. Be careful.
Frankie Ruiz (24:18)
Favorite meal. Yeah, listen, I'm a creature of habit. I'm a runner. I guess by nature, we do things in routine, but I can have more or less the same thing over and over. I'm a Chipotle guy.
Now, if it were a specific meal, I like my basic whole wheat pasta with chicken, and I'm happy.
Jackie Morreale (24:43)
That's good. Most played song on your playlist?
Frankie Ruiz (24:45)
I don't really have a dedicated playlist. I just let EDM play on the Pandora station. These days, I do enjoy the stuff that John Summitt's putting out. It's good running music. I would have to say John Summit right now.
Jackie Morreale (24:58)
Toughest Miami weather you've ever trained or raced in?
Frankie Ruiz (25:01)
Any time you're running in June, July, or August, it will probably check off that box. So almost every day, I have to say.
Jackie Morreale (25:05)
Yes, almost every day in the summer. Go-to running shoe right now?
Frankie Ruiz (25:09)
I'm a big Nike Pegasus fan, but as of late, the Volmero has made its way into my bag. They've crushed it with the designs of that shoe and how comfortable it is. I still fall back always on my Pegasus.
Jackie Morreale (25:23)
Love it. Most emotional Life Time Miami Marathon moment that you've witnessed?
Frankie Ruiz (25:27)
The next one.
Jackie Morreale (25:28)
The next one! Can't beat it.
Frankie Ruiz (25:30)
I'll always remember our first one. There have been so many along the way.
I usually wait till the last finisher crosses. Whether it's the last finisher, or even the fastest finisher.
I've seen a lot to inspire, so I couldn't say I'd be able to point at just one.
Jackie Morreale (25:48)
Favorite mile in the race?
Frankie Ruiz (25:49)
I like mile 17. That's a good one.
To me, anything on the Venetian Causeway is awesome. You get that backside view of the skyline. So what is that... mile 10, right? 10 to 11? I haven't run it, so it's hard for me to...
Jackie Morreale (26:04)
Wait! You haven't run your own race!
Frankie Ruiz (26:06)
Well, I've run the course, I've run the course, but the course is nothing without the people spectating.
Jackie Morreale (26:12)
I mean, you've got a million things going on. But okay, you've run the thing.
Frankie Ruiz (26:15)
That morning, it's different when you have thousands of people lined up along North Miami Avenue or on Ocean Drive or on Biscayne Boulevard.
But if I was running it, I'd guess it's going to be that 10-to-11-mile mark.
Jackie Morreale (26:29)
I'm sure your team would forgive you if you wanted to do a half marathon one day, just to get the feeling of it.
Frankie Ruiz (26:34)
One day! Everyone's talking to me about doing the 25th anniversary, which is next year... but I don't know, I get too nervous. I might pull off on the side of the road and start moving cones, talking to police officers, and helping out at a water station.
Jackie Morreale (26:47)
You deserve it at this point. If you feel like running it, I think you would totally deserve to take off first and get your glory run.
Favorite quote to live by?
Frankie Ruiz (26:55)
Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop.
If you stop, you start thinking too much, and fall over. It's like riding a bike. If you put your feet down to get momentum again, takes you a while.
I tell people... I'm going through tough times. Don't stop.
If you're going through easy times, don't stop. You're going to get run over.
In all facets for me, it's how I live. I only sleep because I have to.
Jackie Morreale (27:18)
Shout outs to anybody on your team?
Frankie Ruiz (27:20)
All of them, whether it's Alex De Gracia, Sam, JC, Steph, Grisel, Oscar, all. We're a small, but mighty team that organizes the Life Time Miami Marathon.
Then I have another facet of my life that puts on other races, and there's Anna, there's Zoltan.
There are a lot of people who put these things together. They give me too much credit. I know I'm the face of a lot of these events.
It's definitely nothing I do alone. These days, I probably do more kissing babies and shaking hands than some of the heavy lifting that the folks on my team and race teams do. Shout out to all of them.
Jackie Morreale (27:54)
Takes a village. Shout out to everybody. You guys make it look easy.
Frankie Ruiz (27:56)
Shout out to you, Jackie. Thank you for the invite and for chasing me down.
Thank you for being there that night with the medal reveal. Courtney Einhorn put on a good show there.
We'll see you at the next starting line.
Jackie Morreale (28:08)
Can't wait. What's next for you, Frankie Ruiz?
The 305 half marathon, a ton of other stuff coming up this year, and anything else that we can give runners an opportunity to look forward to.
Frankie Ruiz (28:19)
Events that I'm associated with in the next couple of months, besides the run clubs, which there are 10 of them now under Baptist Health, you can look those up on werunmiami.com.
Besides that, I'm organizing a big event with Breakwater for the ATHX Games on Miami Beach.
I am hosting a couple races at the different airports here in Miami, Tamiami and Opelaka are next.
A couple events coming up. We have a superintendent's 5K that I'm associated with as well with the Miami-Dade County Schools.
I've got the Bounce Back from Cancer event, which is also in March, with Baptist Health. That's the dribbling basketballs for 14- or 15-year-olds.
Jackie Morreale (28:57)
Wait, we're just up to March with this list so far?
My gosh, you really can't stop won't stop.
Frankie Ruiz (29:08)
Yeah, this is all March.
Not to mention that Miami's running season is so compressed, such that you have no choice but to make sure you get it all in now.
We've got Wings for Life World Run, which is also coming up with Red Bull.
CLEO, which is a climate environment organization doing a race with them at the underline.
I've got just a few.
Jackie Morreale (29:27)
My gosh, that's just a few. So, werunmiami.com is the hub for everything? Can you find different groups and races?
Frankie Ruiz (29:30)
Yes. Easy to find it there.
Jackie Morreale (29:34)
Thank you so much for your time today, Frankie. Can't stop, won't stop.
You are like a machine: Leader, community builder, and coach to so many!
Frankie Ruiz (29:45)
Awesome. Thank you. You rock. Don't stop.
Jackie Morreale (29:46)
I'm just so grateful for your time and insights.
Thank you for joining. Have a great day!
Frankie Ruiz (29:49)
Thank you, Jackie. See you soon.
To learn more about Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike organized by Frankie Ruiz, visit: www.werunmiami.com
To sign up for next year's Life Time Miami Marathon race events, visit: www.themiamimarathon.com
Get Involved!
Here are some of the sports events, managed by Frankie Ruiz and his team, that are coming up in Miami in Spring 2026 and beyond.
Life Time 305 Half Marathon and 5K (March 1, 2026 - SOLD OUT)
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EdFed Race for Education at the Superintendent’s 5K (March 7, 2026)
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Bounce Back from Cancer (March 14, 2026)
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ATHX Invitational Miami Beach (March 21-22, 2026)
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MIA Runway 5K 2026 Series (March 21 and April 18, 2026)
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Legendz HYROX Miami Beach (April 3-5, 2026)
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CLEO - Race for our future 5k on Earth Day (April 26, 2026)
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Wings for Life World Run (May 10, 2026)
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Baptist Health Brickell Run Club powered by Nike (all run club schedules available at www.werunmiami.com)
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Life Time Miami Marathon and Half Marathon (January 25, 2027)
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Continued reading, recommended by Frankie Ruiz:
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike. Published April 26, 2016. By Phil Knight (Author).
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The Norwegian Method Applied: Threshold Training and Intensity Control for Faster, More Durable Running at Every Level. Published March 17, 2026. By Marius Bakken MD (Author), Steve Magness (Foreword).
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