With the Escape to Miami Triathlon this past weekend, fresh in our minds, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to Andres Felipe Cadavid. Felipe just completed his 3rd Olympic distance Triathlon on Sunday September 29th 2013 in 2 hours and 48 minutes which was 5 minutes faster than last year's Tri  and 9 minutes faster than his first Escape in 2011. That in itself is a very commendable achievement but it's not what's most admirable about this guy. 

About a year ago, I was checking in runners at the SoBe Run Club, when I happened to meet Felipe. It wouldn't be until a couple months later, that I would strike up a real conversation (not the customary-person A: ' how's it going' Person B: "good, You?" Person A: "me too.") where I would find out about his inspiring journey to the athlete he is today.

Just 4 years ago,  Felipe was not worrying about getting his bike tuned up for this weekend's ESCAPE festivities nor was he debating whether or not to race the New Balance Mile (hosted by IRUN) the day after having just completed in an Olympic distance triathlon.  He instead was sitting in his apartment overlooking Margret Pace Park wondering if it was even humanly possible (at least for him) to swim from that island (ESCAPE ISLAND) he could see off shore to the mainland, knowing that even the thought of walking from the apartment lobby to the water's edge would get him winded, so running to the waterfront wasn't even an option.

Weighing in at about 267lbs, never having been very athletic, and heavy set his whole life (which was about the only thing that RAN in his family--pun intended), doing something like the ESCAPE TO MIAMI TRI wasn't even in contention for a slot on his weekend's agenda.

It would be until he witnessed how his uncle's obesity led to a deterioration of his quality of life, dependency on family members around, loss of eye sight, diabetes, and eventual passing due to a heart attack at the age of 60 that reality would settle in:  if he didn't take charge of his life and turn his health around, his destiny could mimic that of his uncle's.

Not really knowing what to do, he got into what he thought was "athletic attire" and headed out on a run he still remembers to this day as vividly as if it was yesterday. He recalls feeling like he was dying; pains everywhere, inability to breath, taste of blood in throat, heart pumping harder than it ever had. He ran until he could not take a single step more only to find that he had barely completed 2 miles.

That was the beginning of this extraordinary journey that he plans to stay on until death do them part- the journey of a healthier lifestyle to a stronger HEART.  It was a daunting task that lay ahead since he needed to work on slowly changing his habits from how much he ate, what he ate, how he ran, what he ran, to  even how much he partied. But the more he started going out on runs and talking about his "new plan" with friends, the more he started realizing just how many people around him already part took in such activities.  He wishes that in that first year he would have known about RUN CLUBS so that the process would have been a little more fun--but nevertheless, he needed what went through; a coming of age kind of situation. Soon he found himself wanting to train on his own to be able to feel better and not feel so out of shape when running with friends. In essence, training to keep up with friends.

Over the progression of a year, runs went from being masoquistic to being somewhat enjoyable. But the runs weren't the only things that were getting easier to complete. Everyday tasks like getting out of  bed and getting in/out of his car, were now not-so-surprisingly easier to do. The little changes he was making- increased physcial activity and running--were not only drawing the attention his friends and family, but were quickly helping the numbers on the scale drop.

Slowly he started going from looking for inspiration to get out and workout to being the inspiration for those around him to be more active. Which would positively pressure him to continue pressing on. From the beginning his goal was to strengthen his heart; change himself from the inside out. A lesson we could all use here in Miami where often times the physical (exterior) appearance is valued more than the inner. Felipe encourages his friends, family, and followers that picking the RIGHT GOAL is key. He says: "If you choose to lose weight, you may do so. But as soon as it stops being your focus, you may gain it back. If you choose to make your heart stronger and live a healthier life, it will be easier to stay focused because YOUR LIFE depends on it, and there will be many much welcomed byproducts (weight loss, increased self confidence, decreased health issues...and the list goes on) that will also be harvested along the way."

As I asked him what his next goal is, he chuckled and said "a Half Ironman". I bet that wasn't on his bucket-list 4 years ago and now look at him!

Felipe is just one of the many runners here in Miami that make up the "WE" in "We Run Miami". We have so much to gain as runners and people from characters like Felipe, who have stopped making excuses, have taken their HEALTH into their own hands--choosing the harder, yet more rewarding, path to a better future, and are reaping the amazing benefits that this sport has to offer. Instead of letting the opportunity run by you, get a chance to know more about the people that run around you! You never know what they may contribute to your life and what you unknowingly may contribute to theirs as well!

                                                                                                                                               Happy Running and Transforming!

If you run, know runners, are remotely active, or are slightly familiar with the sport of running (especially in South Florida) then you definitely know or have heard of FRANKIE RUIZ.

I've known the Ruiz family for about 15+ years through running and friends (not to mention that his sister is one of my best friends). And I can attest to the fact that he has always been that "BE INVOLVED IN EVERYTHING" kind of person whose cylinders are always running (literally and figuratively).

And it seems that everything that Frankie sets his mind to not only happens but becomes a huge success!  Some would probably say that he has REALLY GOOD LUCK. I would agree, if you define luck by being the result of opportunity meeting preparation.

Most runners have gotten to know Frankie over the last 4 years through the RUN CLUB NETWORK that he started. Which by the way, was a completely different scene than the RUN CLUBS we see today. In those days, there were more pacers than RUN CLUBBERS. Back then "RUN CLUBS" weren't a common water cooler topic nor were they something that 100s of people  looked forward to every week. Seeing its growth and organic development, I literally stand in amazement when I watch the herds and masses of people infiltrating the sidewalks and streets of Brickell, Kendall, Weston, and Miami Beach.

But if that was Frankie's claim to fame, It would be impressive enough--- being that it's no small feat to almost get a whole city off their feet ( I sometimes can't even get people to show up at events when there is FREE FOOD involved!). However that's not. Take a look at this laundry list:

Now some of the things above may have come as a surprise to you. If not the individual hats he wears, the compilation of everything that he does should beg the question if he has a clone that helps him do all these things. But what some of you may not know about the crazy bald guy that is magically everywhere,  is that before he was making running COOL, he was working with GUMBALL MACHINES  managing over 100 different locations (for over 8 years). I say we start installing some of those gumball machines along Miami Marathon course...that will surely crank the numbers of racers who register this year!

All joking aside, Frankie contributes to so many aspects of our community, helping make it more active and more exciting to STAY HERE. That's right....STAY HERE! (confession coming) There are many of us that grew up waiting for the day we could graduate to be able to GO AWAY for school(College) or GO AWAY for that amazing job opportunity, get out of Miami to 'start' our lives somewhere exciting. But Frankie instead stayed here: running (competing) for FIU (800m and High Jump) while earning his undergrad and Masters degrees, and even taught a couple courses there after graduating. He stayed here working on TURNING MIAMI into the Miami he would want to be in, play in, and raise his family in. Slowly he started showing the rest of us how to look at Miami through different eyes.

He's a man that is easy to admire, bringing the Miami ING Marathon to Miami, adorning facebook with his DON'T STOP pictures, and putting on great races all around South Florida (and the US for that matter) week in and week out....but what I personally admire most about him is the work he is doing with the young men he coaches. He is not only coaching them to be a strong distance program with national recognition, but everyday he instills in them strong work ethics, values that are driving them to be better men, and serving as a role model for these boys in their last stages of development before they are unleashed into the world of college and beyond. In the world they are growing up in, there is definitely a scarcity of GOOD MEN to emulate.

Frankie is just one of the many runners here in Miami that make up the "WE" in "We Run Miami". We have so much to gain as runners and people from people like Frankie that take their visions/dreams and make them all of our new realities! Cheesy as it may be, Dare to dream big...and DON'T STOP until you get where it is you've been wanting to go.

Instead of letting the opportunity run by you, get a chance to know more about the people that run around you! You never know what they may contribute to your life and what you unknowingly may contribute to theirs as well!  

- Happy Running....
and oh yea, DON'T STOP!

If you have ever been running, biking, or driving, along Biscayne on a Saturday, you probably have seen a heard of neon yellow and blue jerseys lead by a couple crazy guys, Cobi Morales and Hector Arana--Co-Founders of IRUN Company located on 5050 Biscayne Blvd.

You may have seen Cobi running up with the leaders of the FAST GROUP on the Monday Workouts, Saturday runs, BIKE/RUN workouts and any other times he's working out. Seeing him constantly pushing his limits and not only talking the talk but walking the walk (or shall we say running the RUN), you may have developed extreme humility in his presence and deep respect for his abilities. The thought of keeping up with him may be as far fetched as attempting to do an IRONMAN (unless he was running double the distance you were and going at a recovery run pace--then MAYBE you'd entertain the idea.)

What you may not know about Cobi is that this level of fitness, training, dedication to the sport didn't happen over night, nor over the last couple years. His talent has been nurtured and develop through intense training in a lifetime of running that began around 20 years ago. At the age of 14 he began to run competitively. 

When we turn 18, we are excited that we are finally ADULTS, going to PROM, graduating. Cobi, on the other hand, was excited to be on Guatemala's National Triathlon Team. His athletic career has led him to race in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and in the Americas. He has attained numerous titles in races ranging from 5k to Ironmans with accolades as noteworthy as competing in the Cancun Olympic World championships (1995) as a teenager to being  Top Amateur Latin American to finish in (1997 and 2000) in Triathlon Worlds  and placing in the top 10 at the Long Course Triathlon World Championships in Nice, France in 2000.

But if you go by his store, or run with him, you may never hear him ever mention this athletic resume. Heck, I trained with him a good majority of the summer doing Bike/Run workouts without even having a clue that he had competed at such a high level.  He is focused on that SPECIFIC RUN, that individual set. He is pushing, all out,  while at the same time looking to correct your form, and encouraging other runners to stay focused.

Fortunately for Cobi, his training discipline is so engrained in him that he never gets off course (or so he says), so he doesn't have to worry about keeping himself on track. Maybe one day that will rub off on the rest of us who do struggle with staying on course.

When asked what the hardest part of running is he jokingly said: Doing laundry 4 times/week---which I couldn't agree more with, running clothes tend to pile up quickly! But then he said: "I guess the expected answer would be
‘motivating yourself to get up and go’. However, I personally can’t agree with that. It’s easy to motivate myself when surrounded by people who have made running such a passionate part of their lives.  Coming from a guy who was literally allergic to running…the hardest part is simply convincing myself that I actually enjoy the sport now! 

His favorite aspect of this sport is experiencing individual competitive accomplishment. He grew up playing football, hockey, baseball, & basketball. In those sports, feelings of success were achieved as a team. "Running changed my competitive dynamic where that sense of success is now dependent on how far I am willing to push myself." 
 
2 years ago, getting out for runs was ‘ all about business’ and growing his accounts, now he admits that it is a combination of business and finally, pleasure. Running with strangers has evolved into hanging out with great friends. Those friendships and bonds have made it easier to stay motivated. "It’s easy to stay motivated when surrounding yourself with great people every day, learning from their stories, and witnessing them accomplish their personal goals."

And in times when it's been hard to stay on track or motivated, he resorts to downloading  some new tunes and getting a new pair of running shoes. "The sight of ‘fresh’ soles on running shoes drives me nuts!". I can't agree more with Mike...I would even go as far as saying that new shoes smell better than new cars! (yes...i said it!).

When asked where is strongest support came from he said: “My strongest supporter is that dude in the mirror!…But he can’t take all the credit. From the dedicated run clubs to the passionate specialty running stores… the entire South Florida running community truly defines all the support I need."

Mike is just one of the many runners here in Miami that make up the "WE" in "We Run Miami". We have so much to gain as runners and people from people like Mike that show up everyday with their running shoes, a smile, and positively contagious energy for every run.  Instead of letting the opportunity run by you, get a chance to know
more about the people that run around you! You never know what they may contribute to your life and what you unknowingly may contribute to theirs as well!   

                                                                                                                                  - Happy Running!