| Age: 34 Years of Running: ~25 What do you do to stay ON TRACK? " Well running is a part of my everyday life, it's like breathing, eating, showering...Do you remind yourself to breath?" | 
| " Don't stop helping others get what they want." |
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:
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:
| Some of Frankie's Hats:-MIAMI FELLOW -HEAD Cross Country Coach of Belen Jesuit (7x State Champions) -Coach of the Year in 10',12',13' by The Florida Dairy Farmers Association. -Co-founder of PR Racing, Inc. later acquired by Dallas-based US Road Sports and is currently the Chief Running Officer. -Co-Owner of SoleRunners Running Store -Miami Dade Sports Commission Board Member -Contributing writer for Healthy Miami Magazine -Motivational speaker in the community -Read More |
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.
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.
"As a runner he had excellent work ethics. As a coach I had no doubt that he would be better than me, turning a good program, even better. His best asset as a coach is that he is genuine. Above all, he has a way of finding and pressing the right buttons in order to get the best out of each individual, which in my book is the most difficult thing to achieve in coaching". | 
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When asked what message he would like to leave readers with, he said: " Don't Stop helping others get what they want!". Now, if only we all adopted that mentality--that would definitely make Miami a better place to grow, live, and be... in a heartbeat!
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!
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!
and oh yea, DON'T STOP!
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