Barbie was my age, Frankie was older (don't know exactly how much older..lol), and Nicolas was just a pre-schooler. When Barbie and I started High School at the same school (Our Lady of Lourdes), and continued running...but now as teammates, our families grew very close---weekend trips, summer trips, late practices, summers at tropical park(2 times a day) early 5:45am practices on saturdays....etc.)
My parents even let me go on my first TRIP ABROAD ALONE (without them) with Frankie as my chaperone. Frankie had invited me to join a co-ed relay for a Fitness Festival in South Beach that won us (Barbie, Jose, Jesus, Miguel) an all-expense paid trip to ITALY for 1 week to compete in the Fitness Festival there! It was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. That was in the summer of 2001. Since then I knew that they were good people that would make it big! They did!
Barbie, at the age of 25 she opened her OWN DANCE STUDIO in Miami...where she inspires little boys and girls to BELIEVE in themselves.
"All Access Dance Studio stands upon morals and values that will help all students who walk through those doors realize they can be stars no matter where they go. All it takes is a little bit of confidence, discipline, and lots of creativity. Here at All Access Dance Studio we will instill every bit of those ingredients to help all students believe in themselves so they may become the dancers they’ve always dreamed of. We believe in an atmosphere of family and friendship where everyone is important and everyone should be treated like V.I.P. The studio is not only run by experienced dance instructors, but by certified teachers who have gone through intensive training to work well with children and ensure that everyone gets the most out of each class. With that in mind, All Access Dance Studio is here for you. Therefore, get up, put on your dancing shoes, put on your All Access pass because this is the place to get you moving right through the red carpet and into the spotlight!"
And her brother Frankie...well where do I start writing about how he has made a HUGE, immeasurable impact in Florida...and in the running community in General! Read more about him HERE.
My Friend Barbie posted this on Facebook and I thought I'd share....family love is so cute. It's an honor to say that I know these two unique, motivated, passionate, and inspiring characters =)...but best of all...I love that I can call them friends.
...10 years laterOn February 2, 2003 the first Miami Tropical Marathon took place, of which now is very well known as the ING Miami Marathon. With just 2,000 runners, 26.2 miles worth of “Miami” streets/bridges/neighborhoods would be shut down for the duration of the event, of which many trying to get to work or leaving a night club at 6am, would find to be an inconvenience. And as for those working or should I say volunteering, of whom were mainly just family and close friends, we had a dirty job behind the scenes. There was no set up or clean-up crew nor was there anyone of whom had the slightest clue how difficult a marathon really was to put on; but somehow we managed with a zip tie in one hand and a permanent marker in the other to make it happen. After the race those few whom took part had so much to talk about but very few would understand. Walking the streets of Miami very few knew about running nor even what a marathon was. I jumped for joy that year when I finally saw a complete stranger wearing one of our Marathon t-shirts. Each year more people started hearing about this “Run through Paradise” and wanted to see for themselves. They wanted to see what Miami had to offer that no car or bus could show them. They wanted to be part of this tradition in the making. Nearly 10 years later this once small running event has attracted more than 25,000 athletes from all over the world and over 100,000 spectators. Walking the streets of Miami today you see over 100s of running clubs getting their people ready for the ING Miami Marathon. You see “Miamians” wearing their marathon tech tees proudly and their spinning medals hanging from their rear view mirrors. People have marathon count downs on their Facebook pages and their status updates are personal running workouts. People leaving night clubs now come out earlier to cheer on the runners and neighbors who live near the course bring out their tables and set up water stops and gel stops for the runners! People who once said they would never “run for fun” are proudly training on the sidewalks all across South Florida to run this event, which is now just a few days away! On January 29, 2012 the 10th annual ING Miami Marathon will take place and it will be bigger and better than ever! Although very few know this my brother Frankie Ruiz was the co-founder for this event 10 years ago. He has never really received the credit he deserves for being the true master mind behind it all. He always says in his speeches this wouldn’t happen with all those who help in this event such as the office staff, the race crew, the entertainment, and all those volunteers and he is absolutely right. But I feel that it takes a true leader like him to successfully put on an event as large as this, year after year. Ten years ago, people thought this idea was crazy, but it’s crazy ideas like this that change the world. Congratulations to all those who helped in these events the past 10 years and above all congrats Frankie Ruiz....you made it happen. RUN MIAMI!
INSPIRING!!! Much Much Love!
ReplyDelete