[Frankie Ruiz] I'm also interested in tech being a solution, to me helping us as race organizers or race directors maintain the integrity of our sport. What I mean by that is there there are bandits that basically make our events less safe, more crowded. They don't pay for registration. They just show up. So using technology with cameras, obviously, a lot of human capital here, but things things that we could do to layer, the, barriers create barriers for for these basically law breakers. They're they're no different than than, going into a convenience store and stealing from you. So we've gotta keep working on that. And then also the other side of the integrity is, you know, the the age grouper that's cutting the course, the age grouper that, is also giving his bib to someone else so that use it to to qualify for Boston, which I know you live in Boston. So Right. That may be relative. So all those things to maintain the integrity of our sport, which I I wanna make sure it's always a sport and not seen as a hobby, you know, and just something be that people can do for fun and so forth, but I think it still needs to have that that sport behind it. Hey, listeners. [Kamal Datta] Welcome to Tech in 26.2 pod. I'm here with Frankie Ruiz, cofounder of Miami Marathon, it's which is now part of Lifetime. He is also the chief running officer at Lifetime, cofounder of Baptist Health Brickell Run Club, which is known for one of the world's largest weekly free run club. Frank is also the chief wellness officer of City of Miami. He's a Nike run club coach and avid cross country coach as well. Welcome, Frank, to this part. I'm really excited to have you here. Thank you. [Frankie Ruiz]] Thanks for for the invite. Did I miss anything until the intro, Frankie? No. You're good. All good. That was perfect. You did your homework. [Kamal Datta] That's always good to hear. So maybe we can start little bit going back, how your background actually helped you to cofound Miami Marathon where someone may think that Miami Marathon, it would be challenging to even think about putting a a marathon event in Miami. Yeah. [Frankie Ruiz] I mean, I was young, very young, a little a little too young, and thankfully with, with that young age, comes a little little naive, and and thinking you can do anything. Yeah. Yeah. And it was about, that was 21 maybe at the time, and we realized that, Miami had no no real marathon to call its own. They had an attempt, you know, years back with the Orange Bowl marathon and and, just things kinda fell off the tracks. And and, so myself with 2 other partners, you know, their names were Robert and Gabby Pozzo. And, we formed this little team to, tackle this, this idea. And, neither one of us 3 had, marathon race experience. We had all, dabbled and and, and produced events. A triathlon event is what what my 2 partners had had done before, and I had, been involved in the production of of 5 k's and things of that sort, and then I was a runner. And so that helped out. But, the inspiration, believe it or not, was through, my cross country team. I happened to bring a young man who, was a double amputee to Miami, to inspire the cross country team I was coaching at the time. I was coaching a middle school cross country team at the same high school where I still coach now the varsity, which is, Belen Jesuit High School. And at the time, I I I was just got a little annoyed with how how much kids complained and and stuff. So I brought this double amputee 12 year old triathlete, and he was here in Miami and, where he was he's from California, but I brought him to Miami to do a triathlon. And the only thing his parents asked me to do is make sure I I, expose him to the to the local media. Hispanic kid with, no no Spanish. Mhmm. But he they wanted him to to to be exposed a bit to the the locals, Hispanic media, so I did, and that was my background. My background was in public relations. This young man's name is Rudy Garcia Tolson. Happens to be now a a Paralympian and and and so many things. Oh, wow. He's done with with his his challenge, not necessarily disability, but being a double amputee, at a such a young age, and and being an endurance athlete was was pretty inspiring. So, anyhow, while he was here, we were interviewed by a local news station, and the mayor took notice. Mayor invited us to his office, and, the rest is sort of history because, during that meeting, the mayor asked him if he had ever done a marathon, and the young boy said, no. But one day, I want to. And the mayor said, why don't you come do Miami? And there was no marathon in Miami. So Yeah. Next day, I got together with the 2 partners, and we started the quest to to bring a marathon to, the city of Miami. And here we are. That was back in 20 o well, the meeting itself was roughly 2002, maybe even 2001 if I'm not mistaken. And so here we are, what is it, 24 years later, sitting around and having sold out races and gone through acquisitions and and stuff. So definitely owe Rudy Garcia Tolson a lot and and the mayors and everybody in leadership that was involved at the time to inspire the idea. Oh, that's that's fascinating. And if I see the data as it's publicly available, the 1st marathon you did, you had around 35 100 kind of runners participated there. To where it stands, you have more than 25,000 runners that participate from across 80 countries and 50 states here. Right. [Kamal Datta] Can you share a little bit about scaling into that level over the years? Yeah. Gosh. The the scaling did involve, several acquisitions. I think we realized, early on that, we we needed there was more capital needed. [Frankie Ruiz] There was, a little more expertise, a little more network of of of race, organizers and and and whatnot to be brought in to help us sort of scale this this project. And, and and some of that scaling came with a lot of pain and a lot of a lot of heartache, and and I'm, you know, I'm sitting here, you know, got very little hair on my head, but Yeah. If I let it grow, it probably shows some some white hairs that that that came of of of the, you know, 20 plus years of trying to figure it out. But some of the scaling, I think, that we we we, definitely tackled. There were things such as, medical in Miami because of of how warm the the temperatures are, so we had to kinda turn to, believe it or not, to to technology and and and, and and things that allowed us to say more safely, run medical calls and and and keep track of people. We, we also would would, bring various experts from, the different areas, and we chose that early on. So we didn't wanna figure things out on our on our own. Maybe the figuring out was just putting all the pieces together, but the actual you know, Ted Mattellus is one one name that you and I were talking about a little while ago, and Yeah. He was he was in charge of our start line. And he was coming to us from at the time, he was working with the New York Road Runners. And, and he's still now, obviously, in New York Road Runners, director. But, people people at, like, his at his caliber allowed us to scale so that when we would we would put this race together, it was made up of a bunch of experts. Even though we weren't experts, we would bring in years of expertise. Mhmm. Whether it was from the sport of triathlon or whether it was a sport of biking or or, you know, on the registration side, we're working with, another expert, named, John Elliott. He's he's, he runs a website called marathon guide.com. So he was, like, an early, early registration processing company, and and and he did us a a a big favor early on to to help us scale our registration process because back then, we were still using some paper applications. Okay. Yeah. Exactly. So I don't think people even know what that is now. But but, but, yeah, I mean, all those things kinda combined helped us scale a bit. We also, made sure we were taking on a lot of local races, so we scaled our marketing as well, to build the running community here in Miami, which was it was existing, but it was there wasn't a whole lot of of events that were held to a professional level. So we we started producing smaller events, turkey trots and 10 k's and and and things of that sort. So that also helped us kinda keep the the grease on the wheels all year long. Mhmm. And and the company was was run as an as a for profit. So we we also scaled on the on the sponsorship side because you couldn't you couldn't survive without the sponsors. We can rip off 34 100 registrations. We also learned a bit on how to scale what we were doing with the city itself. The municipality was not used to, you know, having 300 police officers at an event, so we helped I see. Them through that process. Same thing would go for fire rescue. Same thing would go through, public works and all the all the different departments. So it it I mean, we can be here talking for hours on how we scale, but that was just some high level, you know, things that we did to to to figure out how we can scale this this event. And then and then we started to look outside of our market. You know? We we went through some acquisitions of other events, throughout the area that allowed us to to strategically produce events in in places outside of Miami. Oh, wow. No. [Kamal Datta] That's fascinating. You touched on a topic that differently you want to deep dive a little bit on, how you think about technology as as you orchestrate the different parts of such a massive scale event. As you were saying and and you have scaled these, rates to the to its current state, how you approach thinking about how technology can enable it to grow or help to solve some frictions you may have seen in the past events. What is your take? And maybe you can, you know, put it into 3 buckets. Like, there are things that needs to happen pre race, right, when you think about the race is coming. And then the part b would be on the race day. That lot of things to put to, come together, and and maybe on the post race. Maybe we can you know, if you can share some of your thoughts, how you think about technology into these three segments of of putting together such a huge race. So the this is, this is kind of one of those, it it it sort of contradicts running. [Frankie Ruiz] Right? Running is is one of the most basic forms of sport. Right? Like, you don't need a lot of equipment even though now shoes and shirts and nutrition have all taken the the the form of tech, but, it really is and it's one of the reasons I liked it as a as a coach is that it was like, hey. Just, you know, anybody can do this thing. Right? Like, it it didn't matter. You need a pair of shoes, and even then, you know, you people do it barefoot. Right? Right. Right. So it's so having that in the back of your mind and and and thinking, well, let's just keep running simply simple, is is probably not the best, you know, the best attitude to have given all the gadgets and the toys and the technology that that's being used these days. Not just for the runner experience, but for the the producer's experience or the producer's, product. And and so some of the things we've we've been sort of, tuss tussling throughout the years with, we've been on the registration side. I'm I'm I'm a big, big advocate of making it as convenient as possible for a runner. I feel like our process is a little archaic. You know, you you register, then you have to go to a a an expo and pick up your bib and four pins and and and that whole process when you when you even, compare it to, like, getting on a plane these days Yeah. It seems like we make you go through as much as you go through to get on a plane, if not more. Right? And and and so that that's helped us, or or I shouldn't say helped us, but helped everyone in the industry, to think of ways to make it more convenient. And Right. And at, at Lifetime, we also happen to own ChronoTrack, and Yeah. And and ChronoTrack is is one of the leaders in that space between the registration processing all the way through the scoring of the event or the results and and and and things such as Athlinx, which also is under under Lifetime. Yeah. We've been able to to make things a little easier for the runner. You know, things such as dynamic bib assignment, before there could be a box. And you get to the to the expo, and they'd look for your last name and pull your card and, then get a shirt. And then we've been trying to tie all those pieces together where it's more dynamic and it's more, on the spot kind of assignment rather than this archaic process. Mhmm. It helps us. And even the smaller events, the 5 k's and the 10 k's and stuff like that, we've been implementing some of that stuff. Beyond that, and I don't know if this if I'm getting ahead of myself, but beyond that, I'm also a What I mean by that is there there are bandits that basically make our events less safe, more crowded. They don't pay for registration. They just show up. So using technology with cameras and and, obviously, a lot of human capital here, but things things that we could do to layer, the barriers create barriers for for these basically law breakers. They're they're no different than than, going into a convenience store and stealing from you. So we've gotta keep working on that. And then also, the other side of the integrity is, you know, the the age grouper that's cutting the course, the age grouper that, is also giving his bib to someone else so that they use it to to qualify for Boston, which I know you live in Boston. So Right. That may be relative. So all those things to maintain the integrity of our sport, which I I wanna make sure it's always a sport and not seen as a hobby, you know, and just something be that people can do for fun and so forth, but I think it still needs to have that that sport behind it. So, So, yeah, so those are some of the things we've been looking into, and and, you know, we may be a little bit ahead of our time, but it's it's just hard for me to to to accept that, you know, a 100 years worth of running, and we're still pinning 4, you know, safety pins to your shirt. That's true. Yeah. Like, I I just feel like we're we're ready to to keep making some some advances in in in things. And so I've I've challenged our timers and our our, providers and and and, we this year, we've been looking into some testing some cameras and things of that sort. We may not be there yet, but I'm told that with AI, we could be there, you know, soon. I don't wanna be I don't wanna be, behind when it comes to this. I feel like running, has taken some some big jumps with shoes and and nutrition and things like that, so there's no reason why the races can't, advance on on that end as well. [Kamal Datta] Frankie, I'm just curious what kind of a data point you have seen, especially when you're talking about the integrated piece of it that is triggering in terms of, you know probably would be an investment that you have to make to adapting those technology to make sure that the integrity is upheld. Like, what data points you have seen that kind of an offenders that you have noticed? Because it's it's a massive race you have. [Frankie Ruiz] And and we're using, bandits as an example. Yeah. I would say when we first started our bandit control program, and what I mean by that is that we've got people assigned through different points in the race to actually next to police officers because Yeah. You know, it it it it we do have a permit for the street, so we can ask you to get off the street. I would say that numbers have gone down a bit in terms of of the number of bandits that are crossing our finish lines. And specifically, if I use the the our our 5 k, which is a little more manageable in terms of of of of estimating the the the overall size of these perpetrators Yeah. I would say probably about 10% of the field, believe it or not. Maybe a little less. About 8% of the field. So 8% of, say, 3,000 runners. Same about a couple hundred people that are just not not playing by the rules. Mhmm. And and that's probably applicable to 20,000. So now if you take 8% of 20,000, you have a 15, 1600, you know, a person, issue that if not if left unchecked, it could take a life of its own and and, and and create some serious problems. The Mexico City Marathon as of recent had a, an Olympian. If I'm not mistaken I saw it in the news. Yeah. Sadly, he was abandoned and, you know, he had a medical issue, and and they didn't know who he was because he didn't have a BIB number. Right? He wasn't registered. So so I think those are some of the data points. Outside of that, You know, a lot of the feedback we get from the runners on on things that that trip them up, you know, things that they don't like. So we've we've reacted to that. We've we've we've resorted. Like, something as like, registration, for instance. We've resorted to old school technology. Tell you how, you know, some folks don't like the whole idea that they've gotta go to an expo and pick up a ticket or pick up a registration and all that stuff. So we actually give them the option to mail their packet to them. Right? Right. So, you know, it's kind of a a little counterintuitive to the idea of technology, but we've actually done some of that to to to eliminate some of that that those pain points. Our our command center, has a lot of data coming from it. Our command center, believe it or not, is is a a brain of the event, and and it's a brain that helps us plan the following year's event where we're getting the medical calls, and the medical calls are being logged and and tracked, and we're creating heat maps of where the problems are so that next year, we can station more rescue, officer or rescue personnel in those areas. We're we're getting data on traffic. We're getting data on on crowd, sizes as they as they, go through water stations. That helps us add, more volunteers and more, fluids and and more tables. It's amazing. I I didn't even know I mean, this 2 years ago, we started hiring a crowd science, specialist. Oh, my god. Okay. Helping us he's helping us basically crunch numbers on Excel spreadsheets and and understand how many people flow through a given width of an area per their pace, and and and it helps us basically plan, you know, the the the pinch points a little better, and it helps us plan our the aid station locations. So there's a lot of data, believe it or not, and and we go back and forth on this data because it's pretty it helps you predict, these numbers don't change that. And even though runners have gotten a little faster Mhmm. I'd say, at least on the top end, but it helps us year to year understand what our field, looks like out there on the course. And are these heat map or are the crowd data point that they're looking at is real time, or it is more on analyzing the past year's data? It's usually the past year's data. Yeah. It's past year's data. Okay. It's past year's data using the RFID mat mats that are out there, the ComalTrack mats, antennas that are out there. They're these readers are basically logging all this data. They're also checking to make sure that you cross those mats or those points. So it'll pull at the end, you know, hey. Sally didn't really do, you know, the 26.2 miles because these two times just don't add up. There's no way she ran Okay. In from here to here in 3 minutes. So that's being that part is used real time or I should say right at right after the race, and then the planning uses it, you know, in a year's worth of of analyzing the the data. The the data is only as good as as who you have that can actually interpret this data. Right? Absolutely. Yeah. You know, we we've used it for all sorts of things. But as of recent, we've used it to manage through get get ourselves to manage, construction constraints on the course. Okay. Miami is is like many major cities, in a in an a never ending loop of of construction. And so so you've got, like, all these pinch points where lanes have been reduced or now there's a retention wall and there's a a curb and there's there are, there isn't as much space as you might have had 2 years ago. Mhmm. And and so you're using the crowd science. This this may be fast a little fascinating here. We actually reduced our start line with, significantly before the start line. So you create what you do is you create and this was a credit to the car the crowd specialist. Mhmm. Basically, you pinch the the the runners before they cross the start line. So about, say, 50 meters before the start line, they get pinched, and then they get opened up, and then they get pinched again. And this allows the flow of the crowd to be, better spaced out. It's still a little crowded. It's not I mean, at the end of the day, you're constrained by by geographic or or physical, structured. And and this worked wonderfully. We videoed it, and we saw what was happening, and and, and we assessed that our approach to it was the right one. And, thankfully, this this crowd scientists gave us this this, this data, and and we set up the barricades a certain way and cones a certain way, and and it really did make a big difference. So we're we're looking to do a little more of that, and and Miami is just gonna force us to do that. I mean, because there's just there's construction everywhere. Wow. This is fascinating. I didn't know that there is a science called crowdsourced or crowdscience, which is fascinating to know. So was the concept is that if you expand and contract the kind of the flow of crowd, it eventually let you save, especially in the start line, number of, you know, amount of space you need. Is that Yeah. I mean, it it's it's almost it's almost it's it's it's like tearing a page out of a plumber's book, you know, where if you've got a ton of water and you put it into a small pipe, it it's just gonna back up the water and there's gonna be spillage. It's very similar concept. Mhmm. Obviously, I'm really simplifying it, or or even traffic. Right? Like, sometimes it's better to have 2 lanes of traffic versus 6 lanes of traffic. Right. You know? And and and so that that's been, something I've learned a little more about. Mhmm. And, and certainly folks that are a lot smarter than me that can interpret this data are able to give you this, these intervals to let the people out or or, like I said, create the the specific width, you know, whether it's 12 feet or 16 feet or 10 feet given the amount of space that a an individual typically takes, up in a race. And the mid packers take a different amount of space. The front front pack takes a different space. The people in the back take a different space. So all that has to be factored. And this goes back to some of the other technology can, issues we have, which is how do I verify your data, your past data, and use it to assign you a a seat or a, in this case, a a a a corral. Yeah. And and that's that's got its own, series of challenges. Right? There's people that are have never run before. There's people that have only done 5 k's. There's people that have, done races in in a place where they were at altitude, so they ran slower. So all those things take into account. And and if you line all these people up on a on a start line and they're not lined up according to their pace Mhmm. Then you get all sorts of backups. Right? Like, it's kind of like when when they say the the truck shouldn't be in the left lane in a highway, it's it's same same concept sort of happens in in a race. And it could be a very bad experience for a runner, especially a runner that's looking to qualify for Boston or or do a personal record or, or just someone that, you know, doesn't wanna be tripped up, you know, during during the race. So we find ourselves a lot of people lie about their or pace or they just don't really know that that they can run a 10 minute pace, versus what they put down or they may have put down that they can run an 8 and a half minute pace. Yeah. And in reality, they're really 10 minute runners, but they wanted to start with their friends, so they put that. So we have to verify this data, and that has its own, you know, challenges. Right? It could be very tedious. But luckily with Athlink and their active database, you know, I know you talked to Troy a bit, you're able we're able to sort of filter some of this this, misinformation or this this poor, data to give us the the most accurate placement of a runner's, position at a corral. Wow. [Kamal Datta ] That's interesting. What about the cohort where you do not have any past data in AthLink's database? Are you having some predictive modeling there too? So we we do rely on on, an individual's, you know, honesty. Sure. [Frankie Ruiz] Sometimes they'll contest our placement of their of their corral. Mhmm. Other times, we just kinda say, well, you gotta build a resume. Right? Like, it's Right. It it it it is what it is. Just like an elite athlete has to prove their their, their pace through through time. Same thing would be for a first timer. But it does present a challenge when 30% of your field is a first timer. Right. Right. Or or or they're coming from other countries where we don't have access to the data, or it's a nonstandard distance, or it's something that's just really difficult to extrapolate their results. Mhmm. But the more the more, results that athletes has on you, the better they're gonna obviously predict. But if they don't have anything, then it's like you're just the John Doe that might just get assigned to one of the back corrals, and you just gotta kinda earn your, you know, earn your stride. [Kamal Datta] No. That that makes sense. I vividly remember when I did Berlin last year, we have to manually input the point you mentioned, your previous best time, right, with Pierre. And I remember and I'm not a very fast runner. I'm I'm probably around, you know, the range you mentioned about. [Frankie Ruiz] I have seen so much, like, why I'm crossing so many people when the quarter started. And when I saw after the race, so many people in the community chats mentioning that there was definitely a misstep in terms of their pace or maybe we didn't know that what their pace was. But, you know, a lot of people are crossing and that triggered, you know, adding more distance. You could say to cross them out, and you add more distance to 26.2 miles. So it's a challenge for a lot of runners who are being honest and and people who are maybe have whatever reasons that didn't maybe not didn't know what their pace is or it can be a challenge. Even manage the cloud too. There's a huge backup in the water stations. It can create managing the event may be a little more stressful for the organizers as well. Right? Yeah. Yeah. No. It it it it it's it's it's a tough one because we get blamed. And in reality, we can only be as good as as what you're telling us. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and so we thankfully, athletes in KronosTrack have have been in the process. I mean, it's been a couple years now in the making where they're doing a corral verification, program, and that's helping out a bit. It's filtering a lot of a lot of it's catching really a lot of a lot of, let's call let's call it false data that that the person in inserted that they were a 6 minute, per mile marathoner. And in reality, they were 12. So it's helping us sort through some of that. But is it a 100% yet? No. It's not. And and that this goes back to using you know, trying to maintain the integrity of the sport. I think if enough layers and barriers and and and filters are in place, the the runners start to become a little more honest. And I think what happens with the Berlin's and even our race is that some of the runners just say, well, I don't think they check because last year, I was put in Corral c, and and I'm a 10 minute runner. And I and the truth is there there are runners that slip through, and and there's also a a point where we just assign the the we kind of take their word for it if we can't find data sometimes. Mhmm. So it's not a 100%. It, it it is getting easier for us, and I'll tell you why it in our case, it's getting a little easier. Our race for the first 18 years of it of its existence never really sold out until the last minute. Now our race is selling out sooner, and that helps because now you have this data 6 months in advance, and you can do stuff with it. Right. You know, we we open registration a couple days ago, and in 24 hours, we got 12,000 people registered. Oh, wow. And and the it used to take us, you know, 6 months to get those 12,000 people. I see. Now now we have them all together, so I can tell our registration coordinators, hey. You guys need to go in and and and and start cleaning this this this data and and and verifying these corral times. So it gives them a little bit more time. They run it through this filter. Then there is gonna be the the the the, folks that come back with errors because what also happens here is that people sign up with different email addresses, different names, different, ages. I mean, they they do all sorts of things, and and it might very well be the same person. Mhmm. But and we've got now and we gotta try to match all these things. So it it definitely ends up being a data game, for now we we're able to play it a lot sooner, a lot with a little bit more buffer in in in the timeline, and that helps us, make it a little more accurate. This year, we're probably gonna close a month earlier than we closed last year. Last year, we closed in October. This year, we think we're gonna close in September. I see. So it it starts pushing us back, and it helps out a little bit. No. [Kamal Datta] That's that's excellent to know. What other areas that we have we are experiencing challenges today that you may you are thinking about maybe technology can help? Are there other aspects of organizing Miami that you're seeing [Frankie Ruiz] I mean, we've gone through we've gone through some of the big ones. I, you know, I I I personally would like to see, photography, be a little a little more data centric or a little a little more accurate. Mhmm. I hear too much from runners. Hey. I didn't see my I couldn't find my photos. So I think that'll tie into this whole integrity piece. I'd also I'd also like to to to figure out a way, and this goes back to the whole expo experience, but maybe maybe the technology is that you run now with your phone, and your phone is your bib, and maybe your bib your phone now is what's verifying your so many people running with their phones. Right? Right. So I think that's that's some of it. So it goes back to timing. I don't know. I mean, from a technology standpoint, I think those are I I think I've listed most most of them. Yeah. There's some that I'm not, you know, I'm not necessarily thinking of. Would like to see how technology maybe is integrated a little bit more into the runner amenities, such as your your metal, figuring out a way to make the metal a little more interactive or or meaningful with with, you know, if you feel like we've come up with every artistic variation of a metal you can possibly come up with. We were the 1st to have a spinning metal. Oh, you do. Okay. That's great. So so, yeah, I mean, maybe there's something there from a technology standpoint that can tie into your your results and who knows? I don't know. Is there something else? One and and and curious aspect of of, since you are in charge of making this big event a success or, you know, all aspects of it, I'm sure you are approached with upcoming technologies all the time. So one thing I'd be curious from where you see it, like, how do you select which to add up? Or sometimes maybe it's not the right technology to add up. How do you weigh in? So there's there's, it's I think it's very similar to our environmental issues. Right? Our our, sustainability efforts, you know, not not that there's a price to saving the earth, but but there's a there's whether it's viable or not, whether it's it's financially viable. And and I think we look at it from that perspective. We we will set aside some monies to improve certain processes, but at the end of the day, it does come down to making sure that this race is around and this race can pay its bill. Space this race, you know, is is operated as as a as a for profit, entity that's part of Lifetime, which is a for profit, you know, publicly traded company. Yeah. So we have a responsibility there, but we also have, you know, a responsibility to to continue innovating and continuing continue to push this seemingly simple sport into, you know, the the the the, the boundaries of of of, of what's what's, innovation and and what's new. So I I I gotta say most of the most of the decisions get driven by, participant feedback and and balancing that with finances. Right? Is it is it financially, sound for us to pursue some form of improvement in the race that that makes sense. May may may just be sexy. Right? It just maybe, you know what? Let's let's do this. This is this is sexy. For the most part, though, what really should drive it always is, is this gonna make for a better production and runner experience? If it is, then is is it something we have in the budget for this upcoming year? We tend to plan our budgets about a year and a half in advance. Mhmm. So we're able to maybe it's a capital expenditure. Maybe it's it's, you know, a sponsor that that came in and wanted to to just, you know, make make some aspect of the event better. Tracking used to be something that was a big deal, and that was a lot, had a lot because it was really expensive to do back then. Mhmm. Where a sponsor would come in and say, hey. I wanna pay for all the runner tracking. So now you put out more mats, so you were able to you push this data out, and and friends and and family were able to track you during your run, and this now isn't this is just standard. It's not even like a it's not a it's not a a luxury anymore. Yeah. It is not a wow factor anymore probably because it's expected. [Kamal Datta] Like, okay. If you're you're on a race, you expect that to happen. Right? I had to go a little bit back, on on Miami Marathon's journey in terms of selling it to, Life Fitness. You know, Life Fitness is a huge organization as you mentioned couple of times. If you have to share about your journey to, you know, scale Miami and selling it to lifetime, and you learned it differently, lot of aspect actually how Life Fitness and its other acquisitions have helped Miami Marathon to where it is today too. I'll be curious your your journey to sell it because it's a interesting, dynamics to think about selling a race to a company which is wellness and fitness and how you approach it. Yeah. [Frankie Ruiz] Look. I'm I'm also gonna be honest. I I wish I didn't. I hadn't sold it. And and and not not that I'd I'd go back and and and do it differently. It's just you can't see the future. And and, in my mind, in order for the event to grow to where it is, it probably needed to be sold. But but I regret selling. I don't know if that if that makes any sense to to folks, but it's just one of those things you know you needed you need your baby to go to college. Uh-huh. But you regret it. Right? Like, you're like, I wish it could stay, you know, stay around, and it could be your baby forever. Right? I got 2 kids, and I and I just think about them going to college. And and I feel like my race went to college. Right? Like, it it it it it needed to grow up. And and, you know, luckily, I still live here and I can visit it. But, it's, we went through 2 acquisitions. The first acquisition was to a company called US Road Sports. I stayed on as an owner back then, and, and that company was, was not in the event production business, but they were well funded, and they it was a basically, a a a investment group. And and what they did is they acquired a number of these events, Chicago half marathon, back then, the Georgia marathon, number of triathlons, the 5 k's, smaller events, and they bought our whole portfolio. I stayed on as a as a as a par as a partner. And, about 5 to 6 years after that acquisition, we sold and I sold my entire shares to, Lifetime. Mhmm. And, Lifetime bought everything that US Road Sports owned, and they brought they merged it with what they already owned. But it just so happens to be that the Miami Marathon was the largest thing now that they owned. So I see. I I I took a chance and and and and encouraged the sale of of our event to Lifetime even though Lifetime had never produced anything as large. But they were doing pretty pretty well, publicly traded company, a 100 plus, at the time, a 100 plus health clubs around the country. Now one of now they become one of the largest operators of of not just events, but, their their their core business, which is, clubs health clubs. Mhmm. And, and so, anyhow, that that transition, we went through several models where they tried to sort of nationalize roles, and they went through models where, well, we're gonna have one director that's in charge of several geographic areas, and then we're gonna have a marketing department sitting over here. And and I think what was most, learn of the biggest learning I took from, what business we're involved in, this is a local asset. This is a localized asset. You can't produce the Miami Marathon in in Bogota. Right? You can't pick up the race and move it to Orlando. It's the Miami marathon. It has its Miami nuances. It has its it's gotta have its Miami feel to it. It has to have its Miami marketing. It has to have its its, its Miami touch. Mhmm. Same thing instead of the New York City Marathon. You can't you can't pick up the Verasano Bridge and put it in in Dubai. You know? I'm sure that's that's true. But Yeah. But but I think that that, was a a difficult part of the acquisition because I stayed I stayed I stayed as a as an employee of the company, and and it was a bit of a struggle. In lifetime, I gotta I gotta give it to him. Very, very patient, very steady hand, you know, nothing too dramatic or too drastic of change. But some of these changes, we've realized, alright. You can't have a marketing director sitting, you know, in Minneapolis or somewhere in the country that didn't understand Miami. And that, once once they realized that and they brought kind of most of the operations and marketing back to Miami and in and our team here, things thing the wheels just turn better. That's not to say still our sponsorship sales team is is based all over the place, and I think COVID played a big role in in making this easier. But, for the most part, everything that happens in Miami for the Miami Marathon lives in Miami. Oh, it's so crazy. And and and, and I think that's, that's been a a big, big part of the success. Oh, no. That's fascinating. [Kamal Datta] I know you mentioned that, you know, having that links, a part of the integrated piece, you know, is helping out in a chrono track. It's definitely tracking. So you have in house solutions that is also helping you Right. Do a lot of action to scale. But, yeah, your, point is very well that you need to know the local market that you're playing in for sure. [Frankie Ruiz] And that you need local or talent that understand the local market to, you know, to scale or be successful, whatever action to your Yeah. And and looking at I'm yeah. And I'm not gonna make because I know the podcast is not about marketing, but but it it's all it has a lot to do with marketing. Right? Like, lifetime saw, events as a way to supplement their membership business, their their their, gym memberships, and their health club membership. And and they real it quickly realized that this wasn't a way to market their clubs to a new population. Mhmm. And and they they sort of have have realized that now this is a way to offer a consistent, quality, service and product to their existing members. So their existing members are like, oh, look. I trust Lifetime. I'm a member of Lifetime, and they also have events. So now I'm gonna be more loyal to the business because they're they're serving my event desire, my desire to to to aspire to to be a marathon or a triathlete or a biker or a cyclist or whatnot. And once they realized that that it wasn't the races weren't feeding the clubs. The clubs were gonna feed the races, and and therefore then then then the race was gonna help in the loyalty of the race. It made for a better formula. Now what has happened and and and, is that, races tend to have a lot of media or or social, impressions social media impressions, and that has helped the lifetime brand kind of back to to, the mothership. Oh, wow. No. That's fascinating. And thanks for sharing as well. [Kamal Datta] I know you talked quite a bit about one area I probably want to wrap up with. What's next for Frankie? [Frankie Ruiz] It's it's funny that the I wish I was an Olympian. I I hear that that Yeah. That the Olympians, get annoyed with that question. Right? Like, they say, okay. When I get a gold medal, now what's next? I I listen. I don't I definitely don't have a gold medal. I I as much as I I live a little bit in the past of of of what of what I helped start, I I I wanna I wanna start more things. And and so I'm I'm working at a I'm working at a hospitality company that that has helped me sort of expand my horizons a little bit and bring some fitness to their world. The hospitality business in Miami, as you might know, is is is pretty robust. The name of the company is actually Breakwater, so I'm helping them out. I still I'm still involved with the Miami marathon to anybody panicked there. I'm still the face of the roots and and then the spirit behind it, and I I I haven't left the building entirely. But I am looking at at doing different things. I'm working with High Rocks, and and a joint venture with Breakwater to to to do some, basically fitness racing is is is a good way to put it. In in here in Miami, Miami Beach, I'm looking to grow the run club concepts. If you're following following the news, run clubs are all the rage, and and and and running is in a in a very special place, so I'm not leaving the running world. In fact, I wanna double down and and do more in it. I also have my side, I didn't even call it a side business anymore because it's got it's got a lot of, a lot of clients at this point, but I've I've got a company that produces, some some big races for some some, some pretty big clients. And that's, that's somewhere where I've put a lot of of my my emphasis these days. And and then I wanna continue coaching. I coach I coach a high school cross country team, and I wanna continue innovating in that space. I brought and and some of the some of your guests to my cross country world. Oh, wow. Okay. And then trying to bring technology to to, again, a very simple sport and and, and help our team, succeed at the national level. We finished 4th last year in the country and and and hoping to build on on top of that. And then, yeah, just raise my my 2 kids and and and my and attend to my wife as best as I can with all the thousand things that I've got going on. But, in one day, maybe run for mayor here of our of our community. I'm really fond of what the work that that our current mayor has done, and I'd like to one day, build on top of that as well. Well, best of luck. The the list is very simple. What drives Frankie? Because you are in so many things. You have pretty much been one of the, biggest races in the world, and you are the face of it. But you still continue you just mentioned the list of things you want to still achieve. What drives you, Frankie? I I I I think a different different days, different things. Sure. You know, there there's there's just different, let's call it ebbs and flows when when and what is driving me. I know that I I live by the model, don't stop, because I I think movement drives me. Like, the more I move, the more I wanna I wanna move more. Mhmm. You know, if if if I if I find myself standing or sitting too long, both figuratively and and and, you know, physically, I I'm I get I get pretty pretty anxious and pretty, you know, as they say in Spanish, in, which is, you know, just this willingness or this wanting to move to the next thing. Mhmm. I I don't know. I I would say people in general. Right? People in my in my local community. I'm a I'm a I'm a homebody. I I was born and raised in Miami. I I I believe Miami is the city of the of of the future in in many different ways, and and one of the main things about it is that people get along with people here. Mhmm. And and I wanna be a part of that. Whatever if if that happens to be through running and fitness, great, because it also has the other good to it, which is people are healthier and live longer. Yeah. At at least live better longer. Mhmm. I don't know. I I guess those are the things that motivate me. I'm not necessarily motivated by finances. If I was, I probably wouldn't have sold the Miami Marathon. Yeah. I I I'm I'm more motivated by seeing things grow and and and, things I'm into competition, so I'm a little motivated in that sense of it. I want Miami to be better. I want our race to be even better than the next race. Yeah. Those are some of the things, I guess. Yeah. [Kamal Datta] Thank you so much. It was great to have you on the pod and and and hear your story and your background and and building Miami Marathon. Thank you so much, Frankie. [Frankie Ruiz] Thank you, I appreciate the the invitation, and I hope I added a little something to to the listeners.