We sat down with Belen Jesuit head cross country coach Frankie Ruiz, 47, a long-time fitness fixture in Miami who founded the Life Time Miami Marathon and who's also coached South Florida's best high school cross country team for 25 years, guiding the Wolverines into national relevance.
This year, Ruiz has Belen Jesuit on the verge of their first national title in school history.
But that's not the full story. Ruiz dives into his coaching history, running culture in Miami and much more.
Timeline:
1:00: How the program has grown over the last two decades
2:40: Building team culture at Belen Jesuit
7:10: Treadmill inventory at Belen Jesuit
8:10: Belen has its own team room
9:30: How Ruiz got the team to buy-in to a difficult environment in South Florida
14:00: Evolving to the changes of the sport as a coach
17:00: Coaching one of the nation's fastest runners
22:30: Ruiz dives into his experience in the event space in Miami
25:00: The Grand Theft Auto effect is coming to Miami in November
28:30: The culture of running in Miami
31:45: Miami’s claim to culture
33:15: On celebrity and running in Miami
35:15: Why Belen travels to compete against the best in the country
38:15: Belen Jesuit takes an annual training trip beyond South Florida
40:30: Ruiz's overarching goals to finish out the 2026 cross country season