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Many of the participants who will Run Miami January 29, 2023 in the world-renowned Life Time Miami Marathon have seen Luis Valle’s work even if they didn’t realize it at the time.
His creations are all over the streets of Miami and are also featured in many local establishments such as restaurants, bars, schools and businesses. His murals adorn the walls of various local shopping centers such as Sunset Place in South Miami, Midtown Shops, Aventura Mall in North Miami Beach and City Place Doral.
Now all 18,000 runners in the 2023 Life Time Miami Marathon will wear his latest creation when they place the finisher ribbons and medals around their neck after completing the 26.2-mile Marathon or 13.1-mile Half Marathon distances. Valle was chosen to design this year’s ribbon, joining a line of elite local artists such as Romero Brito and David LeBatard (Lebo) who have designed the neck ornament for the Marathon in the past.
Valle’s goal was to create something beautiful that would remind the participants of the city where they ran their race. He has incorporated aspects of nature, South Florida sea life, the Miami cityscape and gorgeous skies.
“I grew up in South Florida and was always an outdoors person who loved the city,” Valle said. “I wanted to capture the beauty of South Florida, the water and marine life, the birds, the skyline and how beautiful our colors are. Essentially the beauty of Miami, the essence of the city.
“The ribbon, because of the nature of it, being long, sets up for a story or narrative type of imagery. It can keep going around in a circle. I was able to pull it off. I can’t wait to see what it looks like with the medal. The cool thing about it was knowing that there will be so many participants getting one of these. I tried to make something that people would enjoy and would be memorable for them, something they would be excited to take home.”
Valle found that creating art for the Life Time Miami Marathon was not distinctly different from painting walls in Wynwood or inside a mall.
“The only difference was that I had to relate it to Miami and the Marathon,” he said. “Other than that, it was very similar to a lot of stuff. I work in many different mediums. It was nice to do something digitally at home rather than be outside on a wall.”
The work took him about 2 1/2 weeks to finish.
“Once I got the idea it was more moving around the figures and how I wanted them to get the best flow,” Valle said. “Once I did that, it all kind of fell together.”
Valle ran cross country when he was young and grew up playing sports in Miami. He played high school football at Columbus High and was also on the wrestling team there.
He was born in Nicaragua, but his family relocated to South Florida when Valle was two. He took to the arts at a very young age and by the time he was a teenager, he was painting graffiti in the city under the moniker “GEARS.”
Valle left South Florida to go to Florida State University to get his BFA in Visual Arts and then received a Masters in Arts Degree from New York University. Living in New York was a big influence on Valle’s work. He would visit the city’s Museums and local galleries to observe the work of others and imagine ways in which he could incorporate that into his own creations.
The exploding art culture in the South Florida community of Wynwood brought Valle back to Miami in 2006 and he quickly became a fixture on the local street art scene. He has dedicated a large part of his work to the Public art spectrum, creating commissioned murals as well as paintings for public art projects, businesses, corporate clients, private homes and neighborhoods and becoming involved in many local organizations, several of the city’s art galleries and art studios.
In addition to South Florida, his work can also be seen in various cities across the United States and in other countries including Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, China, and India.
“This creation for the Miami Marathon definitely ranks up there with all the things I have done because of the nature of the project,” Valle said. “It’s a Miami-related thing. Any time I can do something to represent Miami, I do it with a lot of pride.
“I grew up here so I realize the potential and why people here have always loved it. I put a lot of love into it and I know tons of people who will be participating in the race. It’s going to be cool going to the race and watching everyone get their medals.”
ABOUT THE MIAMI MARATHON
The 21st edition of the world-renowned Life Time Miami Marathon is set for Sunday, January 29, 2023. To accommodate demand, the race field has been expanded to a cap of 18,000 runners for the half and full marathon distances, and is again trending toward an early sellout. Participants representing all 50 states and nearly 70 countries will take on the USTAF-certified and Boston-qualifying flat course which showcases the best views of Miami’s cityscape and waterways. As one of the most internationally friendly events in the industry, Life Time personalizes the race bib of each runner with their home country’s flag.
ABOUT LIFE TIME
Life Time (NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of nearly 160 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada including Life Time Coral Gables, which opened in 2021, and the brand new Life Time Palm Beach Gardens, which opened in August 2022. The company will open another South Florida club – Life Time Miami at the Falls – in 2023. The company’s healthy way of life communities and ecosystem address all aspects of healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment for people 90 days to 90+ years old. Supported by a team of more than 30,000 dedicated professionals, Life Time is committed to providing the best programs and experiences through its clubs, iconic athletic events and comprehensive digital platform.
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