Life Time Miami Marathon Selects International Artist, Luis Valle, to Create Custom Medal Ribbon for 2023 Event

October 5, 2022

Decade-long tradition features local artists whose designs express beauty, love of Miami

MIAMI, October 5, 2022 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – For nearly ten years, participants completing the Life Time Miami Marathon, Half Marathon, Tropical 5K and Kids Run Miami events have taken home a piece of collectible artwork. That’s because events owner and producer, Life Time (NYSE: LTH), selects Miami-based artists each year to custom design the finisher medal ribbon. For 2023, Life Time has chosen internationally acclaimed artist, Luis Valle.

Valle’s creations can be found all over the streets of Miami as well as in local restaurants, bars, schools and businesses. His art also adorns the walls of local shopping centers, including Sunset Place in South Miami, Midtown Shops, Aventura Mall in North Miami Beach and City Place Doral.

In January 2023, 18,000 runners from across the globe will descend upon Miami and finishers of the world-renowned event will be graced with Valle’s latest creation. Valle joins a line of elite local artists who have designed the neck ornament for the marathon, including:

• Peter Tunney
• Rigo Leon
• Bernard Zyscovich
• Jenny Perez
• Romero Britto

“The Miami Marathon medals have long been an iconic element of our event, but the ribbons are where the real story lies,” said Nicole Bostick, Associate Marketing Director at Life Time. “For the past decade, local artists have designed our ribbons based on their individual interpretations and love of our city. Their amazing renditions never fail to wow us, and we’re thrilled to unveil the 2023 edition.”

Valle’s goal was to feature unique aspects of the City, including nature, South Florida sea life, the Miami cityscape and its skies.

“I grew up in South Florida and was always an outdoors person who loved the city,” said Valle. “The ribbon, because of the nature of it being long, sets up for a story or narrative type of imagery. I wanted to capture the water, marine life, birds, skyline and beautiful colors represented by the beauty of Miami and its essence. I set out to make something unique and special that people would enjoy and be excited to take home as a reminder of their experiences.”

Born in Nicaragua, Valle and his family relocated to South Florida at age 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.” He attended Florida State University where he earned his BFA in Visual Arts and later received a Master of Arts Degree from New York University. It was the exploding art culture in the South Florida community of Wynwood that 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.

Life Time will begin its annual search for the next local artist who will be tapped to create the 2024 edition’s ribbon in this December.

ABOUT THE MIAMI MARATHON

The 21^st 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 newly opened Life Time Palm Beach Gardens, which opened in August 2022. Life Time is expanding further in South Florida with 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.