‘Big, family meetup at your ‘abuela’s.’ Pembroke Pines run club sparks community
Janesse Mateo wouldn’t describe herself as a morning person, but every Saturday she and her husband, Adrian, open their kitchen at 6 a.m. and make enough “cafecito” to energize over 50 runners.
They say it’s the fuel that powers Pines Running Co., Pembroke Pines’ newest run club.
“I’ve had members tell me, ‘I’m up because I know [Janesse] is going to be bringing that coffee, so I have the motivation to go,’” said the 32-year-old tour operator who moonlights as the club’s cofounder with Adrian. “I make it with ‘espumita’ and everything.”
Since starting the club in late May, the couple has seen their running nonprofit boom into a fitness movement that’s drawing in locals as diverse as the city itself.
Pines Running Co. now averages from 45 to 70 participants, boasts almost 1,500 followers on Instagram, has hosted appromimately 50 runs. To keep up with the club’s growth, the Mateos have outsourced a marketing and design specialist to expand the club’s reach on social media and make personalized merch for runners who want to rep their slogan, “We Run Pines.”
But its mission to build a community that feels like a “big, family meetup at your ‘abuela’s,’” Adrian says, is still the same.
“We have moms with strollers, we have ‘viejos’ out there, we have kids out there,” said the 36-year-old, who is an Army veteran and manages Caution CrossFit & Fitness by day. “Everybody’s out there. It’s a direct representation of the community of Pembroke Pines.”
Adrian originally launched Pines Running Co. to train himself and his coworkers for Flanigan’s Rockin’ Rib 10K, a Miramar-based race they participate in every November. He chose to expand after noticing a need for more inclusivity in the South Florida fitness groups the couple grew up around.
The Mateos hail from Miami-Dade — Adrian was raised in South Miami and Janesse in Hialeah — but settled in suburban Pembroke Pines around 2019 to raise Adrian’s 13- and 15-year-old sons.
What they called the “young bros, afterparty” culture of Miami-based groups such as the Brickell Run Club, which averages hundreds of runners and is famous for its post-run nightlife events, was the only model they’d known.
To serve Pembroke Pines’ demographic, which they described as starter families and retirees, they opted for early-morning and evening runs and all-ages meetups at hubs such as the Pembroke Gardens plaza.
“I got into the running because I saw a bunch of happy, sweaty people walking toward Lime’s,” said Gerard Machado, 67, who first spotted the group during an event at Lime Mexican Grill in July. “They said, ‘We’re a running club, why don’t you join us?’ ... It’s been great ever since.”
Machado, who trains with the group to run races for charity, shared with Adrian that his one condition for joining was to avoid injury. The club founder pulled from his military service days to make Pines Running Co. accessible to runners of all fitness backgrounds.
“In the Army, we used to run three times a week, 4 to 6 miles, and they were brutal,” he said. “I do tempo work and sprint work on Mondays to help [runners] on their regular run days. ... I’ve had a lot of people come up to me saying, ‘These tempo runs have helped me on my Wednesday and Saturday runs.’”
The club operates on three weekly runs — tempo work on Mondays at 7 a.m. and regular runs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 a.m. — that span from 2 to 5 miles. Events such as a midweek happy hour at a restaurant or a weekend wellness event with local businesses also make calendar appearances.
In just four months, Pines Running Co. has offered its runners discounts to juice bars and coffee shops, extended happy hour specials, access to group fitness classes and a cold plunge and sauna experience through its partnership with dozens of Pembroke Pines businesses and brands.
But the real perk, runner Rosanna Medina says, is the friendships made on and off the track.
“I met [my friend Tatiana] and we kicked it off from there. We’re besties now and we have a dog playdate soon,” said the 39-year-old mother and manager of a chain of dental clinics. “Everybody makes you feel so welcome, it’s something to really partner up with.”
The Mateos hope to maintain the tightknit, family appeal of Pines Running Co. as they plan to expand its scale and welcome more members to the club. Next on the docket, Adrian says, is to bring a marathon to Pembroke Pines that parallels that of other South Florida metropolises.
“Miami’s beautiful, but what we have here in our backyard is beautiful as well,” he said. “I’m going to paint you this picture: You’re running, and it’s daybreak and you hear the birds chirping, and the sun’s just coming out. ... It’s very peaceful, very serene.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 1:51 PM.
