The beef checkoff, through its Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative (NEBPI), saw to it that sure runners were fueled with beef for the 117th Boston Marathon. Runners and their families made their way to the John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo, April 12- 14, to pick up their race numbers and packets. During the three-day Expo, about 80,000 health-conscious athletes and supporters had the opportunity to hear messages about the important role that lean beef plays in a heart-healthy diet. More than 27,000 of the world’s most elite athletes would be running the Boston Marathon on Monday morning and were glad to hear that lean beef was a great recovery food for after their race!
We would like to mention our thoughts and prayers remain with those affected by the tragedies in Boston last week. We are very thankful all of our staff, team members and Team BEEF runners were safely away from the finish line at the time of the incident.
National Beef Ambassador Team members Katie Stroud, Erin Morrison and Chandler Mulvaney were on site to distribute more than 4,000 90-percent lean beef sticks to Expo participants. Visitors enjoyed talking with the Ambassadors about how cattle are raised and the ways to incorporate lean beef into an athlete’s diet. Booth visitors had the chance to win an “I Heart Beef” cowbell through use of social media on site. Ambassador team members also used Twitter and Facebook to talk about their time in Boston and the impact they were making.
Eight Team BEEF runners participated in the Boston Marathon this year — including runners from Colorado, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. They serve as great spokespeople for the industry and have a passion for promoting the health benefits of beef. Check out Team Beef runner profiles at www.NEBPI.org.
Team members said they enjoyed being recognized as Team BEEF and loved hearing the “Go Beef!” cheers from the crowd as they made their way to the finish line. Check out Team BEEF runners Bill Kosina’s and Brian Steven’s posts to the “Why I run” section of the Boston Globe. In Kosina’s hometown of Richfield Springs, NY, he also was selected for a TV interview on WKTV about why he is a part of Team BEEF and how lean beef fuels him for the finish. This was his sixth Boston Marathon, and he joins all other team members in looking forward to running in Boston again next year for Team BEEF!
For more information about the beef checkoff at the 2013 Boston Marathon contact Jennifer Harrold jharrold@pabeef.org or visit the NEBPI website for photos and more event details.
*Top photo: (L to R) Chandler Mulvaney, Christie Brown, Sarah Bohnenkamp, Katie Stroud and Erin Morrison; Bottom photo: Sam Scruggs from Kansas City.
For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program