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. Over three days, about 80,000 athletes and supporters had the opportunity to hear about the important role that lean beef plays in a heart-healthy diet.

Note from NEBPI: We would like to mention our thoughts and prayers remain with those affected by the tragedies in Boston. 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. Go to NEBPI's site to view Team Beef runner profiles.

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, New York, he also was selected for an 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. 

—From Cattlemen's Beef Board news release