Thanks to the national beef checkoff, beef was front and center during the 121st Boston Marathon on April 17. Thirty-one members of Team Beef ran on Marathon Monday to celebrate Patriots’ Day with more than 30,000 other runners from nearly 100 countries.

The checkoff also participated in the John Hancock Sports and Fitness Expo leading up to the race. That event brought the beef message to 100,000 runners and their families.

This year marked the largest contingent of Team Beef members participating in the Boston Marathon to date. Members of Team Beef also received tips for including nutritious, lean beef in their training diet, beef recipes and cooking advice, and a Team Beef running jersey to wear during the race. Team Beef runners were from New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Arizona, Illinois, Colorado and Texas.

Like all Marathon runners, Team Beef members had to run a qualifying time during a previous marathon. For Team Beef member, Sam Brandt, it was nothing less than just that. “Seven years ago, I made it my goal to go to the Boston Marathon by planting the seed, believing in it and achieving it.”

During the three-day Sports and Fitness Expo, the beef checkoff partnered with Boston-based Honest Beef Company to offer beef jerky samples to attendees.