Dairy farmer is proud to run Boston Marathon for ag

[Emily Caldwell]

Marcia Itle of Loretto, Pennsylvania, has two loves -- agriculture and running. On April 19, she was able to combine the two, wearing a "BEEF... It's what's for dinner" jersey while completing her first Boston Marathon.

Marcia is from a 200-cow dairy farm in Cambria County called Vale Wood Farms. In addition to the herd, the family owns and operates a dairy store, selling a variety of items including milk, cottage cheese and ice cream.

Marcia grew up helping with all aspects of the operation and says she developed her passion for running by feeding calves. The distance to the calf barn was about a mile from Marcia's home, and she would race to the barn and back after completing her chores.

The Itle family is also committed to educating the public, offering group tours during the spring and fall. Marcia said her farm will host about 2,300 students this May. It's this commitment to agricultural education and promotion that made Marcia jump at the chance to run the Boston Marathon wearing the Team BEEF jersey.

In January, Marcia was approached by Christie Molinaro of the Pennsylvania Beef Council. The recent Penn State graduates knew each other from their activities within the College of Agricultural Sciences, such as the Dairy Science Club and Block and Bridle Club. Christie was looking for runners to participate in Team BEEF, a concept that began in 2006.

Because Marcia had earned a qualifying time in the Steamtown Marathon the previous fall, she was a perfect candidate for Team BEEF.

"It's always been a dream of mine to run the Boston Marathon," Marcia says. "It's the oldest and most popular marathon and the one that everybody knows about."

She and the other 13 marathoners, located throughout the U.S., trained in two ways. In addition to the many miles and workouts the runners put in, they also attended a webinar, designed to train them on addressing questions about beef cattle, the importance of lean protein and the agricultural industry as a whole.

While farm girl Marcia had a leg up on many of her teammates, not all of them came from agricultural backgrounds. One runner is even a former vegetarian who noticed something missing in her diet when she began participating in ultramarathons. She attributes her many personal records and awards to a diet that once again includes beef.

The webinar also served as a way for the runners to "meet" and interact with one another. In many ways, the team became a support group, with members sending emails of encouragement and full of training tips.

Marcia says she ran an average of six miles a day, six days a week, with her training beginning in January. She also did speed workouts, hill repeats and cross training that ranged from bicycle riding to lifting.

"It really is like part-time job," Marcia explains. "You put a lot of time into it."

After most of her workouts and long runs, Marcia says she refueled with a New York strip steak and a tall glass of milk.

Her hard work paid off in Boston, where she finished the race in three hours, 33 minutes and 30 seconds, beating her previous personal record by a full three minutes and qualifying her for next year's Boston Marathon.

She says she also got a lot of satisfaction from people noticing her jersey and having the opportunity to talk about agriculture.

"It's really neat to wear that jersey and help put an explanation to things," she says. "Runners need to eat beef and lean protein to stay strong and win the race."

And is Marcia planning to once again wear the jersey next April?

"I am," she says, with a smile in her voice. "Running is definitely something I'm passionate about, and once you find something like that, it's hard to stop." PTD

PHOTOS
Top left: Wearing the "Beef... it's what for dinner" jersey, Marcia poses with National Beef Ambassadors Malorie Bankhead of California and Mandy-Jo Laurent of Texas.
Top right and bottom left: After completing the Boston Marathon, Marcia enjoys a steak dinner with a glass of milk.
Photos provided by Marcia Itle.

Read more about Team BEEF and the 2010 Boston Marathon:
Pennsylvania Beef Council
2010 Boston Marathoners Fueled by Beef
Team BEEF Completes Boston Marathon