{"id":184492,"date":"2026-05-05T17:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/184492\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T17:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:06:09","slug":"did-you-see-a-potato-running-the-pittsburgh-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/184492\/","title":{"rendered":"Did You See a Potato Running the Pittsburgh Marathon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Spud\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN BRACKEN | SOME OF THE SPEEDY SPUDS ON A TRIAL RUN IN POINT STATE PARK SATURDAY, MAY 2.<\/p>\n

When you think of long-distance running, you probably don\u2019t also think of potatoes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That would be because you haven\u2019t heard of the Speedy Spuds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Decked out in custom-made potato costumes, the group of 26 runners \u2014 representing the 26 grams of carbohydrates found in the nutrient-dense food \u2014 took to the streets this weekend as Team Potato<\/a>. They participated in the Pittsburgh Marathon and Half-Marathon races with their registration fees covered by Potatoes USA<\/a>, the nation\u2019s official potato marketing and research organization that works on behalf of potato farmers.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always looking for new and interesting ways to communicate the nutritional benefits of potatoes,\u201d says Kayla Vogel, community engagement manager for Potatoes USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The costumes worn by the Speedy Spuds have all of the nutritional information for a medium-sized, skin-on white potato on the back: 26 grams of complex carbs, 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of plant-based protein, plus vitamins C and B6 and more potassium than a medium-sized banana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of really good things in a potato,\u201d Vogel says.<\/p>\n

She adds that a lot of people love potatoes, especially in Pittsburgh, but not as many know that they can be used as a body\u2019s source of fuel, whether you\u2019re training for a marathon or just getting through the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the Speedy Spuds come in. The concept raises awareness for the nutrient-dense, affordable vegetable in a way that supports local runners; six of this year\u2019s 26 Spuds were Pittsburgh natives. Among them was Maura Dye from Mars, Pa., who ran the 13.1-mile half-marathon with Team Potato.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a fun experience, running through Pittsburgh,\u201d Dye says. \u201cI had so many people shouting, \u2018I love potatoes,\u2019 or \u2018Potatoes are great\u2019 or \u2018How did you get to do that?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI was screaming, \u2018Google Speedy Spuds, it\u2019s awesome!\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dye, like most of Team Potato, loves the vegetable. True to her Pittsburgh roots, pierogies are her favorite form, along with Potato Patch fries from Kennywood, but she cites the baked potato she had the night before the race as the thing that helped her feel energized and ready to go on race day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt great, as a mom of two kids, getting out there. It was like, \u201cI can do this,\u2019\u201d says Dye, who hadn\u2019t run a half-marathon in more than nine years. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome. I ran 13.1, and to be honest, I\u2019m not as sore as I thought. I did it! I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the costume itself was more comfortable than you might think.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our Pittsburgh weather \u2026 the costume was a benefit,\u201d Dye says, adding that she, like most runners, did not anticipate temperatures to be 30 degrees on race morning. \u201cI wore my T-shirt, but the costume stopped the wind and kept me warm.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2022, Potatoes USA started a public run club on Strava<\/a>, an app that allows runners to connect and share their runs and routes. When it began, it had about 700 members. Now, it has almost 30,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty incredible to see how it\u2019s grown,\u201d Vogel says, adding that engagement was high from the start; runners post in the online club every day about what they\u2019re fueling for, what races or routes they\u2019re running around the country and how they\u2019re using potatoes as a performance vegetable. Speedy Spuds are typically chosen by Potatoes USA from Strava\u2019s Team Potato group as a way to give back to the community that has been preaching the potato gospel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, we sent out a newsletter and asked [potential participants] to write a 100-word essay on why they wanted to be a Speedy Spud,\u201d Vogel explains. The 26 \u201cfunniest, most original and most compelling entries\u201d were selected.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Choosing the Pittsburgh Marathon as this year\u2019s event was easy, too. Vogel says the Steel City was an easy location to get runners to, and the marathon and half-marathon courses were fun and unique. There\u2019s also a vibrant potato culture here in Pittsburgh, and a bustling potato farmer community throughout the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

The Speedy Spuds hope to keep the potato momentum going strong through next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dye even issued a public challenge to another Pittsburgh potato-inspired team: she wants the Speedy Spuds to race the Pirates Pierogies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am putting a challenge out there,\u201d she says. \u201cI just think it would be so much fun.\u201d\u00a0\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN BRACKEN | SOME OF THE SPEEDY SPUDS ON A TRIAL RUN IN POINT STATE…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,9155,74,79943,82295,82296],"class_list":["post-184492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-marathon","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-potatoes-usa","tag-speedy-spuds","tag-team-potato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}