Tech Runners!
Today is the Boston Marathon, so we're honoring all the tech people who are avid runners.
Bruce Caswell
Day job: MAXIMUS health services president and GM
Why run?: It gives me time to think and problem solve. It’s undistracted and uncluttered quiet time that has a physical benefit. And it exposes me to interesting people. My training partner has a doctorate in botany and travels all over the world studying and discovering new plants for the Smithsonian. I don’t think we’d encounter each other in our normal circles.
Best times: The Philadelphia Marathon at 2:59 and the JFK 50 Mile at 8:16.
Favorite race: The Boston Marathon. I’ll be competing this year for the 9th time.
Heidi Leonard
Day job: Audax senior project manager
Why run?: It’s a low-maintenance option when I need to get a quick workout or to just clear my head. It’s also my favorite way to explore new cities when I’m traveling.
Where have you run?: Munich, Paris, Dubai, San Francisco, Denver, and my hometown, Washington, D.C.
Memorable moments: I’m lucky to have fallen into an unofficial run club with my friends and colleagues at Audax Health. Recently, my coworker Danielle Farrah, and I did a 5.5-mile loop from our Georgetown offices around the monuments. We talked some tourists into snapping a picture of us in front of the Jefferson Memorial.
Simren Dulai
Day job: WeddingWire account exec
How much do you run?: Three to five times a week; 40-60 miles per week
What kind of running?: I joined the SoCal Coyotes Trail Running team while living in LA and in the first year, ran the Long Beach Marathon, the Bulldog 25K, the Potomac Heritage Trail 50K, and the San Francisco North Face Endurance Challenge, a 50-mile race. I love the challenge of running road marathons, but my heart is with trail runs.
Memorable moments: I ran Route 66 from Chicago to LA and the Gulf Coast from Orlando, Fla., to Brownsville, Texas for Run It Forward, a nonprofit focused on children in underserved areas.
Matt Puglisi
Day job: Aptima EVP
How long have you been running?: Since elementary school but I got serious in high school, running cross country and middle distances.
How often do you run and why do you do it?: Two to three days a week. I compete in triathlons now, so my running time is shared with biking and swimming. Solutions to problems usually come to me while I run.
Memorable moments: We were the New York State cross country champs in my senior year of high school. And a recent half marathon in Annapolis. The conditions were brutal: temperatures in the 40s, pouring rain and wind. A few of my friends skipped the race but I was hanging in there with the younger runners.
Amy Platt
Day job: CalAmp technical writer
Why run?: I run because I can. I love getting out in the early morning hours and watching the sunrise around me.
What kinds of races?: Marathons, half marathons, 50k races, 50-milers, and an Ironman in Wisconsin. I also lead pacing groups.
Memorable moments?: In college, I was hit by a car while running and broke through the car’s front windshield with my head. I finished my first marathon eight weeks later. My best pacing experience was helping a woman finish her first half marathon, which was also her first race. Watching folks successfully finish their first race or run a PR is super rewarding.
Bob Greenfest
Day job: Santos, Postal & Company principal
How long have you been running and why do you do it?: I’ve been exercising for the purpose of staying healthy and in good shape since 2001. In 2012, I started using Beachbody DVDs to train, beginning with Insanity. I’ve since completed Power90, 10-minute Trainer, and T25.
Memorable moments?: I recently did the Warrior Dash with my sons, Alex and Adam. I was the second largest fundraiser in Maryland, raising just shy of $4,000. I also showed my sons philanthropy and the fact that their then 52-year-old father could finish the Warrior Dash. I’m intent on raising at least $5,000 for St. Jude’s next time.
