Five of the Fittest ‘Nerds’ in the Tech Arena

Most people think that technical fitness has little – or nothing – to do with physical prowess. Well, times have changed, friends. The stereotypical tech-savvy “nerd” isn’t the four-eyed, Dorito-munching, slightly-overweight exercise phobic that TV, the movies and of course the media, has led us to fabricate in our digitally brainwashed minds. On the contrary, there are hundreds of successful start-up developers, investors and otherwise rich-by-internet folks out there who are not only running laps around their competitors in the virtual arena, but also on actual playing fields and in gyms) everywhere…and I mean everywhere.

For both inspiration and clarification, I’ve compiled a list of go-getters who have accomplished as much on the bodily-stagnant digital front as they have in areas where the maintenance of their physical welfare has taken precedence – or become, in many cases, just as important as raking in the buck via dot com endeavors.

JASON SHEN

Heard of him? Me neither. But here’s a guy who, in addition to being co-founder of the startup Ridejoy, ran – and completed – the San Francisco Marathon this past go around. And that’s not all: Mr. Shen has been a contender in national gymnastic competitions since he was 11 years old. He even made it to the Junior National Team in 2005. Need proof: Read all about is on his athletic blog at jasonshen.com.

ANGELA STRANGE

Google Chrome Product Manager + marathon runner is she. But wait – not only is she a runner, but she won the Detroit Marathon in 2002 and the Vancouver Marathon in 2003. And it doesn’t stop there: this Strange Wonder Woman actually found her way to Iron Man Triatholons in 2005 and competed in 2005, finishing the contest in just 10 hours, 40 minutes. What say you, Canadian strongmen?!

RICHARD TARDE

Check out this bucket list: 1. The mountain-bike Kokopelli Trail from Fruita to Moab; 2. The Iron Horse Bicycle Classis road tour; 3. The 120-mile Triple Bypass road bicycle ride; and 4. The B-Strong Charity ride. Not to mention, this guy’s a staff consultant at Ball Aerospace  and he’s only 53 years old. (Oh, and he’s the former squash champion of Colorado…just sayin’).

NEAL MUELLER

Mr. Mueller is the senior product marketing manager at VMWare. and – get this – he’s got “Be the first to row across the Arctic Ocean” on his to-do list. What?! If he meets his goal, this “nerd” will have rowed 1,300 miles without stopping once.

MARTIN CASADO

This super-runner/CEO of Nicira has crossed the finish line in 50K, 50-mile, 100K and 100-mile races and more. In fact, you can see a list of all his accomplishments here, including what he eats to keep his motor running (avocado, chips and salsa)