Mindseeker’s March Madness Tournament & Step Challenge: Winners Announced!

From March 1st to April 5th, Mindseeker ran a company-wide 5-week March Madness Tournament & Step Challenge. We are so thrilled to announce the winners!

For the full details on this event’s challenges, please refer to our previous wellness article here.

Prizes

For this competition, the Grand Prize Tournament Winner and Top Three Steppers* were awarded a monetary donation to the charity of their choice to be made in their name (see amounts below)! For further motivation, we also set an overall Team Step Goal of 4,000,000 steps. If we, as a team, reached or surpassed this goal, Mindseeker would donate $1,000 to No Kid Hungry. No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. Learn more at nokidhungry.org.

*If the Grand Prize Tournament Winner also happened to be one of the Top Steppers, they could only claim the Grand Prize, and the Top Stepper prize would be awarded to the next runner up.

Winners

Overall, Team Mindseeker achieved a whopping total of 4,270,871 steps in 5 weeks! Because we not only achieved, but surpassed, our goal, Mindseeker has donated $1,000 to the campaign No Kid Hungry. Thank you to all our participants whose hard work made this possible!

Sam L. – 676,823 steps

Grand Prize Tournament Winner: $1,000 to charity of choice

1. What motivated you to participate in this fitness challenge, and how did you manage to stay committed throughout the competition? Could you tell us a bit about your fitness routine?

Sure! Fitness is a part of my daily routine. I start each day with an early run. Additionally, my two boys play soccer and I coach their U10 and U12 teams. All the boys keep my competitive fire alive, and I relish being able to run faster than the boys. I don’t think this will last much longer.

2. How has your life changed since you started focusing on your fitness, and what advice would you give to someone who is just starting on their fitness journey?

Over the years, I have really grown to love my early morning runs. I view them as “me-time,” and my runs help center and prepare me for the day. Our fitness journeys will all be very different, but I think the key to sustainability is finding joy in the activities you choose. If you don’t enjoy running, one technical thing I would recommend is reviewing your natural running stride. Many years ago, I read the book Born to Run by Chris McDougall. It is a fascinating read centered around the native Tarahumara runners in modern day Mexico. Like tribal Kenyan runners, the Tarahumara runners use minimal gear and shoes, but have incredible endurance and speed. Fixing my own running mechanics to mirror this style (landing on the front of the foot versus heel) has made a huge difference in terms of limiting injuries and getting a natural spring in my step that our feet were designed to provide.

3. What charity have you chosen to donate the prize money to, and why is this cause important to you?

My charity of choice is an international non-profit called Kiva. Throughout my career in international development and the social impact sector, one of the things that I have been most struck by is how much impact access to finance and financial inclusion can have in local communities around the world. I also love Kiva’s model of connecting funders and recipients of that funding. I feel that paying forward this donation to Kiva will help the organization continue to scale this innovative model and support more local community members around the world to improve their livelihoods and ultimately lives! Donate to Kiva and create real change | Kiva

Shawn F. – 464,733 steps

1st Top Stepper: $750 to charity of choice

1. What motivated you to participate in this fitness challenge, and how did you manage to stay committed throughout the competition? Could you tell us a bit about your fitness routine?

I just essentially did what I generally do every day anyway, walk a lot and go for a run. I live in an area where everything is walkable, which I consider a mile or two radius. But most things I need to go to commonly, the store, coffee, doctor or dentist, restaurants, etc. are within a half mile. If go out a couple times a day, it adds up. I tend to run either a 5k or 10k every day with a short run rest day once or twice a week.

2. How has your life changed since you started focusing on your fitness, and what advice would you give to someone who is just starting on their fitness journey?

It hasn’t really changed, since it’s my routine. I like running far, not fast. It is my meditation time. I still need to focus on diet. I don’t have advice on that part, because I am terrible at it.

For running, my advice is start slow, have low expectations at the start and be patient with yourself. You will hate running for at least 6 months, but there will be a point where that hate turns to love. Listen to your body. Remember that any run where you don’t get injured is a good run. Get fitted for shoes, buy the proper ones, and replace them religiously. So much cheaper than knee surgery.

3. What charity have you chosen to donate the prize money to?

I’ve chosen to donate my prize money to Planned Parenthood.

Sean R. – 441,664 steps

2nd Top Stepper: $500 to charity of choice

1. What motivated you to participate in this fitness challenge, and how did you manage to stay committed throughout the competition? Could you tell us a bit about your fitness routine?

I would be lying if I said I had a good health routine – but will say my health routine has good intentions. My biggest motivation here was simply competition – I love to compete and see how I stack up against my peers. With moving towards a remote work model I miss the daily competition in the office so this was a great way to keep the competitive juices flowing with co-workers. I stayed committed simply by monitoring everyone’s steps daily, towards the end of the competition it became more of a check the app by the minute and do a quick walk around the house to stay on top.

2. Did you have a specific goal in mind when you entered the competition, and did you achieve it?

My goal was to hit 10,000 steps a day on average but I quickly learned based upon the fitness routines of some of our staff members I was going to need to up that.

3. What charity have you chosen to donate the prize money to, and why is this cause important to you?

I chose to donate to Mt. Irenaeus which is a Francisican faith based community aligned with my alma-mater Saint Bonaventure University. Mt. Irenaeus is a faith based community committed to simple, joyful, healing communion with God and all creation through contemplation and communal experiences with God’s justice, love and peace in contemporary everyday life. Mt. Irenaeus is a wonderful place that is used by many including students to reset and reconnect with God and your faith. It was a sanctuary while I was in school and want to ensure that it can remain that for current students and the St. Bonaventure community.

Susan K. – 440,799 steps

3rd Top Stepper: $250 to charity of choice

1. What motivated you to participate in this fitness challenge, and how did you manage to stay committed throughout the competition? Could you tell us a bit about your fitness routine?

Initially I just thought it would be a fun way to connect with my colleagues, but also a great way to hold myself accountable and be more mindful and deliberate about taking time out to get moving. My fitness routine was anything but routine. When you have a busy lifestyle with a full-time job, 2 active teenagers with endless activities, 3 pets, an injured hubs, etc., you just have to get moving when and where you can whether it be first thing in the morning before everyone wakes up, walking the dog, climbing up and down the stairs in our house on rainy days, or taking the furthest parking spot at the grocery store on purpose.

2. Did you have a specific goal in mind when you entered the competition, and did you achieve it?

My goal was 10,000 steps per day. I achieved it most of the days and, to my surprise, went over on several of the days.

3. What charity have you chosen to donate the prize money to, and why is this cause important to you?

I have chosen K9s for Warriors, an amazing organization in my neighborhood that provides trained service dogs to veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. This cause is important to me because it combines my love for animals and love for our servicemen and women who have sacrificed so much so that we can be free.