Seed Brings the Magic at Cinciditarod Charity Event

With a wave of the hand and nothing up their sleeves, Seed Strategy’s Jamie Ward, Brad Mason, Gretchen Mahan, Lauren Gierut and Rolando Archila embodied the “Seed Magic” to compete in Saturday’s fourth annual Cinciditarod.

Dubbed “Abra-SEED-abra,” the Seed team donned costumes, strapped themselves to a shopping cart decorated to look like a magician’s top hat, and raced around Cincinnati during the charity event benefiting the Freestore Foodbank.

Inspired by the 1150-mile Alaskan Iditarod sled race, Cincinnati’s “Urban Iditarod” featured 73 five-member teams dressed in thematic costumes, pushing and pulling decorated carts through the city. Teams navigated the five-mile course, collecting grocery items to donate to the food bank and stopping at mandatory checkpoints to complete wacky tasks—from performing a choreographed song and dance routine to consuming an entire package of snack bars and a gallon of fruit-flavored drink.

Beginning and ending at Cincinnati’s historic Fountain Square, the race kicked off at noon on Saturday despite the rainy weather. Team Abra-SEED-abra finished strong, completing their tour of the city in around two hours. Behind the scenes, Dave Hayes, John McSherry, Robert Cherry, Jeff Johns, Susan Jones, and Deb Vicchiarelli provided valuable support.

“It was an absolute blast—and for a really great cause,” said Mason, one of the lead cart dogs. “It was hilarious to see so many people dressed in ridiculous costumes rushing around the city tied to shopping carts. We can’t wait to do it again next year!”

For more information on the event and the cause, visit http://freestorefoodbank.org