So, it’s November. NOVEMBER. As in … the first word in our name! It has meaning, folks. You see, these two guys in Boston…
(OK, OK, you might know the story. And if you don’t, check this out or The Book.)
Anyway, November is a big month in NP lore. We’re also celebrating our 4th Birthday this month, Nov. 11 to be exact — change that “interested” in the Facebook event to a “going” asap! It’s going to be EPIC. Stay tuned. #JustShowUp. You know the drill.
But wait. Back up. I know, you know, that life moves four million mph, but what about these 31 fucking crazy days we just experienced? If November is our birth month, October is — or at least this version — our Live Life to the Fullest Month.
In October, you ran — you ran A LOT. You cheered. You cheered A LOT (and maybe lost your voice like Dazzo). You inspired. You inspired A LOT. And gosh darn it, you continued to show how powerful this collective community is by giving back. By giving back, you guessed it, A LOT.
Here’s a quick rundown:
Oct. 4 — The PLUNGE: We said we’d do it; we did it. In just over a day, people, you raised $2,000 to support schools in the areas most ravaged by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. We set a goal of $1,000 that we thought was ambitious, and you DOUBLED IT. So Maria and I “jumped” into the Potomac, for a mere 3 seconds, and emerged alive. Thank you, THANK YOU! You made a huge difference.
Oct. 7 — Crate Escape: Standing in front of a large group of people, some familiar and some strangers, is no easy thing. Hell, telling a difficult story isn’t easy at the family Thanksgiving table. But on the first Saturday of the month, that’s exactly what a handful of you did, taking us from NE to our finishing spot with stories packed full of inspiration, hardships, challenges, and successes. Thank you for sharing. We want to hear more of these stories. Would you like to write a guest blog? Just holler at us!
Oct. 16 — Marriage Beckons: Holy shit, Steve is leaving! Our OG, the dude who started this thing in DC, is off to get married and take the longest vacation of his life! We send Steve off with some classic Horseshoes at Meridian. What the hell are we gonna do without him!?
Oct. 18 — PUSH-UPS: The tribe only did 14,474 push-ups in addition to a bunch of stairs. NBD.
Oct. 20 — YOGA JULIE: While most of us do our best parkour imitations at Canal Park, the one and only YJ leads a stretching session for those running the Marine Corps Marathon just two days later. Thanks for stepping up, YJ. And thanks for showing up, whether you were running or not. We always encourage anyone — able to run, resting, hurt but able to injury deck — to just show up. Do what you can. Modify as you need to. You’ll be glad you came.
Oct. 22 — Voice. Gone: After four-plus hours of cheering our lungs out, the Marine Corps Cheer Station finally disperses as the very final runners of the MCM pass Mile 19.5. It’s hard to sum up a morning of nonstop noise, laughter, hugs, tears, and much more. The community is STRONG. Later in the evening, we celebrated — and runners rested on ample couches — at Franklin Hall. Cheers to everyone who ran. To everyone who came from another city. To everyone who cheered.
Oct. 23 — Birthday Hills: HOLY SHIT, it’s our birthday. We celebrate our legit 4th B-day with, what else, HILLS.
Oct. 25 — The Usual: PR Day. Crushed. In the dark. Nuff said.
Oct. 31 — Goal. Met! We knew that accomplishing two #NPGiveBack goals would be difficult, especially after everyone poured so much attention and $$ and love into our effort for the hurricane victims. But making a local difference was important, too. So we set the objective at donating 1,000 clothing items to Martha’s Table.
The going was slow, but we never had a doubt. After being awarded the Positivity Award, Emma Cowan-Young went ALL IN with her crew to give the number a great boost on Oct. 29. And many others, in the month’s final hours, galvanized to help November Project DC — on the last day — eclipse 1,000. As of this writing, at 7:51pm, you have donated 1,315 items of clothing to those in need. Shirts, jackets, coats (so important this time of year), pants, hats, gloves, shoes. Amazing!
While this worldwide #NPGiveBack movement is complete (YES, announcements might be shorter!), we encourage you to continue to spread your love and incredible ability to create change in DC and elsewhere for those in need. THANK YOU!
OK, I’ve written long again. But hey, October done earned it.
Waddya got, November!?
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SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET FREAKING JOB & HAPPY 4TH!