NPDC workouts are officially on Mondays and Wednesdays, but what would any running community be without a long Saturday morning run? Manuela Goulden, long-time NPDCer, has taken on organizing Saturday morning long runs of all distances for all speeds for months and months, taking many of our community members through marathon training and beyond. We awarded Manuela with our February Positivity Award to thank her for her incredible work in creating weekend communities (and to show off Violet, her lovely dog, too!)
How, when and where were you introduced to November Project?
Wow, it’s been almost a decade. It was about the time of my first marathon, MCM 2013. November Project was featured on the cover of Runner’s World magazine, the December 2013 issue. I got really lucky, the NPDC community had just formed days before I read that magazine – I found it online and showed up for the first time that Wednesday. If I had looked even a week earlier I wouldn’t have found it and probably never would have found NP. I think my first workout was week 2 of NPDC being an official group.
What do you remember about your first workout or thinking at/after your first workout?
“It’s at what time, now?”
But seriously, it was dark, it was small, and everyone was so energetic. It seemed like a lot of fun and running up and down those stairs was no joke. It just seemed special and it was just … play!
What motivates you to keep you coming back?
I don’t see any point in running by myself. DC is hands-down the best running city I know of, and I just love the vibe at NP. We started Long Run Crew in 2014 or so, and at first the accountability was a big part of it for me. Now, it’s about the people. I’ve trained for 9 marathons with NP and 8 with Long Run
Crew, and I never had a goal to do a certain number or anything, I just keep loving the lifestyle of it. It doesn’t take much motivation when it’s fun!
What does winning the Positivity Award mean and represent to you?
It’s awesome, and I really love the big hug it gives to the offshoots like Long Run Crew and
the community that we have in addition to the core workouts.
What’s your favorite DC restaurant and your go-to food?
I cook a lot and try to go to bed early! Brown rice is my #1 running carb.
Describe for us your favorite November Project moment to date.
The Halloween workout at the Congressional Cemetery, all of them. Making snow angels at the end of a workout and spelling NP with our bodies. Every bounce, every sunrise. Getting NP back after the pandemic.
Give us your running backstory. How’d you get involved with running?
I ran in high school but didn’t know what I was doing and dropped out, despite being pretty fast. I honestly thought running was bad for me. But then I did the Camino de Santiago from central France to
northwest Spain in 2011, a thousand miles of hiking, and really got into being outdoors and moving a lot.
However, hiking all day every day isn’t conducive to having a full-time job, and running is easily twice as fast, so … running!
What’s your top fashion tip for runners?
Always get two NP buffs: one for your neck, another for your head. And always get your favorite running clothes tagged, it’s what you’re going to want to wear the most and race in.
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