The Time Has Come - November Project

It’s bittersweet writing this.

The time has come for me to step forward from co-leading the amazing November Project Canada community. I seriously can’t believe I just wrote that sentence.

You all know that in the early days of this leadership journey I was pretty uncertain about taking on a role within a community that was/is so incredibly important and valuable in my life. And I know that NP was/is important and valuable in your life too.

It took time to let what I had learned – from amazing legacy co-leaders – soak in.

It took time to step into being my authentic self in this arena…. in front of all of you.

It took a few (or many) fumbles to really “get” this role, even though I had been part of us for 6 years at that point.

It has taken understanding, common goals, listening, laughter and brainstorming seshs to find my groove with my co-leader standing beside me.

It took time to continue building the sandbox for us to play in, in the hilarious way that we’ve grown to love.

The workout part is table stakes for NP; it’s not necessarily the only why for all of us. Once I thought about us that way, it was very exciting to dig into “well what else can we continue doing to have fun while also doing this workout thing?”

I can point at a lot of memorable moments over the past few years. What’s been most impactful to me though are the smaller ones. Here’s a few things that have stuck out to me:

I saw Will and my Dad (my Dad!!) doing squats and high fives at the top of the RG stairs.
Dogs went down a waterslide.
I saw people finish their first Sunrise 6k.
We acknowledged and celebrated our friend Dick.
My Mom climbed the stairs around Commonwealth Stadium.
During pandemic times, people from across North America joined us virtually. A few people #justshowedup from India.
A hijabi runner showed up.
New babies had their first #hillsforbreakfast.
Rob and I spent countless hours going back and forth on how to safely bring us back #togetherinrealife. There was no handbook for THAT time.
A media drone checked us out from time to time. We didn’t even know that this was happening until people we know told us they saw us on the morning news.
You #justshowedup to a different location when Rob and I decided that a fresh snowfall, in -30, called for a toboggan day… on a Wednesday.
Tom and Christine quietly put up a sandwich board each and every workout – people gotta know about NP Canada!
You privately come up to me and tell me what you thought of the latest blog post.
Just last week, we celebrated a career at Commonwealth Stadium and got to have a special moment together with a gentleman who was retiring.
People wore #grassroots gear to Bill’s memorial service. In a church.
People show up with shovels when it snows on a Wednesday morning.
In Spring/Summer, the sun hits each of your faces “just so” when you’re coming down the hill. I notice this even when I’m huffing up. 😉
I saw NP peeps from the early days trickle back in. That is always so nice.

These, and so many more, are little moments that are etched in my brain.

As I look to move forward from this epic leadership journey, I will put these lessons in my toolkit:

Elevate and empower people to be their very best. You matter first. Always. Rob and I make decisions with our community in mind- first. We have intention behind workouts we create so that regardless of who you are, you have the chance to work your ass off, have fun, and enjoy a judgment free space. We always believe you can do that “one more” thing. Not because the workout matters so much but more because we believe in you. Sometimes that creates Ol’ 96er finishers or winter warriors or anything in between.
What kind of atmosphere am I creating inside of others? I learned this a long time ago now from my friends at Roy Group. Over the past few years, I’ve had the chance to apply this in a very different way. I hope you’ve felt my love and joy for you and your goals. I know that one of my strongest characteristics is being a cheerleader for things I care about. At NP, that’s you. I want you to push yourself and realize you can do that extra set of stairs. You can run one more loop. You can scream your name in front of a big group and tell everyone it’s your birthday… and it’ll be ok. You can workout with someone faster, fitter and stronger and well, you both get a kickass workout and walk away ready for the day ahead.
Culture matters. We all know this and it kind of even sounds cliche. But it’s true. We’ve lost a couple of NP members these past few years. Many of you have lost family members and friends in these few years. Covid kept us apart and showed us some of our own fragility as well as those around us… even those who we labeled as “strong” in our minds. You’ve lost jobs. There have been partner and family break ups. You’ve been badly injured. Despite these giant life events, you seem to find your way back to the NP community. Ensuring this is the space for us all to “just be” – whether that’s having a hard workout or having a walk + talk with a NP buddy or getting a sweaty hug – this has always been the mission of NP. We’re so very lucky that this culture was built from the very beginning here in Edmonton. My role has been to deepen this and ensure that new people feel it from their start with us.
People want to belong. You know you’re part of something special here. Many of us have been unsuccessful in bringing our non-NP friends and family into the fold (hahaha). They just don’t “get it”. As I’ve read many guest blogs over the years, we all say a version of the same thing… it’s hard to describe NP to someone who doesn’t come. This is culture, for sure. It’s also a sense of belonging. When you show up, you’re immediately part of us. We bring new people into the fold and pretty quickly, I see these new peeps reppin #grassroots gear. Incredible.

I have come to understand that embracing this bittersweet feeling is important, as is the change that goes along with it. That isn’t an easy thing to go through and as I’ve been making this decision, I have been taking in this last bit of time with you.

… we all know that 30 minutes goes by fast.

Rob, we’ve done some pretty awesome things together. Thank you for your early guidance and then for working side by side over these years. It’s been so fun being NP Mom and Dad (Does anybody even know we say that to each other?! They do now!) and all that we know has gone into taking on these roles and continuing to build the sandbox.

Lastly, I know that we are in a strong position to continue moving forward with November Project Canada. I’m so pumped to watch the next chapter of NP leadership unfold.

Leading us for 1116 days, or 479 NP mornings, has been my honour and a real privilege.

#togetherisbetter

Lazina

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