Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
This morning was dope.
We met at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir to find out the place we dropped the pin on the map for y’all to meet us at was 100% under construction. Not in a, “oh there are some cones in the way, maybe we should consider going around them” kind of way. More like a, “Damn scaling this 10′ fence is going to be hard. And we still wouldn’t even get close to where we wanted to be…” kind of way.
Monday location is here.
Blog is here:
If you know Pardus, you know she’s one of the most fun-loving human beans in the world. She started down in B-more with the #freeFitness mob known as NP Baltimore. She moved up here a little while back, and fit right into the Boston tribe. However, she recently relapsed with the NPBAL crew. This morning Pardus was found working out with her ex-tribe. We’re still not sure how we feel about this, but as long as she buys us something nice, we’ll probably welcome her back…
Today was rough.
Today was a slog.
Turns out, 50 sections is hard–but the slog was progress.
Today was “slogress.”
Turns out, going skiing every weekend and crushing nachos, beer, and burritos, has me out of shape when I enter the stadium. It’s ok. My priorities during the winter are different than my priorities during the summer. My goal is to ski as much as I can, and enjoy the snow. Sometimes it means taking it easy on Friday or Monday. Most of the time it means no running over the weekend, and certainly means no Saturday/Sunday stadium routine.
If you’ve been to NP Boston in the last 2 years, you know this chick. A regular at workouts 3x/week, and a devoted tribe member here in Boston, Rev is a rockstar and crushes workouts while pumping up the people around her. If you DON’T know “Rev,” aka Casey, aka #revMan3, it’s time. Keep reading to find out more…
It almost happened… Boston almost hosted an Olympic games in 2024. And sure, there are a lot of reasons that it shouldn’t have happened, but we here at November Project were sad. We like giant events and team comradarie. So during these Winter Games, while we were getting all jazzed up on the likes of Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim we thought: why not bring some Olympic magic to Boston ourselves?
Today’s KYT comes to you from none other than Carolyn (pronounced Care-oh-lynn, like the City of Sin–not Care-oh-LINE like the Sweet Fenway Song) McCrone. If you know Carolyn you know she’s a take-no-shit kinda gal who attends pretty much every workout*, and kicks ass multiple days/week. She doesn’t like to lose at anything, especially to her adult-sized-child of a boyfriend, Daniel Rothenberg. Today though, she’s a winner, because we’re getting to know her and all her awesomeness…
5am alarm.
Grab phone that’s bring-bringing. Jump out of bed*
Head to the bathroom to do my business try to wake up.
Scroll through Le Book de la face.
Bundle up.
Out the door.
It’s cold, but not TOO cold. I begin running on my street. Hit Comm Ave and look to my left. The B line train dings its bell for literally no one as it stops at Chestnut Hill Ave.
To all those folks who “don’t like November Project.”
To all the haters out there.
To all the people who are annoyed by their friends’ news feeds being chockablock full of awesome photos…
November Project Boston just spent their morning running up and down Summit Ave helping clear fire hydrants, sidewalks, and residents’ houses and cars.
Wut?! Why?!
Why would you get up at 530am to run your ass through the snowy Boston streets just to clean up SOMEONE ELSEs driveway?! Well, because we change the communities we work out in. The residents of Summit Ave aren’t “someone else,” they’re the people who come out and join us from time to time. Who’s kids stare out the window at us wondering “what the heck are those people doing?” They’re the people we unintentionally wake up every Friday morning at way-too-early. So, while we always try to be courteous and keep the noise down, stay on the sidewalks, and stop running to direct traffic while they back out of their driveways, this morning was about purely giving back to the Summit Ave neighborhood.
Now, I’ve never been one to believe it (being a New Englander myself), but a lot of people give New England a bad rap. They say we’re cold, disconnected, uninviting. I say F that. If you see your neighbor stuck in the snow, are you just going to sit there and watch as they struggle by themselves?? No way! You’re gonna go over (tell them to put it in 2nd gear, maybe “stop stomping on the gas–you’re only making it worse”), and PUSH with all your might to get them unstuck!
Maybe that’s what drew me to November Project the most in the early days*. We “change the chemical makeup of the cities we’re present in.” The ripple effect of gestures like this morning emanate throughout Boston. Maybe someone wakes up early to see their entire driveway has been shoveled. Maybe they have an extra few minutes to make their partner breakfast this morning. Maybe their partner gets to work early and has time to hold the door for the cleaning staff pushing the giant frozen dumpster into the garage. Maybe the he has some extra time to go grab a coffee and gets one for his coworkers.
I’m talking butterfly flapping wings shit here.
So let’s get out there and make a difference. Help that person with their groceries. Hold the door for someone. Offer to pay for the person behind you at Dunkies. Actually strike up a conversation with some of the people around you on the T. Boston isn’t a cold place and new Englanders aren’t cold people. They just need a little encouragement…
Much Love,
– C. Payne
*jk. It was definitely the weird. But the welcoming aspect was a close 2nd.
MONDAY DECK — you know where you run, do the deck, and run back home…is at Fort Washington Park. It’s near Cambridgeport, kinda behind Memorial Drive but near the BU bridge. Geez, just look at the map in the tracker and we’ll see you there.
Alice Nelson has been coming to November Project Boston for about 6 years now… She’s always been at the front of the pack, and routinely shows up to all days November Project. She even makes it to Tues/Thursday Breakfast Club as well. Since she works so damn hard all the time it’s no wonder she’s fast. Or that her boyfriend-turned-fiancee has also gotten a shitload faster since they started dating. But Alice–or as she’s known in our community–Fast Alice–showed up today “just to give you the damn stick back.”
Today’s KYT comes to you from someone that actually hasn’t been around that long in the grand scheme of things, but somehow feels like he’s been here since the beginning. He’s somehow from Buffalo and Cleveland, but also bleeds dirty water. He’s all things November Project — he shows up for literally everything we do. And when I say “shows up” I mean he shows the fuck up and works his ass off at every. single. workout. He’s always one of the first people there, and the last to leave. You definitely know this dude already, but in case you don’t… The legendary Jakedill A. Boss