Author: Emily

It was the coldest morning we’ve had so far this fall. We’re not complaining, just noting that it felt like 8 degrees. But it’s just weird to play outside when it’s this cold and windy, and it’s still dark. I don’t understand why everyone shows up. Weird weird people. You run up and down the stairs. You jump up and down. You still need to get better at the survival huddle for warmth. Seriously, you show up but you have to be encouraged repeatedly to stand close enough to the other weirdos to benefit from their body heat. We will practice this and we will get better at heat huddling. The tribe will be a close, warm AND weird tribe as the weather continues to get colder and harsher. read more

This morning was perfect. It offered the perfect conditions to test our badassery, challenge our grit and determination, and prove our #weatherproofness. Mornings like today are exactly why November Project exists. Because who wants to get out of bed on a borderline-freezing morning and run in the pouring rain to jump around in the soggy grass? The real answer is no one. No one really WANTS to do this (do they?!?), but when we do, we know we’ve overcome something. We build confidence that we truly can do anything and nothing will stop us from moving, staying fit, and seeing our similarly-weird and badass friends who also show up. read more

We know we’re in New England when it was almost 60 degrees for the stadium two days ago, but we ran in snow this morning. Hold up, let me think carefully about my words.  I will likely get shunned by the entire tribes of Minneapolis, Chicago, and Edmonton (as well as others I’m sure) if I said that it really “snowed” this morning.  But technically it was cold enough to bring some frosty flakes down and to cover slippery leaves with slippery, slushy snow.  The tribe sure is #Weatherproof and we turned up this morning in our brightest of bright layers, ready for anything.  Fortunately the tribe members are also machines, who worked hard, sweat hard and stripped down so we were not left wanting for half-naked runners.  We had it all out there this morning.  As we come upon noon, there’s nothing left to see of the snow but it was a nice little orientation to the winter that is coming.  Bring it on Mrs. Mother Nature.  Bring that shit on. read more

Every moment is a once in a lifetime experience. Said somebody great. And wise. And somebody who was probably talking about this morning at Harvard stadium.

In many ways it was a typical Wednesday morning, which I don’t think we know how to have around here anymore. Big announcements, Birthday Parties, Yearbook Photos. How long has it been since we just showed up, put our heads down, and climbed some fucking stairs? It’s been a while and it was about time that we did that. It was typical, but it was also like no other morning we’ve ever had. Because it was TODAY. There was a badass group who got out of bed and showed up in the dark for the 5:30 stadium challenge. And there was a bigger and equally badass group who showed up for the 6:30 stadium challenge. The challenge today was to find your limits. We asked you to start running up the seats and down the stairs as many times as you possibly could before time ran out. The groups had until 6:20 and 7:20 respectively to find the limit of their bodies and minds on those stairs, and the tribe was very impressive today. It’s not often that someone says to you, “Just do as much as you can, as hard as you can until I tell you to stop.” It’s different than when someone says, “Do a half-tour.”  “Do 37.”  “Do Frogman 2.” With those challenges you find a way to break it down in your head–you start with a finite number and you calculate how to get through each section until you’re done. Technically you can do the same thing with time but it’s a different kind of challenge, and not one we take on very often. read more

If you were one of the lucky ones who were able to find the Destination Deck at Dorchester Heights this morning, then you may have experienced the wonder of a few notable things. First, an historical location very few of us knew about, which was the place where American soldiers occupied ground in the final push to get the British army to evacuate on March 17, 1776. Also, the satisfaction of hoisting ourselves up with a partner while overlooking Carson Beach, South Boston, and the downtown Boston skyline–one of the highest points in Boston. And if your technical precision while doing Hoisties included your ass cheeks kissing the ground on each one, you got a little extra wonderment. read more

What an awesome morning!  After all the talking, hyping, posting, yearbook photo sharing, and writing this week, it’s time for a blog with a to-the-point attitude.  I’m just going to recap a few important moments.

Working out together is really fun.  It’s awesome to show up on an almost chilly, not-quite-rainy Friday morning after one hell of a huge Wednesday Birthday party in Allston, and just get our run on.  And our burpee on, and some cross-country spice too.  That’s what we did. read more

Today is our Birthday.  November Project started 3 years ago today with two amazing men, and has blossomed into a beautiful, even more amazing, raging-with-life tribe of at least 3014 members in 16 cities in North America.  #FreeFitness was a vision back then, simply an idea that they thought should be real for more people in this world.  I mean, why shouldn’t people be able to wake up to their alarm clocks and get out of bed inspired about what is waiting for them.  Not only their families, jobs, and regular lives of everyday, but also a collective of warm hugs, challenging workouts, and badassery* that motivates every one of us to live our regular lives with more focus, more intention, more purpose, more confidence, more pride…just MORE.  Why the fuck not? read more