The NPDC community is comprised of ambitious, eager (good-looking) people who are constantly on the hunt for their next challenge. We see folks come and go, cycling through this revolving door of a metropolis often. People come to Washington for jobs, for love, for any multitude of reasons–and they leave for (better) jobs, for grad school, for the allure of a new adventure. One of the facets that makes NPDC exceptionally cool is the tendency of November Project to make people feel rooted and entrenched in our city, when they are brand new to a place. NP has a warmth to it that makes people feel at home; this makes departures all the more difficult. Over the past few weeks we’ve said goodbye to some pure gems, setting them free to spread their wings and flock to other GREAT November Project cities. We miss you, we love you, come home soon.
Zoë Samels (By: Kaelan Denali Dickinson)
“A best friend isn’t a person, Danny. It’s a tier.” After a lifetime of moniker-ing my best friends, “No, no. She’s my longest friend, that’s my best friend at school, this is my best-swimming friend,” (bearing no correlation to their length or actual ability to swim) Mindy Kaling summed it up nicely, for us adult women. We have room for more than one best friend. And if we’re still making best friends as adults it means we’re lucky and we’re still growing. I didn’t know Zoë when I started November Project but I distinctly remember seeing her at workouts, smiling at her, thinking she looked nice, but not knowing exactly what to do next. In contrast, it was super easy to walk up to Steve Full when I saw him, because my agenda was big and I knew it well. Why would I walk up to Zoë? “Hi, do you want to be my friend?” We weren’t in kindergarten and I didn’t know how to make a move on a potential adult friend. We disagree on our first workout where we had a real conversation. I forget her version, because I am *such a good friend* but my version is cold, dark, snowy and at the World War II Memorial. I didn’t want to bond over seemingly the only thing we had in common – how we’d both just started dating rowing coaches we’d met at NP – but I’d come up with dumber reasons to talk to a boy, and the run home re-cap, “did you see Zoë was there today? yeah, did you guys talk? yeah, well, said hi,” was quickly getting tired, so, there we were running laps around the memorial talking about boys and their boats. I have few distinct memories of how we climbed from whatever tier that is to the next, and the next, and the next, but we did. Looking for her to hug first on Monday morning helped. Bounces that made me look into her eyes until two grown adults giggled and looked away helped. Doubling on Wednesday if we’d both agree to it so we could run home together helped. Out of habit, hugging anytime we met and parted ways for weekend runs or normal life helped. A mutual affinity for the 5:30 group helped. Seeing her dedication and strength and way she could also laugh at running helped. And then I guess most importantly, getting to know Zoë, not just as a runner but as a human and a friend, and then as one becomes on a long run: a human-diary, cheerleader, psychologist, career advisor, confidant, counselor, nutritionist, book-club and best friend. And now I’d like to tell a horrible joke about how all of our long runs have made us ready for long distance. Boston is lucky, we’re still growing and so is the tier.
@BOSTON: Take the BEST care of this one, she’s a real peach.
Carrie and Eran (By: Steve Christensen)
When these two first showed up, everyone thought they were dating but they firmly explained they were just friends. Then after a while they started dating, everyone’s suspicions were confirmed, and another NP relationship was born. Yes. We’re taking credit. Regardless of their relationship status however, Eran and Carrie were a staple at NP workouts for quite a long time. They FULLY embraced (figuratively and literally) the community aspect of NP, always ready to welcome the newbie, chat with the veteran, and hang out outside of MWF 6:30AM (back then Wednesdays started at 6:30…now they’re 6:20. What time? 6:20). Take a page from their book and get to know someone new at your next workout. Who knows? You might have something in common and get a new friend out of it. Hoping Denver isn’t too wild and crazy (it’s not. Denver aka 5280 is super lax) for them. To the Denver tribe, take care of these guys!
@NP5280: Sellen & Woody, listen up jokesters, these two are VERY PRECIOUS, so handle with care.
Ainsley Daigle (By: Lily Goldstein)
Ainsley. The Queen of the Bayou. Aunt of Casey-dog. All of our future bosses. Where to even begin with the 1 paragraph limit I’ve been given? Well, for starters – I’m sure glad you have yet to listen to your doctor’s advice to stop all running activities. May not be the wisest decision you’ll make in your life, but it has given me – and everyone in this tribe – a chance to get to run/walk/”do core work” (see below, clearly nailing it) every* MWF with you. You, your solid GIF-game and your love of this tribe are already missed. Yet, somehow, someway, I know we will continue to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off now that you’ve officially abandoned ship. And as we think back on your time, we’ll always remember that we were so lucky to be graced with someone who knows the guy who ghost-wrote the Duck Dynasty books (fun fact in Daigle-trivia, amirite?!). But more importantly (although idk what could be more important than the Duck Dynasty books), we’ll always remember that whether from the sidelines or while you’re crushing some hills, we could always count on hearing that Lafayette twang cheering every one of us on (guess we’re going to have to get Maria to work on her southern accent to fill that void). read more
