Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
EVERY MONDAY, at ROTATING locations at 6:00AM
(check social media on the Sunday before for the location)
& EVERY WEDNESDAY, join us at Champions Square at 5:15 and 6:00AM.
& EVERY FRIDAY, join us at Shelter 1 on Lakeshore Drive at 6:00AM.
Connect with NP – New Orleans via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
This month’s #NP_NO member spotlight it Collin!
Tribe Member since: March 19, 2014 – Pledging week 6, I believe.
What do you do for a living: Assistant to a financial advisor in New Orleans
How did you hear about #NP_NO: My friend Kate told me about it during pledging last February, I eventually caved! Fast forward to today and here I am, still bothering you folks.
Remember this article?
The piece, written by one of our Boston tribe members, was printed almost 2 years ago… Oh, how have things changed since then… BG was 30 and Bojan was 31. November Project was in two cities (Boston and Madison) and since then it has grown into sixteen in North America. A few hundred members turned into five or six hundred members on average at a single workout on the old seats/steps of Harvard Stadium. We grew, we expanded, we became more or less mature. But some things along the way have never changed. We still get November Project tattoos from time to time. We still strongly believe that our “grassroots” can grow far and reach wide, and that our community can remain strong as we grow in numbers.
Indeed it is… If you haven’t lived through a full Mardi Gras, then it is tough to fully explain the toll it takes on your mind, body, and spirit. Contrary to the highly acclaimed documentary series Girls Gone Wild, its almost all positive (except for that one time in college that everyone claims to have been too blacked out to remember but secretly does. The hair growing out of the mole on his/her upper lip was surely a figment of our imagination). We digress… Mardi Gras is on some level about celebrating the excess in life before the purge and self reflection of Lent (Note: No theology majors amongst the NP_NO Leadership and CCD was often forsaken for Saints games, so please allow the artistic license). What we mean is that Mardi Gras is something different to each person, but at its base its just fucking Awesome. We could think of no better way to kick off Lent and purge the sins of the past few weeks than by waking up this morning to shake off the hangovers and cobwebs with the most fucking awesome people we know. Yes, it was a struggle this morning for all New Orleanians but very few had as much to look forward to as the NP_NO tribe members that #justshowedup to continue the general DGAF spirit (also known as Le bon temps rouler) that permeates the Big Easy. We rolled right off the parade routes and parties into the steps and didn’t look back. Another Mardi Gras down and an entire lifetime of fitness just one more set of stairs ahead.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s that time again in New Orleans… The parties get going and seem to never stop… until they come to an abrupt end in the wee hours of the morning on Fat Tuesday. Tonight’s the night when things get rolling and we started the party early with the inaugural Krewe of #NP_NO parade.
We had many new faces and a few visitors this morning. Will took the lead as the Grand Marshal and kicked things up with the warm-up that brushed us up on our parade going skills. If you want to be in dat Mardi Gras number you got to be fit and Will ensured the tribe was ready to roll this this morning. We scouted out the parade route with our traditional warm-up lap around the Dome, followed by 10 minutes of stairs to get the Krewe moving. We did notice that there was nobody, at any time, walking the stairs this morning. The tribe is fucking fit!
Navy Seals and NPer’s
“There are only two types of people in this world who are #weatherproof…Navy Seals and NPers.”
Chris Stucky
While the rain this morning apparently was kryptonite to a lot of #NP_NO, the tribe still had some superhero members #justshowup and prove that we are #weatherproof. And what better way to kick off our first Super Hero workout then with a tenacious group of athletes that would not be denied by the mother nature.
What started as an idea in Milwaukee to race 6K one morning instead of their usual workout, is now being spread into all of the November Project tribes in February 2015 as the first all-tribe race. Like the founding 6K fathers in the frosty “MKE,” we’ll all run this odd distance as a way to show off our training, to mix in some flat land, and finally get our scores on the board by using our new November Project tracker (recently built for $0 by one of our core Boston members).
Great job by all of the tribe members who showed up today for the PR Workout. We know a lot of you were sore for the marathon (or in some cases multiple marathons) last week. Thank you for coming and brining all of you positivity. We can’t wait to see everyone next week.
Before turn it over to Denali, we want to give a special shout out to our positivity award winner today: Mary Martha!. Mary Martha is just what you are looking for in a tribe member. She comes and works hard, but no matter how hard it gets, she just can’t seem to wipe the smile off of her face. She is an awesome tribe member and we are lucky to have her as part of our group! Thank you Mary Martha for your positivity!
Tommy and the fabulous Water Bottle Positivity Award!!!!
Nice form there Greg!
Thanks to everyone for coming out this morning, we hope you had as much fun as we did.
And now an update on other events NP_NO are involved in…
What do King Cake and 504 have in common?
Well, lets see…
King Cake is eaten in very large amounts in the 504 area
504 is used in the name of a race coming up
King Cake and 504 both are in the names of two fundraisers coming up for great organizations here is New Orleans that help to support babies, children, and teenagers!
The King Cake Festival is this Sunday January 25. The actual festival begins at 11:00. If you want to make yourself feel better about trying all the King Cakes that are available, the leaders of NP_NO highly recommend that you sign up for the “Dough Me” Endurance Challenge. This challenge will includes 8 ramps, 200 stairs and 4 fitness stations that are manned by local fitness companies, all within the 504 area code. November Project New Orleans was asked by Ochsner Hospital (Thanks to Laura Carleton, a current and very loyal NP_NO tribe member) to assist with getting the challenge together. Please come join us for a great workout that supports the babies and children at Ochsner Hospital. (These kids could be the future leaders of November Project New Orleans!)
If the fitness challenge sounds like too much after a Saturday night in New Orleans or you have little nuggets to think about, then register for the Stroller Fun Run! Either way you will exert some energy that will definitely need to be replaced by bread loaded with sugar! Come #earndatcake with us on Sunday! Make sure to register online…http://www.active.com/new-orleans-la/running/races/dough-me-fitness-challenge-stroller-fun-run-2015
November Project will be there with stencils and spray paint to tag your race shirt or any other #grassrootsgear that you bring…unfortunately, we cannot tag your children! Come check out the special stencil dedicated to the King Cake Festival.
If you can’t make it to the Endurance Challenge this Sunday due to ridiculous excuses, then you really should clear your schedule for February 8th. It is the one and only 504k Run that is put on by Youth Run NOLA. This run benefits Youth Run NOLA, which empowers under served youth through running. The organization has amazing running coaches who develop training plans for the youth along with practice twice a week. These youth are guided, encouraged and coached by fellow runners, volunteers, teachers. This is an after school program that has truly benefited many youth in out community. November Project New Orleans is a firm believer and supporter of this program. If you have an excuse for this race too, please consider donating to Youth Run NOLA. Denali, Rob Tom and Coach Taylor, all fellow tribe members, work endlessly trying to get the word out about Youth Run NOLA and get some more support from the community. Here is the link for you to register for this race…http://www.eventbrite.com/e/504k-tickets-14882488925. So if you have already found an excuse as to why you can’t run this race, then we strongly encourage you to support Youth Run NOLA in whatever way possible. We aren’t gonna lie, you will definitely be missing out watching these kids kick you ass in the race!
Please come help NP_NO support local organizations through running…I know we say #RaceEverything but remember that also means the smaller challenges that encourage others.
On another note, I can’t wait to see everyone next week. It has been way toooooo long since I have had 10 hugs on a Wednesday morning before 6:05 am!
XO
Kate
Have you ever wondered why it is hard to breathe when running? Or why you can’t talk and run at the same time? Or why you can only breathe through your mouth? Well, I found out last week why. To break it down into layman’s terms, my septum in my nose was completely blocking my right nostril. And if that wasn’t enough, it decided it would block part of my left nostril also.
The note from Caleb Daniloff, a.k.a. Ethan Bookman:
The gun has officially fired on this book project thingamajig and work is under way. I love and appreciate all the support and enthusiasm. Definitely makes solitary work feel, well, not so solitary. While BG, Bojan, and I are ultimately putting this thing together, it’s your story, too. Every tribe member has contributed to NP’s ever-growing narrative and we want that represented in the final product. So I’m working on an oral history that will hopefully offer a colorful, compelling ground-level view from around North America of this ridiculously singular movement. Our dude Tony DiPasquale has kindly created a simple submission form where you can enter your content for possible inclusion in the book. I’ve posed a bunch of questions. You don’t have respond to every single one, but neon stars for those who do. Be personal, be specific, be yourself. I’m looking to have all tribe material in by late February. Truckloads of thanks in advance.