Last weekend was amazing. Tribes from near and far traveled (#VANS) to Wisconsin to race, camp, swim, laugh, eat ice cream and cheese curds, drink beers, and make new friends. Weekends like this when tribes come together are magic and remind us how much bigger November Project is than just our own cities. For some people, these weekends are times to connect with old friends from other tribes and add another race medal to their collection. For others, they are a first exposure to tribes from other cities and even a first race! All of these stories are special and worth sharing. We asked our tribe about some of their favorite or most memorable stories from the weekend so we could continue reliving the fun and share in some of the moments that made this weekend special for different people. Unfiltered, unedited: words from the MSN TRIBE!
Hosting a group of 3 people from Indianapolis for the weekend and deciding to run on a relay team with them less than 12 hours before the start of it. – Ross Jacobson
I’m always a big fan of the traverballers coming to town. It’s fun getting to know these incredible humans past learning their name and the high fives and sweaty hugs. Making sure they have the best Madison experience is key – catching the sunset and drinking beers at the Terrace, welcoming them into the world of fried cheese curds, you know the drill.My favorite moment this weekend was strolling the Farmer’s Market with Drew Degen (NP PHL) early Saturday morning before ECSWI. We saw the sun rise, chatted about anything and everything, and stashed up on some legit snacks (shoutout to the best raspberries around). Overall, it was just super lovely. Drew and I have met tons of times prior at other NP events, and we’ve followed each other on the social medias forevs, but haven’t ever really gotten to know each other until this weekend (he actually thought I was from SF lol). Anyways, new fun friend for life. Gotta love diving in to this crazy November Project thing. This shit is pretty f*ing good. – Jen Taylor
To best describe this past weekend most would use terms such as epic, incredible, meaningful…etc. That’s not what I got out of it. As many of you know I spent a good part of Saturday in a hospital because I lost track of what November Project really means to me. I was so concerned with my time, place, winning, team mates opinions that I made an extremely poor choice to ignore my body and keep pushing. It was not worth it. I lost sight of the community and friendship that NP has to offer. It’s not about racing everything, but about ( as I recently heard on a pr day) doing the best you can at that given moment. The NP community (as always) shined and offered an incredible amount of support, comfort, and company through my ordeal. You all know who you are and I am more thankful than I can ever let you know. The tribe is strong, and they are there for you. Don’t forget. – Austin Frion
This group has it all: positive vibes, contagious energy, and effective training. Never have I ever felt so inspired to become a better person, athlete, and friend. Also, it would be a crime not to publicly thank Bret Hagen for providing first aid as I crossed the Endurance Challenge finish line. You Rock. – Hannah Wierzbinski
Running with friends! Also people laughing at me for pretty much missing my transition because my partner was super speedy. – Logan Kovacs
The race itself was fun, but my favorite part about this past weekend was when everybody was hanging out together at the Terrace. Maybe it’s because we’re usually running when we see each other, but I really enjoy times like these when we have time to relax and just hang out. At one point I was talking to Rob and Iman from New York. 
Rob and I were partners at the Friday workout and we talked a little before the race, so it was nice catching up with him afterwards. He started talking about some of the trail
s they have back home. Now, it’s no secret that I dislike running on trails, but Rob made a good point that it’s a softer surface and less impact, therefore easier on your joints. So I said, “That’s a good thing to consider, especially as you get older.” “How old are you, like twenty-three?” he asked. “Ha! I’m thirty,” I replied. A surprised Iman jumped in, “For real? Man, whatever you’re doing, it’s working.” At another time during the night some people were asking me about Ironman, so I was telling stories about training and race experiences. Somewhere between training miles and race times, Hannah just shook her head and said, “This kid.” Then later Rory said how impressive and inspiring it all was. Stuff like that really means a lot. I can be pretty hard on myself and I really struggle with self-esteem, but my friends and this community make a difference. I appreciate how supportive people are of each other; it makes it feel like you’re not just running for yourself. – Bret Hagen
Racing at ECSWI this year was a big moment for me and crossing that finish line felt SO GOOD after nearly a year without racing. And those that know me that is a VERY LONG time for me to be without running in a race. Almost a year ago, I was sidelined by another running injury and wanted to try and listen to my body for once instead of pushing through the pain. There was a long stretch of bopping back and forth between working out at NP (or trying at least do the warm-up) and sitting out on injury deck to work on strengthening exercises not knowing really knowing what my injury was. Six months ago, I was ultimately posted up on injury deck 
indefinitely after the diagnosis of the labral tear in my right hip. I still #justshowedup every workout since it was part of my day (like my FAVORITE part). The NP community is so POSITIVE; all those GOOD vibes, high fives and sweaty hugs helped make the road to recovery 1,000,000x better. As I was weighing my options between surgery and waiting it out with PT, I got so much advice and support from my NP family—these people are some of the most CARING people I know. Fast forward to Saturday, I knew I was just getting back into racing again and running my leg of the marathon relay would the farthest I have run since last October’s half marathon so I went into the race with a “let’s just race to finish” mindset. I knew it wasn’t going to be my fastest (I didn’t have a bee sting like three years ago to pump my adrenaline on the course) and that was fine by me. I ran the first leg and let the SPEEDY rabbits fly by at the start and once I entered the woods, I tried to scoop up as many runners as I could. After passing the aid station the second time, I started to see the second leg runners come by and let their encouragement fuel the last mile I ran—probably my fastest. Coming down the final stretch on the road, I could hear the crowd at the transition/finish line and as I made the last turn, I heard them cheering me in and I gave it my ALL. On Saturday, I achieved a goal I made back in June (while in PT when I could only run a minute at a time) and that was running a leg/quarter marathon at ECSWI and MAN did it feel GOOD!!! I cannot thank NPMSN enough for all the love and support over the last year. I honestly don’t know how I could have recovered from this setback without all of you AMAZING people. THANK YOU!! – Dana Sorenson
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
