Hello friends – meet our latest Positivity Award (PA) winner Emma Israel!
- How, when and where were you introduced to the November Project?
A few weeks after I moved to Austin, Texas for grad school, I checked out a random running group I found online, the Morning Jo’s. I spent the run chatting with the group’s founder, who also happened to be the co-leader of NPATX and a former NPDC member. I had heard about NP before that but had always been nervous to try it out. All it took was one friendly face telling me she hoped to see me in the morning and I was hooked. Huge shout out to Rachel W. for being that person! When I moved back to DC last year, the very strong former NPDC cohort in Austin made it clear I had to start attending DC workouts as soon as I arrived, which I did! (Hi Rachel, Gina, Scott, and Katie!)
- What do you remember about your first workout or thinking at/after your first workout?
My first ever NPDC workout was August PR day and it was sweaty. I remember being surprised, and a little daunted, by how big the group is. I also recall being quite impressed by how quickly and casually folks were running the stairs. I was about halfway through marathon training and thought I was in pretty good shape but it was hard!!
- What motivates you to keep you coming back?
Without a doubt it is the people. I feel so lucky to have found a community who make running even more fun, who are up for pretty much anything, and who are so supportive of one another. Running logs alone in the dark would be horrible?? I can say for certain I would not do that without everyone else also showing up.
- What does winning the Positivity Award mean and represent to you?
It’s been almost exactly a year since I moved back to DC and started coming to NPDC. Winning the PA now feels like an acknowledgement that I’ve become a part of this community over that time. As I ran home with the PA after the workout I thought about how much has changed for me over the last year, and how grateful I am that one of those changes has been the increasing importance in my routine of NP workouts and non-workout shenanigans with NP people.
- What’s your favorite DC restaurant and your go-to food?
This is a hard one. The food I most often get is probably a bagel or breakfast sandwich from Timber. On the weekends they have bagels from Call Your Mother but toast them in the pizza oven which is delicious. Plus, the line is much shorter than at CYM. I also love Ercilia’s on Mt. Pleasant St. for my pupusa cravings (which are frequent).
- Describe for us your favorite November Project moment to date.
One of my favorite NP memories was one morning in February when Foley, Young, and Jolly announced a lifting of the burpee tax for taking photos during the workout. The mood was very high and the sunrise was super bright. With the news of no burpee tax, I think we took hundreds of photos over the course of the workout. I did not get a very good workout in, but the goofiness of the morning made up for it.
- Give us your running backstory. How’d you get involved with running?
At the start of my junior year of high school, a brand new organization came to my school that was going to help students train for and run a marathon. Simply because I am competitive, I joined the club with a couple of friends. We trained through a crazy Snowmageddon winter in DC and ran a marathon on a brutally hot March day. It turned me off from running for a couple of years. However, it was also my first running group and really showed me how valuable a running group is.
(I’d be remiss not to mention that Teens Run DC still operates in DC Public Schools and has opportunities to volunteer including joining group runs and supporting at races!)
- What’s your top fashion tip for runners?
Share via socials:Sunglasses! I’m new to the sunglasses-while-running game but I can’t believe I didn’t come around to this sooner. It’s a game changer.
