Four years ago my brother was in town house hunting after signing a contract to play hockey in Edmonton. It was such an exciting time for our family as we had not lived in the same city for almost 20 years as he’d moved away at 16 to play in Portland. As he sat at our kitchen table he talked
As he sat at our kitchen table he talked about a free workout he wanted to host at Kinsmen Park the following morning. He’d been running stairs in Boston with this group, November Project, and he thought that maybe there’d be an appetite for this type of community in Edmonton. He tweeted out an invitation and I recall him saying that there might just be the 3 of us (him, myself and my husband) or 100, he had no idea.
The next morning, a random group of strangers gathered to do a deck of cards and rip down some slides during the fire drills. And with that November Project Canada was born! Andrew wasn’t around for the remainder of the summer but there were a few of us who kept the group going, meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, not even thunder, lightning or torrential rain kept us away. As Andrew prepared to come home for the season he recognized that he wouldn’t be able to lead the tribe in the mornings, this is where Nadim, a stranger prior to July 15, 2013, took up the challenge and together, the two of us committed to lead the tribe. I naively agreed to this commitment, then went home and read about what I’d just signed up for…yikes! Oh well, that’s what you do for your brother.
I have proud to say that for the last 4 years there was been a November Project workout every single Monday, Wednesday, and Friday…every single one! Even when it was -37 degrees Celcius, even on Christmas morning, even when we were running on empty, even when all three of us were out of town (NP babysitters rock!), even when… simply put there are no excuses.
In four years we’ve used Edmonton as our playground, exploring its parks, squares, fountains and even did a dragon boat workout on the river. We’ve challenged to you push your limits with Sunrise 6ks, Old 96er, and Sebastian challenges (7 minutes of burpees anyone?). We’ve asked you to be open to the possibility and simply say yes even when we suggest you do the craziest things like toboggan at 6AM on a Friday morning, leap frog through the city hall wading pool, slip-n-slide at Emily Murphy or waddle around quacking like a duck. We’ve loved surprising you with positivity award announcements, a Fort Edmonton Park workout, and the first ever NP wedding. I can’t wait to see what the future brings, the possibilities are truly endless!
You can count on the November Project tribe to be there for you. You can count on getting sweaty, receiving high 5s and hugs, and meeting the very best people in Edmonton. Choosing to #justshowup was a life changing decision for me and I am so grateful for everyone who has also chosen to be a part of this amazing community and can’t wait to meet all those future early morning tribe members!
#justshowup 6AM
Monday – Borden Park
Wednesday – Commonwealth Stadium Gate 2
Friday – Walterdale Hill
- This will be a grassroots gear tagging day as long as the weather cooperates
- Bring 1 light/bright colored top to be tagged
- We only tag on the front and in black
Until next time…SMILE! J
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