One for the core members (YWG)

Wisconsin notes:

Shaw Park workout this morning
Bernie wins Shabooya (again)
Shout out to the core members
Yearbook pics next week- wear something Canadian

Today, Mark was the first to show up, and as he walked up to where Megan, Rick, Tom and I were, I mentioned to them how the tagged shirt helps to highlight who the core members are (the left-facing golden boy, we recently changed it to face right). This made me think of a blog post idea; one for the core members.

Also, here’s a redemption picture of Mark; it’s a little more flattering than Carl’s picture of him running the 10k this weekend. I got you Mark.

We are coming up to our third birthday, which means we’ve been doing this for a while now. Before I was a co-leader, I was a core member, and our first workout at Shaw Park was when I was still a core member. I mentioned to Rick and Tom that I had some contacts there and I could probably get us in, and they said go for it. They also asked if I wanted to do the bounce for that one, as a little nod for getting us in I suppose. I can’t remember what the bounce was, I’m sure I messed it up (classic) but I do remember getting everyone to gather in close, put an arm around the person next to them, and took it from there. On that Friday morning, we bounced, we ran, we high fived, we took some cool pics, we went for coffee at Cafe Postal after, and it was good. This tribe is good, this shit is good.

This Sunday, after the weekends escapades (Spruce Woods Ultra and the MEC race) some of the core members posted some really nice things in the NP YWG Community page (if you’re not in it yet, join it here). These posts brought attention to how much this tribe is there for each other, pushes each other, supports each other, and it was one of those payday moments for all of us. It also brought attention to how it’s pushed us to challenge ourselves and do things we normally wouldn’t have done. There were quite a few people out this weekend that did their very first races and really enjoyed it. Brian got second place in the 5k, Mark ran his first 10k, Sara her first half, Kristjana did her first 10k and it was a trail race, Jamie and Lindsay ran 50k, a bunch of people got PR’s on their race… it was really rewarding for everyone involved (I didn’t write down everyone who raced, but you get just as much credit).

As we get into summer the group will inherently get bigger. There will be people coming for their first workout, and people returning after taking the winter off. During the winter, our tribe gets pretty tight knit. Core members that keep showing up all year long, braving the cold, build pretty good relationships with each other and everyone knows everyone. It’s awesome, we really enjoy those workouts ourselves, the smaller group means we can join in a bit more, we are all facing the elements together, and you leave with a real sense of accomplishment.

What I’m getting at, in a very round about way, is that the core members make this tribe into what it is, and it’s so important to make the new people and the ones returning feel welcome and included. It’s great to see little groups within the group, to see the friendships formed, so we are asking you to make an extra effort to show the newcomers the ropes, how to do a workout, how to get involved. Let’s be honest, if you’re reading this, chances are you’re a core member. Help them figure out how to get on the NP social page, help motivate them with the workout if they look a little lost, bring things to our attention if you think there’s something we should know (visiting members, etc). You never know how much the community could help someone who #justshowsup for the first time, or the hundredth time.

Important dates:

May 24th- yearbook photos
June 7th- third birthday (with Ace Burpee)
June 8-11th- NP Summit
June 19th- Pop-up at the BOMBER STADIUM!

On a less serious note, here’s some fun pictures from this morning. The picture of Thomas handing off the shabooya to Bernie really gets me, that’s what it’s all about.