Annie Kelly often has to leave before we take our group photo, but you recognize her amazingly sculpted arms, her beaming smile, and know that she’ll thank everyone for the awesome morning before she has to take off for work. Annie is a badass, and I disagree with her first sentence of this blog.
I am not a runner. Sure, I’ve done a dozen or so 5Ks but it’s always been my “last resort” form of exercise. The only legit run I signed up for was the rock and roll half marathon and I sprained my ankle the night before. I haven’t signed up for one in the 5 years since this happened and, being the superstitious person I am, probably won’t. 
Thankfully I’ve gotten over this enough to tolerate running again so when a cute guy at a bar told me that November project was also in LA (and asked for my number!) I somehow found the motivation that I didn’t have while living in Boston to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and “Just Show Up.”
I immediately regretted it. Not only had cute guy not called or texted me, he didn’t even recognize me! Plus I was forced to cram into a mosh pit of strangers and told to put my chin on the shoulder of the person in front of me. Horrified at the NP’er who had nuzzled her chin into my collarbone, I tried and failed to back out of the human wall that had now formed around me and was bleating like sheep. Yes, bleating! And expecting me to do the same, no less!
Thankfully, these weirdos were also super encouraging, the workout kicked my ass, and the literally breathtaking stairs afforded a figuratively breathtaking view at the top 
Pretty soon, these weirdos knew my name and my brand of weird seemed to fit right in! I found myself bleating along with the best of them and didn’t care that cute guy didn’t know who I was (I haven’t even seen him at a workout since)! I even began to actually consider myself a runner! All because I️ just showed up.
Now, I know it’s hard to just show up. It takes serious courage and guts and self-assurance. Sometimes it feels against all reason. But that same courage that I️ used to just show up to that first NP workout and that I️ cultivated along with my fellow weirdos is the same courage that encouraged me to tell the love of my life that I️ wanted to be more than friends.
Now, she does NP 3,000 miles away in Boston but came to a workout with me this morning because you just show up for the people you love.
NP, thank YOU for being your own special brand of lovable weirdo and for showing up this morning and every morning
NEWS:
- November 18 in San Fran
- #NFECSCA aka North Face Endurance Challenge Series California. This is always an awesome time. This is part of the race series that Summit is always a part of. Consider this to be like a mini-NP Summit. Marathon relay is the most popular choice and you can race it with 3 other friends. Check it out, get a crew together, and sign up!
- Logistics can be found in this spreadsheet
Cereal Boxes – Thank you to everyone who donated empty cereal boxes this morning! These will be recycled into recruiting cards once a new stamp is designed and made! Feel free to continue bringing empty boxes, or full ones (*Cough*mini wheats, coco puffs, honey nut cheerios, and frosted flakes*Cough*)
Random trivia – Some of you may have noticed the colorful stairs across Sunset blvd. Those stairs are known as the Music Box Steps. The steps are named after the 1932 short comedy “The Music Box”. In the short, comedic duo Laurel and Hardy try to carry a piano up the steps, maybe that should be the next workout. The short won the original Academy Award for the category “Live Action Short”. Click if you want to watch the short.
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