The pandemic continues and the guidance from the governor still limits outside social gatherings to 25 people or fewer. So for now, we still love to see you pushing yourself, running, burpeeing, whatever, and staying fast and fit. We will be back together again. Eventually. To help prepare for that eventuality, sign the new waiver. And when we get back together, we want to make sure everyone is looking fresh. We haven’t tagged shirts in a long time. You know why. Let’s fix that.read more
A redemption run that started as a solo, grassroots idea and quickly became a city-wide effort powered by friends old and new, and who are the epitome of what it means to #justshowup . This is Callie’s story.
It was about 2:30 am. I was shivering, curled up in someone’s tent, waiting for a friend to drive me and my tucked tail home from what was supposed to be a 100-mile finish at a 24-hour race around a 1-mile loop in Lisle, IL. Right from the start, I knew something was wrong. My body rejected all water and food (minus one mint and a sketchy fig newton) and I was stopping for the bathroom every mile on the dot. After 18 miles, that’s when I thought, “this isn’t safe anymore, something is seriously wrong.”read more
Well, it’s finally Spring. It’s finally back to “normal” Vancouver weather, and we are seeing some familiar faces return from their winter hibernation … AND WE LOVE IT!!
Things are becoming EXTRA awesome here in VanCity … The month of April is going to be HUGE for us!! read more
Sometimes you dream up a big idea and when it actually happens the real thing is a thousand times better than you could have ever imagined. That was this mornings workout in Virginia Beach. We went to the zoo, well not literally, but the zoo came to us. This was an idea that I had long before I was ever a co-leader, in hopes that one day I might have the privilege to put on this workout for my tribe of amazing people. All of the planning, research and prep helped make this one of the best mornings I have ever been apart of at NP VB.read more
Were you tired of hearing the music fade and the sweet sound and a metal spoon hitting a pot this morning? Was there enough time in between each fire drill to make you forget that we were running a fire drill this morning? Well if the answer to those questions is yes or no we are still overjoyed with excitement you showed up this morning to run some stairs in this humid, hot climate and get some fresh, new #grassrootsgear.
I remember someone once telling me that every day in August was like a dreaded Sunday but for a month straight. It’s probably the worst comparison I’ve heard. Except, when people compare cats and dogs. I mean I can understand it, July is over and we are now approaching the last month before things kick back into gear. By gear, I mean the time in which kids return to school, summer contracts end and the days are slowly getting shorter and shorter. Those that you ride the bus with or take your lunch walk with might start talking about snow flying soon. Well we live in Ottawa so snow is going to fly, that’s reality. The days are getting shorter and pretty much everywhere in Canada and across the world students, teachers, parents and adults are heading back into some style of a daily routine that does not consist of camp, eating popsicles and long coffee talks in plus 27 degree weather. Really though, there remains another 31 days before that sets all in. And when it does it’s not this dramatic event that occurs. People move on from summer into a new routine that involves layering more gear and being prepared for shorter days. Life does not become this obsolete darkness that people find themselves hermitting into or that we hear so often of.read more
The new race day is back with a vengeance! This puppy is no joke (even for puppies like Hamiltonand Penny). We’re talking 26 minutes on the clock, running laps around the block. During those laps you’re stopping on the platforms (after slapping gold doors) to knock out 20 sit-ups, 20 push-ups, 20 mountain climbers, and 10 burpees.
We’re bringing back the tracker.
The tracker, found here, was popularized years ago and is used by you to track your monthly race day time (formerly) to see your improvement. It fell by the wayside for about a year, but it’s been resurrected. With the new race day being a set time rather than a set number of reps and laps to complete, the tracker will now be used to track race day distance covered/reps completed rather than time.
Log your new race day numbers in the tracker as follows: Whole number (integer if you ran the block in reverse) for each full lap completed, decimal for each rep completed on an incomplete lap. Examples:
In July, Jenny completed 3 full laps and 16 reps of sit-ups. Jenny’s July race day number is 3.16 …[3 full laps + .16 sit-ups]
In June, Rashard completed 4 full laps and 7 reps of burpees (so close; you’ll get 5 next month, Rashard!). Rashard’s June race day number is 4.67 …[4 full laps + .20 sit-ups, .20 push-ups, .20 mountain climbers, and .7 burpees]
As was mentioned last week, July is a month that we have identified to launch a recruiting challenge. The rules will be explained further down, but the notion or intention that I want to really land with you all, is that recruiting should never stop.
Think about it. Think about the fact the Brooklyn was the 40th tribe to come on board for November Project. Forty. Thirty-nine other tribes came on before us, and the only reason that happened is because the cities and tribes before them spread the word. And the people before them talked about it with complete strangers. And the people before them posted about it on social media. And the people before them (we may have gotten to the beginning of this bread-crumb, jump down the rabbit hole analogy), two guys in particular – decided that they both would commit to showing up for the other. And, kept showing up.
All because of you. And you. And YOU.
Each tribe varies in size, vibe, and passport tag. But what doesn’t change is the run down of the workout, leaders who are there to support and motivate you through your workout, a group of humans who want to connect, it’s fucking free, and that recruiting as many people as possible to keep this boat afloat is not only essential – it IS the one thing that keeps this whole movement FRESH / ENERGIZED / INSPIRING.
So, when was the last time YOU brought someone to your home tribe workout? Did they come for that one workout and never came back? Or are they now arriving earlier to the workout than you and attending every social that has been thrown in the mix since?
Have you met Remi? No seriously, have you? You should. You really really should.
Either way, here in Brooklyn, we want to see what you’re made of. These are the rules for #RecruitingInJuly – see below:
Every Wednesday in July, after the workout: the points will be tallied by one of your leaders and put into an excel spreadsheet. Again, at the END of THE WORKOUT – no IOU’s, “Oops, I did it again,” moments – find us after the workout to etch your points into Excel spreadsheet history.
POINTS: not all humans brought to the workout are weighed equal (WOOF – that sounds awful. And, for this purpose – we mean this in a fun, competitive way to challenge WHO you convince to come through). They will be weighed. They will be measured. And they will be found valued…based on the following:
ONE POINT: Recruiting Papers, Happy Hour, or due to your spray-painted, tagged shirt #GrassrootsGear
TWO POINTS: Friend, Co-Worker, or Family.
THREE POINTS: Another City or Stranger.
FOUR POINTS: Mid Workout or Date.
FIVE POINTS: Met at a running test… #RaceEverything
FIFTEEN POINTS: Celebrity (Spike Lee, Malcolm Gladwell, or even Barbra Streisand)
It’s been hot out. Like stupid hot. Like run your AC all day hot even though your electric bill is going to be $300 next month. Like taking a shower to cool off from your shower hot. So waking up early ass o’clock on a holiday to engage in some free fitness was a way better alternative than, say, running a 5k and/or a 10k in 96 degree heat and a million percent humidity (which many of the tribe did this week).
But like zombies in the fog, the tribe walked through the haze of the Providence sunrise to engage in what turned out to be an team competition to celebrate America’s independence – the Colonists vs the Red Coats, if you will.read more
Washington, DC to Worcester, (pronounced WOOSTAH) Massachusetts is approximately 398 miles. Do that twice and you’ve got 796 miles on your hand. Do that in a conversion van you can’t take on an expressway and you’re looking at basically 1,000 miles (hat-tip Vanessa Carlton). We drove that. Correction, Steve and Jason Ornelis drove that, over the course of 21+ hours. We asked the Van Gang to provide their thoughts, feedback, peaches + pits, and overall feelings now that they’ve had a few days to decompress from the #NP_VAN experience. Here’s what they had to say:
DC–>WOO–>Wachusett trails–>DC
Ingaborg Broskas:
How do you measure the #van_life experience in less than 200 characters? Not easily. When I found out Steve was planning a road trip up to Boston, I knew I was I in. No questions asked. My flight plans were changed. This was going to be epic and I was not interested in FOMO. read more
Rhode Island is a boomerang state – the type of place where people leave, and then come back. I’m not sure why, but it’s just hard to leave. I left for a decade, and it pulled me right back in. read more
