Last week, 105 co-leaders from November Project cities all over the world gathered in the pristine woodlands of Santa Cruz, California to discuss World Takeover, plan for the future of this movement, and connect. One of the many workshops that weekend focused on the metrics to qualify when a Tribe is “crushing it.” Do they have a strong connection to the city they live in? Are their workouts FOMO-inducing? Are Tribe members hype as hell about NP? All good considerations, but if I learned anything from the #NPDoubleheader yesterday, it’s that “crushing it” is kinda like porn, you know it when you see it.
A Thousand Miles (DCA)
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:
Red Hot Recap: 3 Stars 2 Bars [DCA]
Last night, I called my mom around 8pm. I do this every Sunday, but this Sunday was different. I had NEWS. BIG NEWS. I had to get Babs on the phone and tell her how much dang fun I had at our scavenger hunt/city tour/extravaganza, 3 Stars 2 Bars.
We started in on this idea about three months ago with one thing, a name. I had woken up from a fever dream (this usually happens on Tuesday nights around 2AM because I’m so dang excited about Lincoln) and texted Steve and Jake: “3 Stars 2 Bars. I don’t know what it can be yet, but the name is tight.” Or something to that effect.
Guest Blog: Stevie Makes DC Wanna Shout! (DCA)
Yesterday we shouted goodbye to our favorite Ironwoman, nutritionist, Buffalonian, Stevie. You’ve probably seen Stevie running, biking, or swimming her way through Washington–or petting a dog at workouts. Stevie, the enthusiasm you brought to NP workouts, in addition to your rock-solid work ethic have been an absolute joy to be around. There’s no replacing you, and we’ll miss you dearly.
Positively Charlie (DCA)
Friday, January 12, was a warm, humid morning in DC. Uncharacteristic after a few biting, wintry days. We hosted a workout at Barry Farm Rec, mere feet away from the Goodman League basketball courts, where legends like Kevin Durant and John Wall (reflexively flexes biceps) have honed their skills. So we had high temps, a historic location, and a SOLID workout–how could we possible top it off? Well, this was something we’d been planning for a while, but we decide the time was perfect to bestow the highest honor in NP history upon our boy, Charlie. If you don’t know Charlie, you should. SO take 5 minutes and get to know him:
Best of 2017 (DCA)
Ah, what a year! Whatever you felt, thought, or wondered, heading into 2017, the year that was far outpaced any crazy predictions or expectations. 2017 for us, as a Tribe, was at times breathtaking, inspiring, and overall just plain old fun. Here’s a look back at some of our favorite moments from 2017:
Men [not] at Work(out) WMY, Jack! (DCA)
Is there something in the water? Are people going to far too many holiday parties? Plainly, what is GOING ON in Washington, DC?! Three WE MISSED YOUs in a week — c’mon Tribe, get it together.
This one goes out to you, JackyCat. And don’t even try that “it was my second last night in America” crap because we’re not buying it. Ever heard of November Project exceptionalism? It means that we go to workouts no matter how hard we partied the night before. So Jack, what happened?
MelRo’s Place (DCA)
Hey Folks!
You probably already know this, but our dear Tribemember, Melani Robinson (AKA MelRo), was awarded with the Positivity Award this past Wednesday. If you don’t know Mel, you should. She can be seen at workouts, usually flaunting pink, and chugging hills for breakfast–typically while simultaneously training for a marathon.
Thank You, DC
Coming off a wildly successful and positively epic three-week collaboration with the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, I want to thank them for everything they did for us, and what they do every day for the District of Columbia.
DPR, it was truly a pleasure to work with and alongside y’all to promote #FitDCFridays. As tremendous advocates for exercising outdoors and enjoying green spaces, thanks so much for everything y’all do to keep DC parks clean, safe, and ready for gnarly workouts.
Like Any Birth (IND)
This morning, on NP’s sixth birthday and following WS game 6, we recreated November Project’s birth. Like any birth, it was wet, nasty, and sloppy, heart-warming, beautiful, and unifying. Aside from our hearts, there was nothing warm about it; Shaw’s lips were so frozen that he couldn’t even complete a sentence. Unlike most births, this reenactment featured pumpkins, costumes, and dignitaries (looking at you, Judge Rob, played here by Stew W., and Barrack Obama(?))