Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
Guest Authors: Emma Israel, Ana Little-Saña, Libby Norwood, and Dot Norwood
Find all the details, links to events, runners’ roster, and sign-ups on the Spreadsheet HERE
It’s Marine Corps Marathon week! NPDC has a bunch of activities planned to help runners and spectators prep for the big day, and hype them up along the way. Just show up for any or all of these events. We can’t wait to see you.
Dear November Project DC community (and greater NP world),
I love you. I’m also not going anywhere. I’m simply ending my four-year term as a leader of this incredible movement (OK, I got the bad political parallel joke out of the way already). This Friday, 9/25/2020, marks four years since the first time I stood in front of you at Janney Elementary School in Tenleytown. The approximately 624 workouts since then plus some pretty hilariously crazy events have been a blur — the absolute best of blurs. In a chaotic, scary, uncertain world, NP has always been that steadying force, that constant reminder of good and happiness and connection. Every member of the community makes this a reality; I am so glad you are here!
Yesterday, we surprised Carrie Clowney outside of her building — as she returned from a morning bike ride — with the Positivity Award in a socially distanced presentation. Big thanks to Austin MacDougall for doing the behind-the-scenes work to help us plan it and film it. Carrie has been a consistent force of good during quarantine in the NPDC world. She brings positive vibes to the daily Zoom plank + coffee calls, she’s delivered baked goods to friends, she’s connected with NP folks from other cities and more. This award is long overdue! Enough from us, though. Hear from/get to know Carrie below.
How does it feel to be the first NPDC quarantine recipient of the Positivity Award?
I feel honored! I think we’ve done a great job of finding ways to stay connected with NP through quarantine – virtual workouts, virtual coffee, virtual happy hours – so it seems fitting that we bring back one of the last parts of NP that hasn’t gone virtual, the Positivity Award! I think Mary (Finkebone) stated it nicely on Facebook, we need the Positivity Award more than ever now that we are physically separated from each other.
“March Madness.”
You’ve maybe heard the term. There’s this crazy basketball tournament that happens during this month every year, causing heartbreak and elation, destroying productivity across the American landscape, and exhausting minds, legs and wallets. It’s cool. It’s fun. It’s been around for a while.
ALEX SPIGELMAN. We could probably write a novel about this dude and why he’s deserving of the Positivity Award. Whether it’s pushing others around him by beast-moding every.damn.workout, giving words of encouragement, offering to help us behind the scenes, providing insightful sports commentary, or simply asking how someone’s day is (and actually caring about your answer) — this guy is all-around incredible. He embodies everything that November Project is about, and we’re proud to have him as a part of the NPDC community. Did I nearly cry when we gave him the Positivity Award? MAYBE, but that’s besides the point. Alex answered some questions so you could get to know him a little better, because honestly, everyone in the world should have the pleasure of knowing him.
If you, like me, spent a lot of time burning mix CDs to put into your parents’ 2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue during the late 2000s and the early aughts, you hopefully know the value of this Schwayze banger. If you don’t, take three minutes and give it a listen, I guarantee you’ll be Buzzin’ by the end.
Last week to kick off the new year, we gave out the Positivity Award to Mike Deloge, a stalwart source of good vibes in the NP community. Without further ado, get to know Mike (and find him at your next workout).
How, when and where were you introduced to November Project?
In May of 2018 I went to bed one night thinking, “I should join a running group to stay motivated and keep active.” Whenever I’d thought about running groups in the DC area, though, I thought of some of my friends who are strong, fast runners — words that I would not use to describe myself in any way — and had been intimidated by even considering joining a running group for fear of not keeping up. The next day I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and, unable to fall back asleep, decided to run down to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the sun rise. Waiting to cross Constitution Avenue around 5:15 a.m., two young ladies — who later introduced themselves to me as Noli and Kate — asked me if I was going to NP and when I didn’t know what it was, they told me to join them and thought, “Well, why not?”
Hot dang — we’ve been compiling our favorite NP memories since 2016, and each and every year somehow tops the last. We say it all the time, but workout after workout, week after week, NP revolves around the hardworking and dedicated people who come out. People who show up for one another when it’s scorching hot in the summer, or we’re racing around a track eating custard, or it’s snowing and we make y’all shovel the bike lane on 15th Street. A few highlights are included, but simply, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (and all the social events), are really special. Thanks for showing up for us and one another. We look forward to another dope year in 2020.
In case you haven’t heard, the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) is a BFD. They won the World Cup this summer, and just this week their captain, Megan Rapinoe, was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year while the entire USWNT was announced as Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year. BFD.
It’s not every day that a World Cup champion / Olympic gold medalist / professional soccer player slides into your DMs, but when Kelley O’Hara reached out to us a couple weeks ago, Maria, Jake and I were shaking with excitement (okay, I won’t speak for them, but this former soccer player and USWNT stan was celebrating full on Brandi Chastain style in her office).