From the planning that started over a 6 months ago until the day-of execution, these are the people and the companies that made NPSUMMIT 5.0 go down as our best gathering yet! Please reach out to some or all and tell them that you appreciate their support of the worldwide free fitness movement that has no intentions of slowing down.
The North Face – We’ve been partners with The North Face since the Spring of 2014. These are the people that saw something special when we were 19 tribes strong, and these are the people that appropriately and somewhat serendipitously stood at section 19 of the Harvard Stadium last Friday, where in front of nearly 2000 people, we added our 42nd and 43rd tribes from Buffalo, New York and Miri, Malaysia. The North Face has been making the best outdoor gear, putting together the most incredible trail races, and without them, our voice wouldn’t be nearly as loud, nor would our reach would be as far. So Maeve, Tom, Cara, Michaela, Ann, Jess, and dozens of other people from the Alameda, CA HQ that believe in what we do, we thank you for your support and vision, we thank you for making the ECS race location just outside of Boston so that our homecoming could be as amazing, and we look forward to the many years of joint adventure and exploration. 
Westin via Chris Heuisler – Let’s Rise party put together by this NP Boston member that wasn’t even able to attend was a total hit. Glowing swings, blasting dance jams, cold drinks, amazing costumes, and a heavenly bed, all laid out on a breezy June night on the magical Lawn On D in South Boston was a perfect cherry on the top of a spectacular action packed weekend! Thank you, Westin!
DJ Barry by night, Co-Leader of November Project Virginia Beach by sunrise, this dude is a transformer. We can’t thank you enough for lugging all of your sound equipment from VA to make Let’s Rise come to life at sundown. Thank you, Barry!
Nuun Hydration – CEO Kevin Rutherford trains regularly with November Project Seattle and truly believes in the good of NP. His company, Nuun, was born as a smarter way to hydrate athletes of all kinds, but particularly inside the endurance world. Many of our Co-Leaders and members are connected to Nuun already, but it was very cool to see Kevin and his team show up at the Harvard Stadium fully staffed and ready to support the workout with “5” branded bottles, multiple flavors of product on hand, as well as gifting for all of the Co-Leaders as they entered their rooms when they arrived. Thank you, Nuun!
Health Warrior – Some of our largest events last year were supercharged by Health Warrior nutrition bars. This past weekend at NP Summit was no different. From the “5” branded product bags for all of our Co-Leaders to the nutrition boost at the end of the workout at the stadium, the chia love was flowing. Thank you, Health Warrior!
Stance – This SoCal brand is in their 3rd year supporting our Co-Leaders with some fantastic running socks. Despite their background being in the skate world, this brand/gang is now synonymous with sock confort in running, NBA, MBL, just to casually nameDrop a few. Thank you, Stance, we appreciate your support & bold colors!
Road ID – Supports safe running, and to make sure that all Co-leaders stay safe while training, they donated 100 custom “5” running bands. Thanks Road ID, we won’t run without you!
Timmy Olson & Hal Koerner. Most days these dudes call themselves ultra marathon runners or professional athletes or even spokesmen from the global team at The North Face. This past Friday they were the Gym Teachers, leading a dance off/haka-style battle between all NP Co-Leaders for a chance to attend the Redsox game. Thank you guys for being able to go with whatever silly ideas we came up with and for being a real inspiration. If you don’t know these guys, watch this film! It will make you want to push harder and race more trails. Gents, your involvement was super fucking cool and we couldn’t do, whatever that was, without you.
Kara Borelli – The Planner. Booking tickets (travel) and rooms (dorms) and meals (many kinds & dietary stuff) for 100 people from all over the world is no easy task. Well, Kara made it look easy. If you ever need a planner for anything from Dog Shows to weddings (not actually sure if she does either of those things) please reach out and we’ll connect you. She’s professional, nice, seems to understand NP, and is in her second year of an A+ NP Summit weekend. Thank you Kara, you are a true pleasure to work with!
Laura “Communication Czar” Green. Laura works with Bojan and I every week of the year. Her strengths are that she never lets up on communication, she knows what Co-Leaders need to hear, and she keeps an eye on how we’re doing as a movement. Laura’s weakness is running. She got beat by yours truly this weekend over 26 miles (they call this distance a “Marathon”) even after training in and around San Francisco’s elevation for the past 5 months (posting her views & climbs on her IG stories each time out). Seriously, thank you for all that you do Laura. We do need you and love you and couldn’t do it without you… but leave the running stuff to us. #BonkZilla2017
Knockaround. They make shades that we like to wear. Thanks to CEO & Founder ACE for getting to all of his local NP San Diego workouts and for keeping our Co-Leaders looking sharp. “Knockaround, super dope, but if you drop them you only say FUCK one time.” (not the actual slogan). We could do it without you, but with squinty eyes!
Ministry of Supply. Thursday night all of the leaders made their way to the HQ space in Chinatown Boston. We threw chickens, popped collars, and had a few drinks. Aman Advani and his team basically threw a welcome party and hosted our bags all day long. This was a very underground, logistical help from Ministry and we want to make sure we THANK YOU guys big time. If you need something to tuck in for a wedding or a job that requires stellar outfits that don’t wrinkle and keep you cool… check them out.
Paint Crew. Joey Kyle paints shirt, cuts stencils, wears odd outfits. On Friday morning, he lead a team that painted over 700 shirts inside the 40-minute workout. Thank You to Joey and The Paint Crew of volunteers who swapped their workout to tag shirts with a “5” that will be worn around the world!
DJ Phoenix – Your beats make the stairs manageable. Your dedication to NP is unwavering. Having you show the world a glimpse into Boston’s PR Wednesday was perfect. Thank you!
Dooster. These guys shoot and edit films. Really well. To Dylan, Ryan, and the patch-carrying team, that makes up the superfans of Dooster, thank you! We couldn’t do film things without you.
Emilie, Maks, & Marli. Bojan’s wife was so pregnant during NP Summit that any minute we were positive that Bojan would be gone, heading to the delivery room with Emilie to deliver their second kid. But true to her unwavering commitment to NP that lasted a 1/2 decade so far, she held off until the weekend was over before delivering Maks Mandaric. Emilie, thank you. We needed Bojan throughout the weekend and because of your timing with your new little baby boy… we couldn’t have done what we did without you (holding your breath). Thank You.
Dana of the Redsox Nation. Dana, a member of November Project Boston, came up with a casual 100 tickets to the Redsox game on Friday night for all of our Co-Leaders. This was something that he wanted to do to help the NP Movement and he considered it a way to give back. Well, Dana, everyone had an awesome time, so much so that most didn’t get to bed until way too late. Memories of the Green Monstah, Sweet Caroline, caught foul balls, all the magic that makes up Fenway Park, will be ones that we’ll take with us for the rest of our lives. Thank you. You’re amazing.
The Endurance Challenge Staff & MC Jeff. The MC who makes all of the noise at the Endurance Challenge is a dude named Jeff. He’s the only person I know who can do the NP level of hype… all day… for two days… without showing an ounce of wear & tear. Jeff, if you ever want to start a tribe in any city around the world… please reach out. And to the staff that makes the courses, cuts trails, marks trails, builds out aid stations, dashes into the woods to find runners in distress, and keep things moving around the start and finish lines of all races all weekend, we salute you. Call it Endurance Challenge Staff, call it Hawkeye, call it whatever you want. We couldn’t do anything on raceday without you. Thank you.
Northeastern University, NU Rowing, Head Coach John “Pojo” Pojednic. All of our Co-Leader meetings throughout the day, as well as breakfast & lunch, all took place inside the Henderson Boathouse, the place where we trained and raced in college. Going back to this sacred space was an honor and a privilege. Thank you to NU Athletic Department and the NU Alumni Department for allowing us to return home on such a powerful weekend – proud Huskies for life! Coach Pojednic, like much of NP, we couldn’t do it without you. 
Sweetgreen – Thank you for delicious and nutritious lunch. Our brains needed fuel, and your salads were just what the doctor prescribed!
Boston Co-Leaders – you guys make it happen each week, three times a week, without fail. NP Summit was a chance to showcase you three and all that you do. Thank you for hosting what looks like the bounce of the year and for making it all look so easy.
Elevation Culture. Medals, wood, & trophies, a company who’s founder & CEO is a member of NPSD. On Friday AM, every single athlete was passed a tiny/wood bling that Elevation Culture had carved “5” into. Want awards for an upcoming event surrounding trail & other racing events? Check them out.
