November Project Summit 13

Let me describe for you, what it has been like to join the greatest fitness cult of all time. I’ve been dabbling for a few years now, off and on, skirting the periphery but never drinking the Kool-aid. But on the weekend of June 5-7th, we all got fully baptized into the awesomeness of November Project. And wow, what a ride that was.

Lemme explain what November Project is, so you can fully appreciate how incredible NP Summit 13 was. The premise of November Project is free, drop-in, inclusive, public workouts in interesting public spaces. There are groups that meet in 58 locations around the world, early in the morning, consistently, led by charismatic, volunteer leaders. There are chants and rituals and tagging.

Cult? Or community at its finest?

Actually, that’s a better description. This is community, and it’s a beautiful thing.

Every year, a different city hosts a ‘Summit’, kinda like the G7 Summit, except this is actually productive. Less politicians and lots of happy people. This year, the fearless NP Edmonton leaders, our very own Rob McDougall and Eric Decorby, were awarded host city for the 13th year of the November Project gathering. Leaders, and die-hard participants travel from all over to see how NP is done in another city. The idea is to share inspiration and build community; to keep NP, and it’s mantra “Just Show Up” alive and well.

Sometime last fall, I got connected with Rob and Eric to talk about putting on a race for the Summit weekend. They were looking for someone who had some race directing experience to help them out with race logistics, and we started chatting about what was possible. It was quickly clear to me that they didn’t really need me, they were so organized, and had already put in a ton of work to get sponsors, set up a website and registration, and start the permit process for the many events happening over the Summit weekend. But I also knew how much work they were taking on, and that having extra hands wouldn’t be a bad thing. So I was happy to help out.

One morning at NP, my friend Keith told me he had a great idea for the race, something that would capture the spirit of Edmonton NP perfectly. A slip n slide at the finish line. It’s an Edmonton tradition to incorporate a slip n slide into workouts on occasion and of course Rob and Eric were all over that idea too, but we were all a little skeptical that the Province of Alberta and the event staff at the Alberta Legislature Grounds, would approve it. The grounds at the legislature are pristine, and it was hard to imagine them being ok with us soaking the ground with the soapy puddle and flattening the beautiful lawn with a tarp. But I’ll never forget the smile on the event coordinator’s face when we pitched the idea. She was all in, she just needed to convince her boss’ and the grounds staff this was a good idea.

I wish I could say it was a smooth ride from there. I’m sure you can imagine the questions about liability, safety and thousands of rules we had to follow. But none of that matters, no matter how frustrating it felt at times, because hosting a race with a slip n slide finish line was worth every discussion.

We could hardly believe when we got the final approval for our race layout and planned slip in slide. At first we were limited to a flat section of ground, told to keep our water mess within the confines of the patch of grass that doubles as a skating rink in winter. But after a walk through with staff in May, they allowed us to change our site map to put the slip in slide on a hill and the rest of the site could be on the skating rink.

Some speed! Sweet. Now we’re talking.

And then with less then 72 hours before the event, the told us we had to change the entire site layout because the skating rink patch of grass was recently seeded and we couldn’t go near it. They also told us (very last minute) that since the slip in slide was going to be on a hill now, we had to line the tarps with straw bales so no one fell off or hit anything.

What?

Now this is where both Eric and Rob proved (yet again) that they are extraordinary leaders and event organizers. Instead of descending into panic (ok, there were a few ‘wtf’ texts exchanged) we just huddled down and rethought out every implication of changing the entire thing at the last minute. We had to notify every vendor and volunteer and let them know about the change to our already carefully communicated plans. We had to modify the course to make sure it still worked. We had to rethink things like power sources and flow of people and bathrooms and sound systems. We had to somehow track down, haul, store and dispose of a significant amount of bales (picture my husband and I, late Friday night, in the loft of a very old and dusty barn, throwing bales into a trailer). Even though it caused a lot of stress, the end result was absolutely phenomenal, and went off without a hitch.

So let me give you the highlights of the weekend that has already gone down in history for two reasons:

1. The first and only slip n slide ever hosted on Provincial Legislature Grounds
2. The BEST NP Summit on the books (as reported by…pretty much everyone that came)

The party started Thursday night with a yoga class on the hill and package pick up for the weekend. A couple hundred people, on a beautiful evening, doing yoga in the park overlooking the iconic Walterdale Bridge and river. Although I barely had time to look up from getting people their race kits for race day, it sure was incredible to see so many people, from all over, coming to this fine city to move their bodies and connect with each other.

Then came Friday morning at Commonwealth stairs and the energy was poppin. November Project Edmonton has somehow charmed its way into getting access to the Commonwealth football stadium every Wednesday morning in summer, to let people run the stairs and concourse as the workout. It’s the best morning of the week on any given day, and it went down as a morning to remember with 550 people jumping up and down, yelling ‘Good Morning’ with a few expletives, before climbing up and down the stadium stairs. The place was alive, bright colours, big energy, high vibes. And it wasn’t even 7 am.

A nearby hall hosted a beautiful catered breakfast and gave leaders and participants from all over, a chance to connect over coffee and scrambled eggs, and a love of fitness in community.

Friday afternoon gave out of town Summiters a chance to experience what this fine city has to offer, with several different tour options, including beer tours, ice cream walks, a canoe down the North Saskatchewan (did those people ever find their way off the river or are they somewhere in Manitoba by now?) and a hike in Elk Island Provincial Park.

Rob and Eric were buzzing. I was fussing over last minute race details (including hauling straw bales!) and out late course marking. This is the point in race directing where you feel this strange mix of peace, and gut dropping terror. Remember that ride at West Edmonton Mall in the 90’s called Drop of Doom? You know that two seconds where you are suspended at the top after an agonizingly slow ascent? That’s always what I feel like when I’m out late, flagging the course, with a friend, and a mind bursting with details the night before a race. I know the next day will be a bit of a freefall rush, but for now, for just one second, we get to pause at the top. The Oilers were in the playoff run and you could hear the city erupt with each goal, the night was perfect, the Walterdale Bridge lit in blue and orange. I felt so peaceful knowing that months of planning was all about to pay off.

Four thirty am alarm and we hit the ground running. (Not that I would be doing any actual running that day!) The next few hours were a blur of directing people, hauling stuff, setting out pylons and moving them again and again until the whole layout was perfect, checking in with course marshals to make sure everyone was in their place and ready for racers to fly by.

Rob and Eric and I looked at each other, so proud of what a cool thing we had put together and could hardly believe we had pulled it off. Of course, the slip n slide the icing on the cake of cult fitness perfection.

3-2-1 Let’s. Fucking. Go.

The race format was a relay, so even after the gun went off, there was still a good sized crowd buzzing around the grounds, enjoying the morning sun and eagerly awaiting the first runner to hit the triumphant finish with a slide down the hill. We were sure to let people know that there was a big transition zone and their time wasn’t recorded while they were in transition so they could take their time trading the chip off to the next racer. In the end, it didn’t matter anyway. We had major issues with the timing company we used and results were a mess. While we know it’s important that people get an accurate time for their hard work, we also know that the real goal out there was to race hard and have fun. And when you have a stunning course along our beautiful river valley, and the coolest finish line imaginable, results don’t matter nearly as much. Sorry if you didn’t get an accurate time. And, not sorry if you had the time of your life.

This is the 6th race I’ve had the privilege of race directing, and I think it’s as close to perfect as races can get. Was it exhausting? Yes. Was it worth every permit and discussion and insurance waiver? You betcha. Was it such a huge success because Rob and Eric are the absolute dream team of event organizers? 1000x yes.

We partied the night away at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market with live music and all our new friends. Another incredibly successful event that somehow Rob and Eric made look effortless.

The next morning I pulled my tired self out of bed to lead a trail run for those who wanted to see more of our river valley before heading home, giving us a chance to connect in a quieter more meaningful way with other NPer’s.

We (well, Eric and Rob!) received countless rave reviews about how fun the weekend was; people gushing about how well organized everything was and how inspired they were to take that energy home to fuel their own local November Project groups. Our Edmonton leaders seem to have this bottomless well of energy to promote, organize and execute the incredible community they have built with November Project Canada here in Edmonton. It’s no small thing. So much passion is poured into making NP a place where people can come together, move together and occasionally throw themselves down a hill together. That’s a cult worth joining, right?