Article by Cathryn Wile, Southeast Ambassador
It was hot and humid when I arrived on site at 6 a.m. on Saturday September 10, and by 9 a.m. my weather app read “feels like 113℉.” The heat and humidity couldn’t do anything to intimidate or slow down the 36 women who were in the middle of a two hour Urban Adventure Challenge in Washington DC though! They had just finished a morning yoga session with ProYoga (naturally heated by Mother Nature) and were setting off on a 5K run around the city with several stops for fitness challenges. Welcome to SheJumps Washington DC launch event, the DC Urban Adventure Challenge!
(Photo by: Cat Wile)
(Photo by: ProYoga)
After getting warmed up with yoga led by Amy Mitchell of ProYoga, the ladies took off on a 3.2 mile run around the city with a stop to complete a bootcamp with Mountain Athletics by The North Face, a parkour and crossfit workout with American Parkour and Primal Fitness to learn some sweet parkour skills, and ending with a knot tying challenge with The North Face. The ladies were greeted back at our home base, the REI Community Space at Wunder Garten with post-race refueling by Cava Grill, KIND Snacks, Avitae Caffeine Water, and Harris Teeter.
(Photo by: ProYoga)
(Photo by: ProYoga)
Rehydrated by Avitae and refueled by KIND bars and Cava Grill veggies and dips, the ladies gathered in the tiny bits of shade, meeting new friends, and we raffled off an incredible set of swag from all of our partners including: REI, The North Face – Georgetown, Patagonia – Georgetown, Arc’teryx – City Center, Athleta, Summit to Soul, Strong Fit Meals, Aura Spa at Vida Fitness, Oakley, and The Trust for the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
(Photo by: Avitae Caffeine Water)
All of our ladies walked away winners, with one heck of a challenging workout under their belt, new friends, and a race bag with goodies by ProYoga, Mountain Athletics, Summit to Soul, Athleta, Strong Fit Meals, and more!
(Photo by: Mountain Athletics)
We were so proud to have such a wonderful group of women join us, work out together, and love every minute of it. It was especially great to see some mother-daughter pairs come out as well as women of the U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Navy including a group of young women who came from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis! Several SheJumpers from Washington State now on the East Coast won the award for commitment for traveling in from Pennsylvania and Baltimore to join us! We look forward to seeing all of you ladies at future SheJumps events!
(Photo by: ProYoga)
Washington DC is a big city with lots of traffic and yet many people don’t have cars so getting to the local outdoor recreation areas can seem daunting. The aim of our event was to show women that there is a wealth of resources to explore outdoors in the confines of a city. We have an incredible park system which are often used for fitness opportunities such as with Mountain Athletics who hosts two free workouts a week at different parks. Recreation abounds along the GW Parkway with running and bike trails and plenty of kayaking and SUP on the Potomac River. There are opportunities to learn new skills or cross train for your outdoor adventures with facilities like American Parkour and Primal Fitness and there are many organizations like SheJumps, The North Face, and REI who host event series to provide awareness and opportunities to explore the great outdoors in the DMV. We may not think of the city as an outdoor paradise, but there is so much to explore in the DMV and all it takes is a little awareness, a little more planning sometimes, and occasionally a good friend with a car!
(Photo by: Cat Wile)
I am so very grateful to the long list of incredible partners who let us use their space, hosted events, donated raffle items or food, and supported the event:
Special Shout Outs
Amy Mitchell of ProYoga, my partner in crime in planning and producing this event and for leading our yoga session. I could not have done this without you!
REI for letting us use their Community Space and 2 REI Flash packs for the raffle!
Wunder Garten for trusting us to use their space without supervision because 8am is a good time for yoga but too early to open for beer!
The North Face – Georgetown, especially Sara Brown, an incredible supporter of the outdoor community in Washington DC for hosting two event challenges (thank you Jordan, Sara, Karl, Sharita, Nadia, and Mollie for coming out!), donating two packs to the raffle and all your support!
American Parkour and Primal Fitness for hosting us and teaching our ladies some new parkour moves. Thank you Matt, Mark, Clem and Kate!
(Photo by: ProYoga)
Our Incredible Raffle and Race Bag Partners
(Photo by: ProYoga)
Our Partners Who Fed and Hydrated US!
(Photo by: Photo: Mollie Coleman of Mountain Athletics/Avitae Caffeine Water)
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