Can You Write a Novel in 30 Days?

This past month, I dug out the writing kit I'd bought years ago when working at Home Goods. As I said in this post, I wasn't sure if I was doing exactly what each daily card said. Not all of what I wrote each day seemed to connect, and I haven't looked back to see if anything that came out of each session interests me enough to  attempt to revise. But I guess it was worth trying.

Have any of you out there ever attempted the NaNoWriMo in November? Whenever I hear about, it sounds daunting. I never even think to attempt this event. This kit is by the founder of this yearly event, and the idea is the same---to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. I don't think I got that many words, and don't even want to estimate, let alone try to count each one. Does anyone actually count stuff like this anyway? I was sure I would not be able to write a complete novel in just one month, since many people take years to complete novels. 

I recently dowloaded a free novel-writing kit, but have yet to even look through it all. And I have been looking at such items on Amazon, but am unsure about getting any just yet.