Episode 134 - Tim Oberg
2018-10-19
HostsMelissa Erbacher Scott Trickett
GuestTim Oberg
Show notes
The parkrun adventurers have a walk-off and discover another new event. The Big Cheese, parkrun Australia CEO Tim Oberg is back for a natter about life as an Event Director and the latest on parkrun in Japan. Plus we announce Mel’s new Co-Host for next week, all on Scotty’s birthday!
Enhanced transcript
Checked transcript — speakers named, sound described, segments marked.
Read the transcriptGuests
Tim Oberg
Life at his home event Airlie Beach parkrun and running it as a family; being recognised as "the guy who started parkrun in Australia"; becoming an event director for the first time at Cannonvale junior parkrun and what that taught him about volunteer recruitment; the plan to launch parkrun in Japan in the first half of 2019 (April at the earliest), including working through translators; and agreeing to co-host episode 135 with Mel while Scott is away.
In this episode
Tim Oberg monthly Q&A (segment not given a name on air)
Tim Oberg (parkrun Australia CEO) returns for a wide-ranging chat: how Airlie Beach parkrun has grown to 80-90 a week and how he participates as a family (double pram, kids Jack, Evie and Archie, wife Nikki); why he deliberately avoids volunteering at his home event; being recognised on the road and at the recent parkrun at The Ponds; becoming an event director for the first time at Cannonvale junior parkrun and the volunteer-recruitment reality of 12 volunteers for ~20 kids; and an update on launching parkrun in Japan (targeting April 2019 at the earliest, Rugby World Cup / Tokyo Olympics context, translators, and the need for Japanese-speaking staff). Ends with Tim agreeing to co-host episode 135 with Mel while Scott is away.
Launches and anniversaries ("Where is the cake?")
Zero launches this week, but eight anniversaries: Brightwater (Qld, turning four - Mel's former event), Grafton (NSW), Gungahlin (ACT), Hamilton (Vic), Kingscliff (NSW), Murray Bridge (SA), North Lakes (Qld) and Paradise Point (Qld).
Hotline
Listener phone-in question segment with its own theme music. This week's question, credited to "Dorothy Dix": when attempting a new freedom run, do you prefer a local guide or to tough it out yourself? Scott goes it alone and enjoys misreading the map; Mel prefers a spoken run brief from a local because verbal instructions stick better than a map.
The Perlustration (annual listener survey)
The annual listener survey is finished and about to go live on the Facebook page, running for one month from release, with a TomTom watch given away as a prize (as in the previous year). Tim Oberg's suggested question — a poll on whether Scott really is "the dry, serious one" — was added at the last minute during his interview.