Episode 138 - Tony Park
2018-11-15
— open the full-size artworkShow artwork, January 2018HostsMelissa Erbacher Scott Trickett
Roving reporterMelissa Ellis
Show notes
The parkrun adventurers get all confused about the ‘p-index’ and Mel has her second parkrun misadventure in two weeks. Best-selling Australian author and Hazyview parkrunner Tony Park stops by to chat about his exciting upcoming novel and what parkrunning in South Africa is really like. And Melissa Ellis walks the plank at Christie (opens in a new tab)’s Beach parkrun.
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Enhanced transcript
Speakers named, sound described and segments marked by the editing pass — not yet checked by a person.
Read the transcriptGuests
Tony Park
Marking the seventh anniversary of parkrun in South Africa. Tony's parkrun journey (discovering it via friends in South Africa and joining one of Hazyview's first runs), splitting the year between Sydney and the bush near Kruger, hippo and wildlife hazards around the Hazyview course, his new novel Scent of Fear, 'the parkrun book', which features an anti-poaching dog-handling team running a Hazyview parkrun, the Achilles volunteers at Willoughby that inspired the tethered-running scene, forgetting his barcode before Finsbury Park parkrun in London, and the day-to-day life of an author.
Tim Oberg
Short guest slot delivering the episode's Top Three: the best South African parkruns to pair with a safari, Nkomazi, Hazyview and Hermanus, drawing on his own visit to Nkomazi parkrun with Paul Sinton-Hewitt and Bruce Fordyce while staying on the Crocodile River beside Kruger National Park.
Roving reports
In this episode
Welcome starts at 0:17
Mel Erbacher and Scotty Trickett, recording bright and early for episode 138 while the parkrun memories are still fresh; Mel warns that recording early does not mean the episode comes out early. The opening is under a minute before the interview.
The Perlustration starts at 1:01annual listener survey
Scott previews an in-flight Perlustration result, asked which day listeners would prefer the podcast released (Monday/Wednesday/Friday), the most popular answer so far is Wednesday, which prompts a discussion of recording and release timing. Revisited in the sign-off, where Scott says the survey closes next week, the results will be discussed, and the TomTom watch prize given away.
Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 1:00:17
Melissa Ellis files a roving report from Christies Beach parkrun in South Australia, travelling there to claim her seventh 'sea' and join the Pirate Club. Post-run at the Ripple and Swell Cafe she interviews Co-Event Directors Richard and Miriam about the event's July 2016 founding by Frank Finn, the undulating beachside course, the four City of Onkaparinga events (Christies Beach, Aldinga Beach, Reynella East, Moana), council and sponsor support, and their New Year's Day plans. Closes with a plug for the Christies Beach caravan park.
Top Three starts at 1:10:32
New recurring bit: each week a special guest names their top three parkruns on a theme. Inspired by the Tony Park interview, Scott hands over to Tim Oberg for the top three parkruns you can pair with a safari in South Africa, 1. Nkomazi parkrun (where Tim ran with Paul Sinton-Hewitt and Bruce Fordyce, near Kruger's Crocodile Gate), 2. Hazyview parkrun (closest to safari country), 3. Hermanus parkrun on the Western Cape, for whale watching rather than the Big Five.
Launches and anniversaries starts at 1:14:54"Where is the cake?"
No launches this week, Melissa notes end-of-year launches are getting sparse. Anniversaries: Albert Park (Melbourne) turning seven, Calamvale in Queensland, Cowra in New South Wales, Lota and Nambour in Queensland, and Warrnambool in Victoria. Segues into Melissa's fun fact that Queensland has just joined the 100 Club with 100 parkrun events (NSW 86, Victoria 70).
Sign-off starts at 1:20:02
Scott called time - "so we leave it there, let's wrap it up" - on another long but, in his words, absolute cracking episode, and gave a final reminder about the perlustration, saying people had had enough time, that they would close it next week, delve into the results and give away the TomTom watch, and telling anyone who had not entered to get onto it.