Episode 187 - PKRUN

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HostsMelissa Ellis Melissa Erbacher

Roving reporterTony O'Connell

Show notes

From the Facebook post

What's the difference between a parkrunner that runs in front of a car, and one that runs behind a car? The one that runs in front gets tired, whereas the one that run behinds gets exhausted!

Ba-dum-tish!

Episode 187 of the parkrun adventurers podcast is here with Victorian statesman Mel Ellis back to co-host. Plus our roving reporters take us to Gawler (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Portarlington (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Cohuna (opens in a new tab) parkrun.

Let us drive you crazy: http://parkrun.social/pa-pod

From the podcast feed

The parkrun adventurers debut bobsleds and talk goals for 2020 as Victorian Stateswoman Mel Ellis is back to co-host. We continue to gear up for the much anticipated International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day 2019. Plus roving reports make their way to us from Gawler (opens in a new tab), Portarlington (opens in a new tab) and Cohuna (opens in a new tab) parkruns.

Roving reports

1Gawler2Portarlington3Cohuna

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:24

  Melissa Erbacher and Melissa Ellis. Mel Ellis regained her Victorian statesperson status at Aurora (event 6, a Wilson Index number) after missing a day of three launches, with Victoria now at 80 events; Bruce Purdy and Fiona Davies were there in ugly singlets, Paul was chasing Wilson numbers at Campaspe and Zoe had a week off. Mel Erbacher's tourist streak is at 24, and she debuted a new side-by-side double Bob pram, dubbed the bobsled after her family's Cool Runnings costumes at Kawana, on a late start at Berrinba's single-loop wetlands course, leaving her sore for two days and asking for tips on keeping Wes in the pram.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 15:00

  Roving report from Gawler parkrun, Adelaide (South Australia), filed by an unnamed reporter. He interviews Co-Event Directors Neil Sanders and Jules Reid, who share matching personalised number plates "PK RUN 1" and "PK RUN 5", the source of the episode title, plus Run Director of the day Jeff. Covers the event's July 2017 start (127th run that day), founder Cheryl McKibbin who went on to start Stebonheath parkrun, the creek-bed course with its two "leg tester" hills, and Neil's 100th parkrun run in a black suit and bow tie. Closes with a note about an upcoming Christmas event for South Australian listeners.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 20:17

  TOC (Tony O'Connell) reports from Portarlington parkrun on the Bellarine Peninsula, an hour south of Melbourne, with Jack. Interviews Event Director and Run Director of the day Yvonne about the out-and-back 2.5km-each-way course along the bay on well-packed granitic sand, the headwind on the return leg, views across to Melbourne over Corio Bay, and a typical field of 30 to 40 runners spanning all generations.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 22:06

  Multi-part roving report from Cohuna parkrun in northern Victoria near the Murray, filed by Sarah while touristing with her family. Opens with a course scene-setter on the two-and-a-half-lap Gunbower Creek course, then three interviews: Run Director Kirsten on the event's third anniversary and its creekside course through Garden Park; front runner Shannon Tracy, husband of Event Director "Ames", on how the pair set the event up and designed the course to start and finish in the centre of town for visibility; and marshal Wooly, a self-described larrikin who nicknames regulars (his goanna-running brother-in-law) and reckons parkrun is the best way to meet people.

• International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day starts at 34:08

  Build-up to the inaugural International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day, to be held the following Saturday. Mel Erbacher reports a new dedicated Facebook page (with exactly one like, her own), a Make Your Own Ugly Christmas Singlet piece to be shared in the event group, and sightings of the singlet spreading beyond the podcast's own audience. The pair coin a collective noun for Ugly Christmas Singlets, settling on "a tinsel" over Mel Ellis's suggestion of "a calamity" (and Erbacher's fallback, "a whiff"), after discovering neither koalas nor pineapples have collective nouns.

• Sign-off starts at 50:09

  The host thanked Melissa for coming aboard the podcast train again and hoped she would listen in next week, which would be the final episode for 2019 with special content and a co-host still to be arranged. Melissa thanked her for the three turns in the co-host seat and said she could not wait for Ugly Christmas Singlet Day. The host closed with a plea for the inaugural International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day: wear the singlet at parkrun or all day, photograph it anywhere including the grocery store, share it on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and join the Facebook event of that name.