Episode 189 - Happy New Year!

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HostsMelissa Erbacher Tony O'Connell

Roving reportersCameron Drake Melissa Ellis

Show notes

From the Facebook post

Happy New Pod Year parkrun adventurers!

Episode 189 is out now! Mel is joined by guest co-host TOC to catch up on all the koality adventures had over the festive parkrun season. And we have roving reports aplenty from such fabulous Aussie events as Wallaby Track (opens in a new tab) parkrun, Dawesville (opens in a new tab) parkrun, and Lochiel (opens in a new tab) parkrun, plus a maple leaf trifecta of Canadian events as we hear from Downsview (opens in a new tab) parkrun, River Oaks (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Meadowvale (opens in a new tab) parkrun in Canada!

It's great to be back!

From the podcast feed

The parkrun adventurers make-up for lost time, bringing everyone up to speed on all the New Year parkrun adventures! Mel is joined by guest co-host Tony O’Connell (AKA TOC), and we have roving reports aplenty from such fabulous events as Wallaby Track (opens in a new tab), Dawesville (opens in a new tab), and Lochiel (opens in a new tab) parkruns in Australia, plus Downsview (opens in a new tab) parkrun, River Oaks (opens in a new tab) parkrun and Meadowvale (opens in a new tab) parkrun in Canada!v

Roving reports

1·3·4Wallaby Track, Lochiel and Lochiel2Dawesville5·6·7Downsview, River Oaks and Meadowvale

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:22

  First episode of 2020, Melissa Erbacher with Tony O'Connell back on the co-hosting couch. TOC run directed Inverloch on Christmas Day (his middle son's 50th), ran Mount Beauty on the 28th, had the Canberra New Year's Day double cancelled for smoke but joined about 60 parkrunners for breakfast at Poppy's behind the war memorial, then went to Benalla Botanical Gardens on the 4th after Bright was evacuated, where Jackie did her 250th. Mel missed Christmas Day, RD'd the Kawana B course on the 28th while Adam tried the double pram at Baringa, and did the Adelaide New Year's Day double at Jubilee Way and Lochiel with prams lent by Janet and Christy, walking with Melissa Ellis, catching PK at Lochiel and meeting listeners Parth, Irene and Chantelle.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 37:58

  A long block of listener/reporter crossovers running 00:37:58-01:17:55, the bulk of the episode. Melissa Ellis reports from the brand-new Wallaby Track parkrun (Ballarat's second event), interviewing Co-Event Director Lorinda and tutu-wearing tourist Natalie Harrison. Cameron Drake reports from Dawesville parkrun (WA) on New Year's Day, interviewing first-timer Mitch, RD/ED Lynette, and three visiting parkrunners. Listeners Parth and Irene from Westerfolds parkrun turn the tables and interview the podcast crew (Mel Erbacher, Melissa Ellis and PK) at Lochiel parkrun in South Australia. Finally three reports from "the G-Train" in Canada: Downsview parkrun (Toronto) with Tail Walker Jemima and social-media ambassador Lawrence, River Oaks parkrun (Oakville) with co-EDs Joanne and Chris, and Meadowvale parkrun where he run-directed, talking to the Swirsky sisters, Australian tourists and co-ED Lawrence with RD Vicky. Mel and TOC thank the reporters by name-.

• Sign-off starts at 1:24:44

  TOC noted that Melissa had done her J in South Australia on New Year's Day and had only a couple of letters left, and pressed her on when they would see her at Inverloch for her I, offering somewhere very close by for her, Adam, Wes and Emmett to stay; she said she would get the details off him offline as it sounded like a best-kept secret. She then thanked TOC for joining her for the first episode of Season 5 of the parkrun adventurers, said it would be an interesting season with a fairly early palm only a couple of months away, and asked if he was getting excited; TOC said he was, that South Australia is always a wonderful destination, that he needed to get onto bookings and accommodation, and that it would be a cracker of an adventure.