Episode 226 - Crackerjack

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

Roving reporterMark Scarborough

Show notes

It’s another parkdog week this week after Mel’s trip to Cascades on Clyde Wetlands (opens in a new tab) parkrun! We hear an avian-affected roving report from Mark at Burley Griffin (opens in a new tab) parkrun, while we reflect on celebrations and tribulations after a cracker of a morning at Dazza’s café! And after a challenge from the field, The Informant introduces us to the III... What’s your III?

The podcast feed and the Facebook post carry the same notes.

Roving reports

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:21

  Melissa Ellis with Ollie Spake, introduced by his athlete ID. Ollie was back RDing at Shellharbour (202 finishers, daughter Hannah doubling as Marshal and photographer) but skipped his own long run, with his marathon seven weeks away and a longest run of 35 km so far; he has booked an early Friday flight for PALM, which falls before the marathon. Mel took her 'grand doggie' Dustin, daughter Sarah's Cavoodle, to event two of Cascades on Clyde Wetlands, walking four kilometres with friend Michelle and her dog Entei before running the last kilometre; she reflects that with launches now silent, the Victorian tourist community reunites at event two instead, and explains why dogs are not allowed at Eynesbury juniors.

• Dazza's starts at 15:47

  The hosts read out the week's listener comments and coffee photos from the show's Facebook thread, which they call "Dazza's Cafe" here ("it was wonderful to get to share Dazza's Cafe with everyone"). Contributions from Janet Reid (kids in charge at Lochiel Park, 18 juniors), Mark (course PB at Burley Griffin, fastest 2021 time), Tammy Taylor (4th parkrun anniversary at Sandgate), Lyndell (volunteering at home), Oliver Spake, Bruce (bowling balls at Dandenong, "a cracker morning... even better described as a crackerjack", the episode title), Tony O'Connell/TOC (Shirley Dell finishing Run Down Under at Inverloch, Casey Hyde visiting, 100th runs for Joe Taylor and Trish Nicholson), Alison (course PB at University of Waikato), Aaron Hardy (Parramatta), Michael Charlton (Narromine Wetlands), Erica Liotta (Geeveston), Casey Hyde, Chris Fraser and Peter Pohlman.

• Roving reports & the Channel 5 News crew starts at 27:34

  Oliver Spake crosses to the roving report "We did hear from one of our Channel 5 News crew out roving the parkruns at the weekend... So, Mel, let's have a listen to Mark." Mark reports from Burley Griffin parkrun, Canberra, no on-course audio because screeching cockatoos overhead ruined the recording, so the piece is voiced off-site. He covers the out-and-back lakeside course, Black Mountain Tower views, kangaroos and birdlife, and pitches autumn in Canberra (Enlighten Festival, the Balloon Spectacular over Old Parliament House). Melissa Ellis thanks "Marvellous Mark".

• the Informant starts at 29:22

  Pre-recorded unofficial stats rundown: one Victorian launch (Puckapunyal, closed to the public), New Zealand back, 463 events worldwide, 50,813 runners, 7,018 PBs, 2,261 first-timers, milestone counts, and a new regular sub-feature on bingo callers (23 last weekend, second-highest ever). New/returning statespeople listed, biggest movers on the Most Aussie/NZ Events list, Wilson index movers. Then a listener question from Bruce Purdy (asked while "park faffing" with Brendan Peel): how many people have run the first 10 Australian events, answer three (Neil Barnett, Ros and Alan Burrell). Off the back of it the Informant coins a new index, the III, the Ignoble Informant Index, counting your unbroken run of Australian events in launch order from Main Beach. Blog plugged at theinformant.me.

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 40:36"Where is the cake?"

  The hosts cover the quiet launch of Puckapunyal parkrun in Victoria, 36 runners, 17 brand new to parkrun plus seven unknowns, Australia's first parkrun inside a military establishment, a closed event like the prison parkruns. Melissa Ellis ties it back to January the previous year when she was posted at Puckapunyal, filed roving reports and co-hosted the podcast from the base with no parkrun within 40 minutes, and argues at length for the value of parkrun to military families who move every posting cycle and to members transitioning out of service. Earlier in the same discussion the hosts note the new "silent launch" convention, Victorian tourists now deliberately stay away from event one and all turn up at event two (Mel's Cascades on Clyde Wetlands event two, ~70 runners). Main Beach's upcoming anniversary is also flagged.

• Palm update starts at 45:36

  Weekly update on palm21, the annual listener meetup on the Sunshine Coast (Nambour). After some fumbled sound-effect business, the hosts announce the fancy dress theme voted from listener suggestions: parkrun, come as your home event, dream event or any parkrun-related thing. Melissa Ellis imposes a new rule that you may not dress as your own home parkrun (banning Oliver Spake from being Shellharbour and TOC from being the Stump), muses about Chris Fraser as a giant sausage roll, and jokes about Mel Erbacher as a lighthouse. They also set a plan B for closed borders, a Facebook Live streamed from Dazza's cafe with a cross to Melissa Taylor on the ground at Nambour, and mention they have been asked by Danny and Nicola to host the With Me Now live for parkrun's return in England on 5 June.

• Sign-off starts at 1:01:18

  Ollie said it had been a lovely catch-up and a good chat on the pod, and that it was nice to enjoy everyone's feedback on their parkrun experience at the cafe. He invited listeners to drop a line at Dazza's Cafe with coffee pictures, questions and suggestions - including non-Shellharbour dress-up themes for the parkrun adventurers meetup dress-up night - by email at parkrunadventurers at gmail.com or via the Informant's page at theinformant.me, then thanked Mel, reminded her to bring the budgies back inside, wished her a lovely parkrun day and thanked Athlete ID A860793.